Corvettes DNF at Le Mans
06-13-2010, 02:57 PM
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Corvettes DNF at Le Mans
Bad news, especially if you do not already know. Both the Corvette Racing Team's cars (#63 & #64) retired from the race due to engine failures. This is terrible news because in 11 years of racing at Le Mans, the Corvette Racing team had never experienced an engine failure. As a result a Porsche won the GT2 Class trophy.
To recap, the #63 car experienced an apparent engine failure at about 15 hours into the race. The car was holding the 2nd place spot in GT2, at the time, behind its teammate, the #64 Corvette. The Corvette Racing Team Manager, Doug Fehan, stated: "We'll get the car back, take it apart, determine what the problem was, resolve it, and move forward. The engine was running perfectly one minute, and then not perfectly the next. There wasn't any indication leading up to it - no loss of oil pressure, no degradation in performance. The cause could be any number of things, so we'll look into it further before reaching a conclusion."
the GT2 Class pole qualifier, the #64 Corvette, led the class for almost 18 hours. But, almost an hour and a half after the #63 car retired the #64 Corvette crashed. When the driver at the time, Emmanuel Collard, was passed by the P1 Class race-leading Peugeot (which later retired), Collard lost control of the Corvette and slammed backwards into the guard rail. This impact destroyed the rear bodywork of the Corvette. Collard was able to drive it back to the pit where it took over 30 minutes to repair the damage. This dropped the #64 Corvette down to
5th in class, allowing two Porsches and two Ferarris to get ahead. The Corvette was reportedly running better AFTER the repairs and time was being made up when less than an hour after rejoining the race, the engine failed. Thus ended the Corvette Racing Team's GT2 Le Mans effort for this year.
On a bright note, two American-made cars did well in GT1. The Saleen
S7, which led the GT1 Class for the entire race, won its class while a Corvette owned by a French team took 2nd in GT1. -Clark
To recap, the #63 car experienced an apparent engine failure at about 15 hours into the race. The car was holding the 2nd place spot in GT2, at the time, behind its teammate, the #64 Corvette. The Corvette Racing Team Manager, Doug Fehan, stated: "We'll get the car back, take it apart, determine what the problem was, resolve it, and move forward. The engine was running perfectly one minute, and then not perfectly the next. There wasn't any indication leading up to it - no loss of oil pressure, no degradation in performance. The cause could be any number of things, so we'll look into it further before reaching a conclusion."
the GT2 Class pole qualifier, the #64 Corvette, led the class for almost 18 hours. But, almost an hour and a half after the #63 car retired the #64 Corvette crashed. When the driver at the time, Emmanuel Collard, was passed by the P1 Class race-leading Peugeot (which later retired), Collard lost control of the Corvette and slammed backwards into the guard rail. This impact destroyed the rear bodywork of the Corvette. Collard was able to drive it back to the pit where it took over 30 minutes to repair the damage. This dropped the #64 Corvette down to
5th in class, allowing two Porsches and two Ferarris to get ahead. The Corvette was reportedly running better AFTER the repairs and time was being made up when less than an hour after rejoining the race, the engine failed. Thus ended the Corvette Racing Team's GT2 Le Mans effort for this year.
On a bright note, two American-made cars did well in GT1. The Saleen
S7, which led the GT1 Class for the entire race, won its class while a Corvette owned by a French team took 2nd in GT1. -Clark
06-13-2010, 03:42 PM
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Bad news, especially if you do not already know. Both the Corvette Racing Team's cars (#63 & #64) retired from the race due to engine failures. This is terrible news because in 11 years of racing at Le Mans, the Corvette Racing team had never experienced an engine failure. As a result a Porsche won the GT2 Class trophy.
To recap, the #63 car experienced an apparent engine failure at about 15 hours into the race. The car was holding the 2nd place spot in GT2, at the time, behind its teammate, the #64 Corvette. The Corvette Racing Team Manager, Doug Fehan, stated: "We'll get the car back, take it apart, determine what the problem was, resolve it, and move forward. The engine was running perfectly one minute, and then not perfectly the next. There wasn't any indication leading up to it - no loss of oil pressure, no degradation in performance. The cause could be any number of things, so we'll look into it further before reaching a conclusion."
the GT2 Class pole qualifier, the #64 Corvette, led the class for almost 18 hours. But, almost an hour and a half after the #63 car retired the #64 Corvette crashed. When the driver at the time, Emmanuel Collard, was passed by the P1 Class race-leading Peugeot (which later retired), Collard lost control of the Corvette and slammed backwards into the guard rail. This impact destroyed the rear bodywork of the Corvette. Collard was able to drive it back to the pit where it took over 30 minutes to repair the damage. This dropped the #64 Corvette down to
5th in class, allowing two Porsches and two Ferarris to get ahead. The Corvette was reportedly running better AFTER the repairs and time was being made up when less than an hour after rejoining the race, the engine failed. Thus ended the Corvette Racing Team's GT2 Le Mans effort for this year.
