24h Le Mans
The run-up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans is always very busy and totally focused on the race. But what happens when the race is over? Briton Oliver Gavin spends time with his wife and children, who come to the race with him.
In 16 Le Mans 24 Hours, Gavin has taken 5 class wins, all with Corvette Racing, the team he joined in 2002. Last year Gavin and his crew were on the top step of the podium in LM GTE Pro but this year they retired when Tommy Milner lost control of the car entering the Dunlop chicane. The disappointment makes no difference to Gavin’s post-race plans.
Oliver Gavin: Every year after the 24 Hours of Le Mans I drive up to Rouen on the way home to the UK. We always stay in the same hotel. If the weather’s nice we lounge around the pool.
A 24-hour race takes a lot of energy. After all the emotional highs and lows of race week, just being with the kids is really grounding. You put things back into perspective. If we had a good result, there’s a party atmosphere and if it didn’t turn out well, the kids do their best to cheer me up.
Last year was really special. We won our class and Nick Tandy, who lives in the village where I grew up, won the race outright. Afterwards, we did lots of interviews and PR events like speaking in schools.
Once a year, General Motors organises a day at the National Corvette Museum at Bowling Green in Kentucky, USA. It’s a gathering for Corvette owners and there’s an award evening that provides the ideal opportunity to put the spotlight on the 24 Hours of Le Mans winners.
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