Corvette Racing has kicked off the 2013 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) the same way it ended last year’s competition: in first place. Thanks to a strong team effort, the No. 4 Corvette C6.R race car driven by Tommy Milner, Oliver Gavin and Richard Westbrook opened the ALMS season with a comeback victory in the 61st Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring endurance classic.
The Corvette win was anything but clear sailing, however. Although the winning car was in second position on the starting grid to begin the race, electrical and other issues helped put the team a number of laps behind the leaders early on. It wasn’t until the final 15 minutes of the 12-hour race that Milner was able to catch and pass his Ferrari rival for good.
Said Gavin of his teammate’s final stint behind the wheel: “Tommy was relentless—chasing him down, chasing him down, putting the pressure on. It was a spectacular victory for everybody at Corvette Racing. I’m really delighted.”
While it was the first Corvette win at Sebring since 2009, the crew has been plenty busy in ALMS racing in the meantime. Milner and Gavin combined to bring home driver, team and manufacturer’s championships last year for Corvette Racing, which now has 73 ALMS victories to its credit—the most of any car in any class.
“What an incredible effort by Corvette Racing; these guys never gave up,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president for Chevrolet Performance Vehicles & Motorsports. “They came from behind multiple times. It was a focused team effort, with great driving and great calls in the pits, and great pit stops, and they delivered a big win. I’m proud of them.”
(The Corvette team’s second car—piloted by Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor—retired with gearbox problems just before the nine-hour mark of the race and finished in 11th position in the GT Class.)
Courtesy of Chevrolet in the News
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