On a bright note, two American-made cars did well in GT1. The Saleen
S7, which led the GT1 Class for the entire race, won its class while a Corvette owned by a French team took 2nd in GT1. -Clark
To recap, the #63 car experienced an apparent engine failure at about 15 hours into the race. The car was holding the 2nd place spot in GT2, at the time, behind its teammate, the #64 Corvette. The Corvette Racing Team Manager, Doug Fehan, stated: "We'll get the car back, take it apart, determine what the problem was, resolve it, and move forward. The engine was running perfectly one minute, and then not perfectly the next. There wasn't any indication leading up to it - no loss of oil pressure, no degradation in performance. The cause could be any number of things, so we'll look into it further before reaching a conclusion."
the GT2 Class pole qualifier, the #64 Corvette, led the class for almost 18 hours. But, almost an hour and a half after the #63 car retired the #64 Corvette crashed. When the driver at the time, Emmanuel Collard, was passed by the P1 Class race-leading Peugeot (which later retired), Collard lost control of the Corvette and slammed backwards into the guard rail. This impact destroyed the rear bodywork of the Corvette. Collard was able to drive it back to the pit where it took over 30 minutes to repair the damage. This dropped the #64 Corvette down to
5th in class, allowing two Porsches and two Ferarris to get ahead. The Corvette was reportedly running better AFTER the repairs and time was being made up when less than an hour after rejoining the race, the engine failed. Thus ended the Corvette Racing Team's GT2 Le Mans effort for this year.
On a bright note, two American-made cars did well in GT1. The Saleen
S7, which led the GT1 Class for the entire race, won its class while a Corvette owned by a French team took 2nd in GT1. -Clark
The #64 Chevrolet Corvette then lost the lead of the GT2 class after being run off the road by Anthony Davidson in the #1 Peugeot. Davidson was running two laps off the outright lead in third place, lapping five seconds quicker than the leading Audis as he tried desperately to claw the only remaining factory 908 back into contention for victory.
The Briton caught the #64 car, being driven by Emmanuel Collard, and tried to dive down the inside in the Porsche Curves. But the gap wasn't big enough, Collard didn't see him coming until it was too late, and the Corvette spun into the barrier
The Briton caught the #64 car, being driven by Emmanuel Collard, and tried to dive down the inside in the Porsche Curves. But the gap wasn't big enough, Collard didn't see him coming until it was too late, and the Corvette spun into the barrier
06-13-2010, 05:05 PM
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St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
well, not sure how the corvettes did in gt1 either, which is being discontinued after this year. I guess you gotta have an engine to finish the race (master of the obvious
).
just imagine if you were peugot tho, with 4 cars going kaput, all with right bank of engines out. oops!
as to the saleen, just think: a ten year old chassis and a car no longer produced. kind of impressive.
).just imagine if you were peugot tho, with 4 cars going kaput, all with right bank of engines out. oops!
as to the saleen, just think: a ten year old chassis and a car no longer produced. kind of impressive.
06-13-2010, 05:08 PM
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Thanks for the update. When I went to bed last night they were running 1 and 2. Got up this morning and they were down the charts. Never really heard what happend.
06-13-2010, 05:36 PM
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IMO its best to not mention race results in the title and label it a "spoiler." Lots of people record races to watch later and they don't want to know the results beforehand.
That said it's too bad Corvette didn't fare better at Le Mans. The guy who took out the 64 car should be fined. There's racing and then there's stupidity. I think he qualifies for the latter.
That said it's too bad Corvette didn't fare better at Le Mans. The guy who took out the 64 car should be fined. There's racing and then there's stupidity. I think he qualifies for the latter.
06-13-2010, 05:54 PM
#6
Melting Slicks
I saw it all. (Not the whole race. 
Just the couple hours that all the feces hit the proverbial fan for the Corvette team about 12-4am CST)
Engine failures...weren't they using the new LS9 based engines? No details were really given at the time other than "oiling issues". Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
"The crash" was the Corvette's fault, not the Peugeot. No contact was made. At first viewing, it looks as though the Peugeot is losing his inside line and pushing the Corvette to the outside and into the rough stuff near the edge, causing the rear to step out.
My analysis is that it was a miscommunication on both drivers' parts...but the C6R had the right of way and gave it up; The Corvettes' mistake was that he altered his line to make room for the Peugeot on the inside as the Peugeot was expecting to pass on the outside, then dropped inside as he saw the Vette moving away from the apex. That's just part of developing "racecraft" or technique.
Just a "racing thing" that sometimes happens in mixed class racing. The Corvette had claim to the corner, but he gave it up trying to honor the blue flag, caused confusion, and ended him up tail-first in the wall.
