Missed chances blot Corvette Racing’s 20th straight appearance and a farewell to the venerable C7.R at Le Mans
Going into the race, many experts figured the Corvette was the car to beat.
That prediction held up until….
On a scheduled stop with just 3 hours to go, # 63 Antonio Garcia got stuck in pit lane, ending its chances. A slip by the LMP2 Nederland Dallara brought out the safety car.
It split the GTE PRO field, including the Corvette, from catching the winner # 51 Ferrari 488 of Allesandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Daniel Serra and # 91 Porsche 911 RSR.
Just a quarter into the race, # 64 Marcel Fassler got crashed out by # 88 rookie Satoshi Hoshino driving the Patrick Dempsey Proton Porsche GTE AM. It remains hard to say who was at fault. Caught on video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1F95wNdw-4 and
Trying to make up for the pit stop/safety car debacle, Jan Magnussen lost it, hit the tyre barriers at the Porsche curves, lost 2 laps for repairs and finished 9th.
Doug Fehan’s keys to success once again proved right. Don’t break it; Don’t crash it; Don’t go off.
The Pratt & Miller boys head home undaunted. It was a professional effort all- out effort for the win, no finger pointing.
Results compiled by Wayne Ellwood.
Video: GM 20 years at Le Mans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBrpozGCSdY
This Corvette race report reflects opinions, observations and information gathered from a variety of unofficial sources and may differ from other accounts.
Epilogue: The Ford-backed GT program is done but that won’t stop the privateers. Same for BMW.