GM, Compuware and Corvette Owners Celebrate
Corvette Racing's Fifth Le Mans Victory
DETROIT
– American Thunder rumbled through the
streets of Motor City today when a Corvette
caravan commemorated Corvette Racing's fifth
victory in the GT1 class at the prestigious
24 Hours of Le Mans. The celebration began with
the presentation of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
trophy at Compuware Corporation, the primary
sponsor of the championship-winning Corvette
C6.R race cars, and concluded at GM World Headquarters
at the Renaissance Center after a parade through
Detroit's downtown business district.
The roar of the No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6.R's
7-liter GM small-block V-8 racing engine reverberated
through the skyscrapers as the caravan motored
from Woodward Ave. to Jefferson Ave. The parade
featured Corvette Racing drivers Oliver Gavin,
Olivier Beretta, Jan Magnussen, Ron Fellows,
Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis in Corvette convertibles,
the Corvette Indianapolis 500 pace car, and
dozens of Corvettes from local clubs. When the
caravan arrived at its destination, crew chief
Ray Gongla demonstrated the race car's power
with a tire-smoking burnout. Chevrolet general
manager Ed Peper and Compuware chairman and
CEO Peter Karmanos Jr. then thanked and congratulated
the Corvette Racing team in front of an enthusiastic
crowd of fans and supporters.
"This is a big day for all of us because
we’re celebrating another huge win for
the Corvette Racing team – their fifth
victory in the biggest, most prestigious and
most important road racing event in the world,"
said Peper. "We’re very proud that
Corvette competes and wins on that global stage.
Today we applaud the accomplishments of the
men and women of Corvette Racing, and we salute
the team that works behind the scenes at General
Motors and our affiliated sponsors and suppliers
to make this a world-class racing team.
"We believe a great race car begins with
a great production car," Peper noted. "One
look at the Corvette Z06 supercar and the Corvette
C6.R race car shows the two-way transfer of
technology between racing and production that
benefits our customers. A major reason that
Chevy is the most successful marque in motorsports
is the GM small-block V-8, the world's most
successful production-based racing engine. There's
no better way to celebrate Corvette's 50th anniversary
in international road racing than with this
win at Le Mans."
On June 18, 2006, drivers Oliver Gavin, Olivier
Beretta and Jan Magnussen scored Corvette Racing's
fifth GT1 victory in the last six last years
in the grueling 24-hour endurance race contested
in Le Mans, France, since 1923. It was the trio's
third consecutive class victory at the Circuit
des 24 Heures du Mans, the site of the twice-around-the-clock
race. The winning Corvette C6.R completed 355
laps of the 8.481-mile circuit (3,011 miles)
and won by a five-lap margin of victory over
Aston Martin Racing.
“It’s an honor to be here with General
Motors and Corvette Racing,” said Karmanos.
“Our sponsorship is really a natural one
– it works out so well for us as we’re
both Detroit-based companies. Of course GM has
been here a little while longer than we have,
but we feel honored to be able to help with
the Corvette racing program. I want to congratulate
the team for their third victory in a row and
fifth overall at Le Mans; that’s quite
an achievement.”
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s
largest automaker, has been the global industry
sales leader for 75 years. Founded in 1908,
GM today employs about 327,000 people around
the world. With global headquarters in Detroit,
GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries.
In 2005, 9.17 million GM cars and trucks were
sold globally under the following brands: Buick,
Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden,
HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall.
GM operates one of the world’s leading
finance companies, GMAC Financial Services,
which offers automotive, residential and commercial
financing and insurance. GM’s OnStar subsidiary
is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security
and information services. More information on
GM can be found at www.gm.com.
