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The flagger-turned-matador seems to have enraged the snorting, snarling Corvette's of Beretta and O'Connell with his red flag. Thankfully, the fireman-by-day was prepared to run for cover. » More Photos
"Let's just say I had plenty of time to think about this while driving 3-1/2 hours home from Mid Ohio on Saturday...." GM's Road Racing Group Manager Steve Wesoloski said to me yesterday when I asked about the acrimonious end to their ALMS race last weekend. Question over the serious nature of Corvette Racing's lonely endeavors in the GT1 category were answered when teammates Olivier Beretta and Johnny O’Connell came together on pit lane Saturday, banging wheels and sending an ALMS flagger running for cover.
The Corvette team have raced one another in the year and a half since the factory Aston Martin’s pulled out of the series, and while the pilots of the two C6.R’s have certainly pushed themselves to the limits on track, a clash of this nature—on pit lane and with a red flag being held in front of them, wasn’t a chapter they’ll care to read in the history books.
Tales of drivers being overcome with the ‘red mist,’ that mythical cloud of competitive psychosis, have traditionally been reserved for the racing track itself. Wesoloski was less than amused at the pictures being returned on the TV of his two drivers using their Corvette’s to execute a Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant impression after a pit stop. “There really aren't any easy answers when the drivers find little unwritten clauses with every rule. Of course it was like talking to a couple of 7-year-olds and the age-old ‘He started it!’ argument. Everything is different depending on which seat you were in.
While this incident was a stain on an otherwise spotless Corvette record, team officials are preparing to exert whatever pressure is necessary to ensure this never happens again. » More Photos
“We've been telling them they could race but the first rule that follows is - DON'T HIT ANYTHING, PARTICULARLY EACH OTHER! Obviously they thought that only applied on the race track, not pit lane.”
Teammates displaying a lack of on track courtesy is nothing new; Senna vs. Prost was the epitome of two drivers that weren’t afraid to use their cars as intra-team battering rams, but for a testosterone-laden program like Corvette Racing, any contact—pit lane or on the race track, is surprisingly considered outside the spirit (and tolerance) of the program. “Yes…we would have had the same conversation had it been in a corner. Pit lane happened to put other people in danger and raised the level of concern.”
Questions remain on how future incidents will be prevented from happening. “There really isn't too much we can add to the [pit lane] procedure and it really does come down to the drivers being aware and avoiding contact. One solution that has been suggested is to make the drivers pay for any damages; we know hitting the wallet is the toughest blow for any driver. But that still allows for someone to take that risky move, putting too much in harm's way. Not sure I like that idea. We haven't really settled on a penalty yet but we will have something for them before the next race.”
The one involuntary member of Saturday’s drama was smart enough to avoid becoming a Corvette hood ornament, but Wesoloski and company were quick to seek out the now famous pit lane flagman to make sure he bore no ill will. “We learned he was actually a volunteer whose full-time job is as a fireman. Maybe that's why he was so nimble on his feet. He was excited about being in the middle of it all but realized as the cars were about half-way down pit lane that they weren't going to stop so
After the WWF-meets-ALMS encounter on pit lane, and the driver’s refusal to shake hands when they emerged from their cars last weekend, thoughts of adding a cage match between Beretta and O’Connell to the Doug Fehan vs. Oliver Gavin charity bike race at the upcoming Road America round has crossed Steve’s mind.
In a scene reminiscent of an NHL hockey penalty box, both Corvette's sit as the others cars race. With seven minutes of stationary C6.R's on display, had the Bell Motorsports Aston been entered, GM could have suffered their first GT1 loss in ages. » More Photos
“I think the drivers are OK with each other. As long as there is more than one car, there will be rivalry. They just need to ensure it doesn't become heated and blood-thirsty. If they aren't OK, I'll threaten them with having to ride on the handlebars for the bike race!”
Gavin a marathon runner, and Fehan, and avid cyclist, are a perfect combo to race for charity. But Wesoloski, a picture of fitness and a strong candidate to make it a three-way race, has opted to instead safeguard Corvette Racing’s future. “I'm not entering because when Fehan and Gavin both keel over at the finish; someone has to be left standing to carry on with the program! You've seen the front straight at Road America? Can you imagine a sprint to the finish up that hill? No, thank you!...”
The Corvette Racing team is filled with good-natured folks from top to bottom—what happened last weekend was a stain on their near perfect form, but as Wesoloski’s shared, the gravity of their mistake won’t be ignored, but nor will it change who they are.
The 1979 Dijon Grand Prix delivered the most exciting wheel-to-wheel duel captured on film—Gilles Villeneuve and Rene Arnoux used their cars are weapons, curbs, and SAFER barriers in their epic battle for second place. At the time, F1 teams, drivers and journalists derided the two for haphazard, life threatening performances. The only driver to publicly applaud the two was Mario Andretti, whose famous quote of, ‘Just a couple of young lions clawing at each other’ perfectly summed up the encounter.
For Beretta and O’Connell, their clash would be best described as two ‘graying lions clawing at each other,’ but you won’t hear Mario coming out to support their actions. Dijon '79 was about joy and brilliance; Mid-Ohio '08 was about anger and aggression. Their YouTube instant classic from Mid-Ohio’s pit lane might have created a lot of Monday morning buzz, but let’s hope the next time one wants to show the other their ‘chrome horn,’ they save that battle royale for the race track.
Marshall Pruett is Automotive and Sportscar Racing Editor for SPEEDtv.com. Pruett grew up at "Pruett's Olde English Garage," his father's shelter for abused foreign cars, and spent his childhood being dragged across the West Coast to help with his dad's amateur racing exploits. Pruett spent twenty years working in various open-wheel and sportscar series, retiring from active duty in 2001. And in case you were wondering, no, he isn’t related to Scott Pruett.
He can be reached at marshall.pruett@speedtv.com
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.
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