Winner of the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans in LM GTE Pro, Corvette Racing will return in 2012 with a slightly reworked driver line-up. The official team will race again the American Le Mans Series and will defend the LM GTE Pro title in La Sarthe next June.

After the departure of Johnny O'Connell, this time it is Olivier Beretta, who disappears from the list of official drivers. The Monégasque, six-time winner in class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (3 times in LM GTS and 3 times in LM GT1), gives way to Antonio Garcia for the American Le Mans Series. The Spaniard will reinforce the Corvette team for long races such as Sebring, Petit Le Mans and Le Mans of course where he had a class victory in 2011 with Beretta and Tommy Milner.

Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen and Tommy Milner remain, along with Richard Westbrook, who will continue to support the team for long races. They welcome a new driver whose name is not unknown for motorsport fans, Jordan Taylor, the son of Wayne Taylor, a native of South Africa.

The latter has had a remarkable career in endurance racing, participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans thirteen times and won a class victory in 1998 driving a Ferrari 333 SP. He also put his name on the winners roster of the 12 Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona twice. In 2005 he won the title and now owns the SunTrust Racing team, racing in the Grand-Am Daytona Prototype category.

Wayne Taylor has crossed paths with General Motors on several occasions: He took part in the adventure of Cadillac in LM P1 in the early 2000s. His two sons have also grown up in the middle of the motor sport and both put on the combination of driver. At 20, Jordan Taylor will debut in endurance racing in the three major classics of Sebring, Petit Le Mans and Le Mans.

"Corvette Racing is one of the most iconic names in motorsports, and joining this team is a huge opportunity for me," said Taylor, a student at the University of Central Florida. "There are certainly going to be challenges as I learn the capabilities of the Corvette C6.R race cars, become familiar with the team, adapt to new tracks, and race with new competitors. It's going to be amazing to race a Corvette at Sebring, Le Mans, and Road Atlanta, and I can't wait to get started!"

The Corvette Racing team combines experienced drivers and those preparing for the future with Jordan Taylor as they did with Tommy Milner. Mark Kent, director of GM Racing "Corvette Racing has been working hard over the winter to develop a complete package of cars, drivers, team, and technology that will be able to win in this extremely competitive environment."

Corvette Racing season will begin at Sebring in March. The American team will try to win a victory that eluded them in 2011, the two cars finishing third and fourth.

Cécile Bonardel (Source: Corvette Racing press information)

Photo : Le Mans (Sarthe, France), 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, RACE, 12 juin 2011. Corvette Racing announce drivers for 2012.