Corvette: new tyres, new drivers for 2004

[Mr. Rick]

Hmmm, jigsaw pieces beginning to fit into place ... two Panoz drivers now with Corvette and a switch to Michelin rubber in a bid to catch those Ferraris!

http://www.maisonblanche.co.uk/n040109.html

[Matt Harper]

It's often been said that even a very accomplished team will need three attempts to be successful at Le Mans. McLaren bucked that trend in '95, but on the whole, it's been a reasonably reliable statement (witness TWR Jaguar, Sauber, Chevrolet and lately, Ferrari).
The factory Corvette campaign started covertly with Agusta Racing and Reeves Callaway, using the C4 car and the ZLT1 engine. The current C5 still uses the relatively lazy motor, but the horsepower, torque and driveability have improved since the mid '90s.
It took the Maranello 3 years to match the Corvette in terms of reliability and the sunsequent close racing in GTS hasn't been given the coverage it deserves. I worry that it will take more than Michelin tyres and a couple of new drivers to allow the 'Vette to overhaul the now dominant 550/575 - but the Chevy team are highly professional and the 'will to win' counts for a lot in endurance racing.
We should get a good indicator at Sebring, but I'm hopeful that the GTS race will be super-intensive and 'the one to watch' in June.
The prototype race is a foregone conclusion, in my opinion.    

[gibberish]

It's often been said that even a very accomplished team will need three attempts to be successful at Le Mans. McLaren bucked that trend in '95, but on the whole, it's been a reasonably reliable statement (witness TWR Jaguar, Sauber, Chevrolet and lately, Ferrari).

Ahem,  Matt old chum, are we forgetting a certain team from 2003?  Took them 3 attempts as well.  This time round anyway!

[Matt Harper]

Technically you're right Gibb - however, I am a cynical bastard and do not consider the Bentley to be anything other than a green Audi.

[gibberish]

My dear Matt

I would refer you to an earlier (months ago) post from a short term member of the Bently team, where he went to great lengths to point out that the Bently's only real connection with Audi was that the engine was made in the same factory to their own (Bently's) design.

Sorry I can't remember where the post is, but it was most emphatic that the Bently could not, in any way, be considered to be some sort of Audi.

I Understand a certain amount of cynicesm, but I'll take the word of a team member

[Fax]

I don't really see the driver changes at Corvette as anything significant.  I can't imagine Papis, Beretta & Magnassun doing any better of a job than Andy Pilgrim or Kelly Collins did.  Maybe a little more "star appeal".  The switch to Michelin's however should be interesting.  The Vettes have always looked very good over the bumps and surface changes of Sebring on their Goodyears, curious to see if they work as well on the new French skins.
I'm stay'in outa the Bentley debate.
John

[BigH]

Gibbo, I'm afraid I go along with Matts green Audi reasoning here, I mean, it's not likely a Bentley team member is going to turn around and admit to being cleaned out by the hun.
Looking around the pits I recognised quite a few Audi faces in Bentley overalls, and the whole pit set up and organisation was very German/Audi (I'm not talking sausages here, but you know what I mean). Are you trying to tell me that none of the lessons learnt and R&D over the last few years at Audi was made available to the boys in green?
No, all a bit soulless if you ask me, in fact I could hardly raise my flagpole at 3.00 Sunday afternoon.
I mean, British teams are meant to have people in the background fashioning vital widgets at the last minute from lumps of coal, and they borrow minor items like engine components and brylcreme from the man knocking up Grand Marnier crepes at 2:30 in the morning. And the team principal usually has his mum there making the tea. In fact, tea was completely absent from the Bentley strategy, and at that, I rest my case.
H

[Fax]

I think what really bothers me about the Bentley effort is the whole "well thats it, we've won it once, now we're pulling the plug and we're gone"  What the f**k is that all about?  Prove you can win more than once, win races over the course of a season, etc.  In ten or fifteen years I can't see anyone getting all misty-eyed about this Bentley effort the way people do about the Silk Cats.
John

[Mr. Rick]

Bentley was always only a 3 year deal to coincide with the launch of the Continental GT.

And as for the Audi connection, a certain Dr. Ullrich was hanging around rather a lot, photographic evidence somewhere .. back in a few ticks ........

[Mr. Rick]

When resizing to post here, also happened to notice the logo on his headset, looks very "winged" to me (rather than "ringed" if you know what I mean"!!)

 

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[Mr. Rick]

And another taken a few minutes before, note headset again, even though he is up at the Champion Audi pit!

 

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[Mr. Rick]

In fact, tea was completely absent from the Bentley strategy, and at that, I rest my case.

Tee hee, but too true!!

To stand by during a pit stop and hear nothing but German being shouted between the mechanics rather took the edge off things for me!

[Robbo SPS]

In fact, tea was completely absent from the Bentley strategy, and at that, I rest my case.

Tee hee, but too true!!

To stand by during a pit stop and hear nothing but German being shouted between the mechanics rather took the edge off things for me!

Rick i could have lived my entire life without hearing that.

But to add something very British , i watched the end of the race, with 75% of the Bentley Factory staff , who had been brought over all expenses paid by Bentley to see what turned out to be Glory.

No German accountant would stop the Audi factory for that.


For me the car started out as a british project and will always be that, Ze Germans just helped out , like  French tyres on an american legend of a car. ( Yes i know the EXP8 was on french rubber too) .

[BigH]

I forget who said (mind you, I forget a lot) "Motorsport is a sport, not a business. That's why it's called Motorsport, not motorbusiness", although fax will probably tell me, but that pretty well sums up the VAG approach for me, too much business and not enough sport. If they had any sporting soul at all, then Bentley would be back.
Along with the Bentley logo on his bins, I notice the Audi document holder round his neck. Now what's he got on his pants? (the waistband, that is)
H

[Matt Harper]

Of course, there is a danger that we could get into a patriotism-fueled row here and I do not wish to belittle the achievement of the Bentley effort. That said, it would be naieve to suggest that the Bentley car was not merely a development of the 1999 spec Audi R8 LMGTP.
At Sebring and Le Mans one of the cars was run covertly by Joest, the basis a fairly serious inter-team rivalry, so lets not kid ourselves.  
I must agree with my good friend Fax on the other point too. Winning once (on the coat tails of Ingoldstadt) and then jacking the whole job in. That was a bit of a slap in the face for the fans, I'd suggest.
Still - I think overall victory could very easily go to Veloqx Audi UK this year - giving British fans something to celebrate (as if we need an excuse at Le Mans). To go back to my earlier posting in this thread, I think the real race will be in GTS this year - Prodrive being predominantly British, running a pair of pasta kettles and GM, being baby-eating yanks, running the totally gorgeous C5R's. Not that I'm biased at all, you understand....