Corvette Racing Tops Grand Prix of Mosport Podium for Team's First ALMS Win of 2011

The bright yellow Corvette Racing C6.Rs may have raced to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the team’s efforts at home have been met with less spectacular results. To be fair, Corvette Racing cars have landed a spot on the podium twice this season, but the team has also suffered some major setbacks in other races. As perhaps a sign that Corvette Racing may reclaim some of its former glory the No. 4 car of Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen finally clinched the top spot on the podium at the Grand Prix of Mosport over the weekend.

A combination of hard driving, excellent pit stops and a bit of luck put the Corvette in first. Starting in just sixth position in the GT class the No. 4 Vette emerged from the pits in 3rd place after the first round of stops. With Oliver Gavin piloting the car for the first half of the race, Jan Magnussen took over, passing one of the Risi Competizione Ferrari 458 Italias near the end of the race. Then, with just laps to go, Dirk Werner, driving the No. 55 BMW was forced to pit for a stop-and-go penalty after making contact with one of the slower GTC cars, allowing Magnussen to move into first.

He held on to take the checkered flag and subsequently end BMW’s dominance in the series. “We got our first win on the board and we’ve broken BMW’s stranglehold on ALMS victories this year. I’m absolutely delighted!” said Oliver Gavin.

The No. 3 Corvette driven by Tommy Milner and Olivier Beretta managed a sixth place finish, starting 8th on the grid and eventually climbing to 4th until contact with the very gold No. 11 Porsche GTC car resulted in a spin.

The next race on the ALMS calendar is at Mid Ohio in two weeks time.