Factory 'Vettes in 2001

[Matt Harper]

You may remember a little argey-bargey after the 2001 race, owing to the GTS winning Corvettes spending over an hour sitting in the pits, allegedly 'running-down the clock', assuring victory in the class, as all of the meaningful competition had retired.
GM insisted that this was not the case (being contrary to the ACO's rules on 'parking') and stated that both cars' starter motors needed replacing - a wee bit lame, given the lack of competition and a mere 2 stops before the end.
For 10 points, what was the real reason the 'Vettes sat in the pits so long on that Sunday afternoon?
Clue: It was a head-office decision.....

[Steve Pyro]

Clue: It was a head-office decision.....

Were they being cleaned, polished and valeted for a side by side finish photo ?

[Matt Harper]

Nay lad, - more political than that......

[Robbo SPS]

To prove just how easily they had beaten the competition.

and who as doing the last stint.

Punch- up in the puits ?

[Fax]

I'm guessing the number of laps completed had something to do with cubic inches...It was just a stab.  Either that or all the Vette guys got completely pissed at lunch and had to sleep it off.
John

[rcutler]

Was it not GM's 100th Birthday that year and they had done a relevent number of laps?

I know that Prodrive's Ferrari 550 went into the pits last year about 3pm for a good spit and polish!

[Matt Harper]

No, no, no, think GM corporate - their 'prestige' brand......

[Steve Pyro]

No, no, no, think GM corporate - their 'prestige' brand......

Arh harh, must be something to do with Cadillac then.

Were they fixing the Cadillac's so the 'Vettes waited until the Caddys were out on the circuit again for a GM formation finish?

[jpchenet]

No, no, no, think GM corporate - their 'prestige' brand......

Arh harh, must be something to do with Cadillac then.

Were they fixing the Cadillac's so the 'Vettes waited until the Caddys were out on the circuit again for a GM formation finish?

Or were the GTS Corvettes running tooooooo well and they wanted their LMP Cadillac to finish ahead of them.

[Matt Harper]

Bang on, JPC.
The stuffed shirts at GM insisted that the Cadillac - running in the prototype class needed to finish ahead of the lowly 'vettes - so they were parked for well over an hour, while the Caddy thumped around the circuit to catch-up.
Whilst at Sebring,  Fax steered me to Classic Impressions' tent and pointed out the most fantastic case-bound book, "Corvette Thunder - 50 Years of Corvette Racing" by Dave Friedman. The author was on hand and kindly signed my copy for me.
The book covers this incident and may other fascinating anecdotes, for fans of the marque, like myself.
Needless to say, it seems that Messrs  Fellows, Pruett, O'Connel, Pilgrim, Collins and Freon were a little pissed-off about the decision, but professionalism prevailed, as you'd expect from such a tight team.
They are going to have it tough again this year with Prodrives 575 Maranello's (the privateer Ferrari's are no match) and Michelin tyres on the C5's will be an equaliser. I think this (GTS) will be the race to watch in June

[Fax]

Excellent Matt,
Had us stumped on that one.  It's a shame that GM pulled the plug on the Caddies just as they finally seemed to be getting their act togther, the podium at the Petit being their swansong.  There have been several Corvette racing books released lately but the Friedman book is now considered the "Bible" on the history of the racing Vettes.
John