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American LeMans
ALMS: Mid-Ohio Post-Race Notebook
Competition in GT2 heats up; Dream result for Team Cytosport; GT2 Regulations and more.
John Dagys  |  Posted August 09, 2009   Lexington, Ohio
Corvette Racing finished second and fourth in their GT2 debuts. (John Dagys)
GT2 At Its Finest

While Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long ran away with yet another class win, their fifth of the season, GT2 lived up to the hype of being the most competitive and diverse category in the American Le Mans Series.

At one point in the early stages, five manufacturers: Porsche, Chevrolet, BMW, Ferrari and Ford, all had cars in the top-six. Count PTG’s Panoz Esperante, which ran as high as fifth mid-race, and it adds up to a quite a remarkable accomplishment for the series.

"Those first few laps were frantic," said Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin, who finished fourth in the team’s GT2 debut. "The first start was waved off, we were forming up again, and it all got rather confusing. A BMW got by me, and then the Ford GT, so I had to hustle my way past them. We had a bit of contact, a little rubbing and banging. I got a few shoves, and I gave them back. GT2 is a great class to race in!"

By mid-race, both of the new Corvette C6.Rs were solidly running in second and third, and had appeared to be on their way for a debut double podium result in GT2. However, with just three minutes remaining, Dirk Muller made an impressive move around Olivier Beretta’s Corvette to snatch away third.

“I couldn’t find a way by, so I had to wait for a mistake, and he finally got sideways in the last corner and I had the chance to jump inside and got him. It was great,” said Muller after the race.

Muller and co-driver Tommy Milner earned their third podium finish of the season, and fourth for their BMW Rahal Letterman Racing team. The Hilliard, Ohio-based squad has been making steady progress all season with its front-engined V8s, and had one of its most competitive outings to date, topping the time charts in two of the three practice sessions and staying in contention in the race.

“We’re getting closer and closer,” Muller said. “The car has been awesome all year long. We need to keep trying things and go for the maximum. The crew did a hell of a job; we didn’t change tires in the last pit stop. That pushed us forward to P3.”

Plagued with straight line speed issues all season, but helped by a restrictor break after Long Beach, the Bimmers have still been lacking top speed, especially compared to other front-engined cars like the Dodge Viper or new Corvette.

“To be very honest, the Corvettes are very competitive, and they were driving away on the straights,” Muller said. “I’m a little bit frustrated with that to be honest. They gained a lot of time in straight-line speed, but I was quicker in the corners, especially the final two... I think what you have seen here, you’ll see over the whole rest of the season.”


Corvette Racing’s No. 3 machine of Jan Magnussen and Johnny O’Connell collected the team’s first podium GT2. Both C6.Rs were mighty impressive, posting best lap times within four tenths of race-winner Long’s best.

Both BMW Rahal Letterman Racing M3s were on the pace all weekend, with the No. 92 machine of Bill Auberlen setting the classes quickest race lap. (John Dagys)
Even more impressive was the Corvette’s fuel economy. While not gambling on a one-stop like the Lizards, the cellulosic E85-fueled No. 3 Corvette stretched its fuel two further laps than the E10-powered No. 45 Porsche during the first round of stops.

With ethanol consumption higher than E10 gasoline, IMSA allows E85 teams such as Corvette to use a 20 liter larger fuel tank, something Corvette has only been able to take advantage of with its new car. Its GT1 Corvette C6.R was only able to carry between 103-105 liters, compared to the allowable 110-liter capacity.

"It's not our usual result, but nonetheless today was a great victory for Corvette Racing," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "To come out here with only a few days of testing on two brand-new race cars, run with the leaders, demonstrate our pit stop prowess and race strategy, and finish second is a testament to how hard this team works. I think every fan of sports car racing now knows there is going to be some spectacular GT racing in the American Le Mans Series."



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