Corvette a double in the U.S.?

Already legendary on the  road for over sixty years, the Corvette brand has carved  superb sporting achievements since the early 2000s, with no less than nine wins in various categories in GTs at the24 Hours of Le Mans from 2001 to 2012 and has also secured wins in the ALMS in the same period. A few years ago, there was talk that the American company wound run a prototype at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This idea did not come into being at the Sarthe, but in the United States, it saw the creation of the Corvette DP,  to run in Daytona Prototypes, the main category of the Grand Am series.

Appearing in early 2012, the resulting car did not lack pace, especially with its rear engine visible behind a translucent bubble reminiscent of the famous 1963 Corvette Sting Ray. On track, the Corvette DP won their first victory in the second round of Grand Am 2012, with Antonio Garcia and Richard Westbrook, factory Corvette drivers at Le Mans. In two seasons, the Corvette DP has won six victories in twenty four races, while the duo of Max Angelelli and Jordan Taylor gained their first drivers' title in  Grand Am last weekend ... and maybe a second title will come to the ALMS GT factory team? We will find out on October 5th,  in Virginia (see www.virnow.com).

In 2014, ALMS (see www.alms.com) and Grand Am (see www.grand-am.com) will be united under the banner of the Tudor United  Sportscar Championship (see www.unitedsportscar.com). Will we see the Corvette in both prototypes and GT classes  and will the American GTE win again in the Sarthe? That would make history, with  the seventh generation of this sports icon, the C7.R, which will be on racing next year.

Sit alongside Ricky Taylor, aboard his Corvette Daytona Prototype.

For more images please visit: www.lemans-tv.com

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO