The 50th Annual Mobil 1
12 Hours of Sebring
Presented by Dodge
March 13-16, 2002
Reigning ALMS GTS Champions, Corvette Racing, are ready to start the defense of their 2001 title at next week's 50th running of America's oldest sportscar race, the Sebring 12 Hours. To do so they have further developed the Daytona and Le Mans-winning Corvette C5-R and added Briton Oliver Gavin to its drivers line-up.
The Sebring 12 Hours were first held in 1952 on the old World War II air base known as Hendricks Field. Since then 2,556 drivers have driven 3,093 cars in 588 hours of racing, totaling some 1.4 million competition miles. To celebrate the 50th anniversary in style, Sebring can count on a record 60-car field, with an additional six cars on a waiting list. Needless to say that the competition will be very tough in all of the four classes. Whereas last year the Corvettes had to deal with one Saleen and two Vipers, this year they are facing three Saleens, five Vipers and two Ferraris. And it looks likely that this trend will continue for the rest of the 2002 American Le Mans Series, which means the Corvettes will face their fiercest competition yet.
"Duplicating last season's success will be difficult," says Corvette Program Manager Doug Fehan, "but we have made some significant improvements to the car and its reliability and also in its performance. We have made a little gain in aerodynamics and in the engine as well. In addition Goodyear has worked quite hard on both compound and construction issues. We have put a lot of miles on both cars, somewhere near 1,000 miles per car at the most recent test. By using both cars, we can test something on one car - then validate it on the other car. We can accomplish more in a shorter period of time using both cars this way. All in all, I think we will begin the season at Sebring with a little better car than we ended the season with last year."
The team is fully aware that wins won't come easy this year as the American Le Mans Series is getting tougher every year. "We are very excited about the arrival of new competition and are looking forward to additional manufacturers in '03 and '04. The series really looks to be gaining some serious momentum," Fehan says. "The competition is probably the deepest we have ever faced. But we fear no vehicle or team. We do, however, have a very healthy respect for everyone we race against. Each of them is capable of winning at any given event."
Nevertheless the team's objectives for 2002 are clear: "Our objectives are class victories at Le Mans and Petit Le Mans combined with a Manufacturers' Championship for Corvette. That is very aggressive but we have to continue to challenge ourselves if we are to improve."
To help Corvette achieve these goals the team has recruited one of their toughest opponents from last year, Oliver Gavin. His natural speed and technical feedback made him a natural choice for the team. The 2001 Sebring winner will be teaming up with Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell.
"The testing program has been very structured and very productive for the whole team," Gavin says. "Testing has gone very well for me and I seem to be fitting in with the team quite well. I am learning a lot from Ron and Johnny. They will be great teammates."
"Andy Pilgrim has been of great help getting me comfortable in the car. The Corvette is a little bit warm to drive. I have never driven a car quite so hot and with so much vibration with that big Corvette engine in front and the exhaust pipes right by the side of the doors. There is a tremendous amount of heat, noise and vibration but I am adapting to it quickly."
With the Miami race having been moved to the end of the season (the week before Petit Le Mans), the Sebring 12 Hours will be the only competitive outing for the Corvettes before they are being shipped to Le Mans for the Open test day on May 5. Which means that trying to finally win America's oldest sportscar race will be even more important.
2002 Sebring Index
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