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| The Greatest Sports Car Race Team - Ever | |
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|  | | December 31 1969 07:00:30 PM EST | photo - Richard Prince |
| A historic milestone was reached yesterday at St. Petersburg.
What seemed an embarrassment to some, Team Corvette racing unchallenged yesterday in its GT1 class (like Speed Channel's post-race insult to Vette heros Beretta & Gavin: "so guys, I guess the biggest challenge to you in this race was avoiding the road debris...") was in fact a much bigger triumph than winning that trophy.
Back in '96 GM hatched the plan to enter and race their number 1 crown jewel in the most grueling and prestigious road race in the world: the 24 hours of Le Mans. For those first few years starting in '99 Corvette Racing routinely got their asses kicked by the likes of Vipers (remember them?) and Ferraris (remember them, too?).
It goes without saying that there were people within GM ready to pull the plug on this "embarrassment" right then and there.
But lead by Godug (& we mean lead) the team persevered, honed their skills, and stuck to three rules: Don't break it, Keep it on the track, and Take no prisoners.
It all started to pay off in 2001 and in the following 6 years they've so far tallied up 5 class victories at Le Mans, 6 ALMS class victories, 5 driver championships, 4 Sebring class wins...
One by one, faced with this "GM Dream Team", the competition dropped out. All the menacing "racing giants" - Viper, Ferrari, Saleen, Lamborghini, Maserati, Porsche, and Aston Martin - just disappeared...
Which brings us to yesterday.
The milestone reached goes well beyond racing and right to the heart of what a company can do when they put their passion, people, technology, and commitment to a goal: They become second to none.
We know & the world knows: Corvette Racing is second to none - Alexander the Great in Nomex. |
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