#CorvetteRacing

Set to compete in next season’s newly formed United SportsCar Racing Series, the Corvette Racing C7.R livery have been revealed. 

Corvette Racing capped off a very successful 2012 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) campaign with a victory at Virginia International Raceway.

Next year, Chevrolet will celebrate the Corvette’s 60th anniversary and the famous American sports car will be the featured marque at the 2013 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca next August.

Ever wonder what it takes to get ready for one of the most rigorous races in the world? Corvette Racing is releasing a five-part video series giving enthusiasts an inside look at the team as it gets ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

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.

This weekend’s famed 24 Hours of Le Mans race will have full coverage thanks to Speed TV and Corvette Racing. Though only 17 hours of live coverage will be done on television, Corvette Racing and Speed TV will be hosting an additional seven hours of content, including a live stream of in-car coverage from one of the Corvette Racing machines. The No. 73 Chevrolet Corvette will play host to the live stream as it seeks out its seventh class win at Le Mans.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Corvette Racing’s Youtube series continues for yet another episode, but this time, goes behind the scenes to look at the logistics of bringing the team over to France, weeks ahead of the LeMans race, just to prepare for 24 hours of wheel to wheel action.

The most interesting aspect of the video is how things like food are dealt with by the team. Believe it or not, one of the staffers here has experience cooking for large groups of people at a summer camp, and it was one of the most demanding jobs on his resume (somewhere between automotive journalist and State Fair carny – but that’s another story). At a summer camp, the young campers are far less picky, but a race team is not only used to decent quality food (especially the mega-buck sponsors), but nutritional requirements are extremely important for the pro drivers, who operate like athletes of the highest caliber.

Along the way, we also see the drivers parade, the autograph sessions but no on-car action. Hopefully episode 8 will deliver the goods with a roaring V8 soundtrack and more exotic locales.

Episode 6 of the Corvette Racing Series is the big one; the team gets ready for the 24 Hours of LeMans race, a mere two days after their Laguna Seca event.

Having to assemble and ship 14 tons of gear on 48 hours is no easy feat, but couple that with having to win the world’s most grueling sports car race, and commemorate the 5oth anniversary of the Corvette’s LeMans debut, and you have a recipe for high stress.

Just as you would expect, some high drama does occur, but the Corvette squad does an admirable job of dealing with the various crises thrown their way.

See the full video after the jump:

Danish racing driver Jan Magnussen, best known for his work as a factory driver for Corvette Racing in the ALMS and 24 Hours of Le Mans, is scheduled to join fellow Scandinavian Mattias Ekstrom at the upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway. We’re not sure what’s behind the Viking invasion of NASCAR these days, but we suspect it may have something to do with Hagar The Horrible.

When the clock struck 12 today at Le Circuit de La Sarthe, Audi took home a stunning sweep of the podium at this year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the Peugeot 908’s showing considerably more pace during qualifying, not even Audi Motorsports boss Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich would have predicted a 1-2-3 finish for their R15 TDI diesel-powered LMP1 machines.

According to Ullrich, “At the beginning it was a little unlucky for us but at the end it all worked fine. It’s a great reward for all the work that everyone [at Audi Motorsports] has done. I think this has to be the hardest Le Mans we’ve ever done.”

Dr. Ullrich was congratulated by his counterpart at Peugeot, Director of Motorsport Olivier Quesnel, straight after the race. Ullrich returned the favor by paying tribute to Audi’s arch rival Peugeot by remarking on the camararderie between the two teams. “In sport when someone wins then someone else loses, but when the loser comes and congratulates the winner it is all very sporting. That is what we did last year and that’s what Peugeot has done this year. It has been a fantastic battle, we’ve invited the Peugeot guys to a party tonight and we hope that  they will all come”.

For Audi this is their 9th victory at Le Mans, tying them with Ferrari as the second winningest team in history ( Porsche having 16 wins to their name). The winning #9 Audi, driven by Mike Rockenfeller, Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard, also set a new distance record by completing 397 laps at an average speed of 225.228 km/h.

This was also Michelin’s 19th Le Mans victory and the 27th time the race has been won by a German car.

Results from LMP2, GT1 and GT2 after the jump:

[Source: lemans.org]