Noble and respectable, but not very smart. It's always the responsibility of the passer to get cleanly by the passee and the slower driver should not alter his line.
Though the Peugeot was not without fault. He was pressing the issue in a technical section because he was getting chased down. They were only 2 or so corners away from a straight. He could have waited just a few more seconds. But he HAD to get around that C6 so he could get a good run on the straightaway to leave his pursuer to deal with the Vette on the straight and lose time.
Anyway...the engine failures were a huge disappointment. The accident was just a "s**t happens" kinda thing.
Just the couple hours that all the feces hit the proverbial fan for the Corvette team about 12-4am CST)Engine failures...weren't they using the new LS9 based engines? No details were really given at the time other than "oiling issues". Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
"The crash" was the Corvette's fault, not the Peugeot. No contact was made. At first viewing, it looks as though the Peugeot is losing his inside line and pushing the Corvette to the outside and into the rough stuff near the edge, causing the rear to step out.
My analysis is that it was a miscommunication on both drivers' parts...but the C6R had the right of way and gave it up; The Corvettes' mistake was that he altered his line to make room for the Peugeot on the inside as the Peugeot was expecting to pass on the outside, then dropped inside as he saw the Vette moving away from the apex. That's just part of developing "racecraft" or technique.
Just a "racing thing" that sometimes happens in mixed class racing. The Corvette had claim to the corner, but he gave it up trying to honor the blue flag, caused confusion, and ended him up tail-first in the wall.
Noble and respectable, but not very smart. It's always the responsibility of the passer to get cleanly by the passee and the slower driver should not alter his line.
Though the Peugeot was not without fault. He was pressing the issue in a technical section because he was getting chased down. They were only 2 or so corners away from a straight. He could have waited just a few more seconds. But he HAD to get around that C6 so he could get a good run on the straightaway to leave his pursuer to deal with the Vette on the straight and lose time.
Anyway...the engine failures were a huge disappointment. The accident was just a "s**t happens" kinda thing.
Last edited by filmjay; 06-13-2010 at 05:57 PM.
06-13-2010, 06:00 PM
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IMO its best to not mention race results in the title and label it a "spoiler." Lots of people record races to watch later and they don't want to know the results beforehand.
That said it's too bad Corvette didn't fare better at Le Mans. The guy who took out the 64 car should be fined. There's racing and then there's stupidity. I think he qualifies for the latter.
That said it's too bad Corvette didn't fare better at Le Mans. The guy who took out the 64 car should be fined. There's racing and then there's stupidity. I think he qualifies for the latter.
06-13-2010, 06:31 PM
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St. Jude Donor '11, '13
Corvette Pit Stop coverage
Speed tv had a great but short focus on Corvette during a pit stop where they were changing front brake calipers and rotors. It was really cool to see how you can do a complete brake job in less than two minutes.
06-13-2010, 06:56 PM
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"The crash" was the Corvette's fault, not the Peugeot. No contact was made. At first viewing, it looks as though the Peugeot is losing his inside line and pushing the Corvette to the outside and into the rough stuff near the edge, causing the rear to step out.
My analysis is that it was a miscommunication on both drivers' parts...but the C6R had the right of way and gave it up; The Corvettes' mistake was that he altered his line to make room for the Peugeot on the inside as the Peugeot was expecting to pass on the outside, then dropped inside as he saw the Vette moving away from the apex. That's just part of developing "racecraft" or technique.
Just a "racing thing" that sometimes happens in mixed class racing. The Corvette had claim to the corner, but he gave it up trying to honor the blue flag, caused confusion, and ended him up tail-first in the wall.
Noble and respectable, but not very smart. It's always the responsibility of the passer to get cleanly by the passee and the slower driver should not alter his line.
Though the Peugeot was not without fault. He was pressing the issue in a technical section because he was getting chased down. They were only 2 or so corners away from a straight. He could have waited just a few more seconds. But he HAD to get around that C6 so he could get a good run on the straightaway to leave his pursuer to deal with the Vette on the straight and lose time.
Anyway...the engine failures were a huge disappointment. The accident was just a "s**t happens" kinda thing.
My analysis is that it was a miscommunication on both drivers' parts...but the C6R had the right of way and gave it up; The Corvettes' mistake was that he altered his line to make room for the Peugeot on the inside as the Peugeot was expecting to pass on the outside, then dropped inside as he saw the Vette moving away from the apex. That's just part of developing "racecraft" or technique.
Just a "racing thing" that sometimes happens in mixed class racing. The Corvette had claim to the corner, but he gave it up trying to honor the blue flag, caused confusion, and ended him up tail-first in the wall.
Noble and respectable, but not very smart. It's always the responsibility of the passer to get cleanly by the passee and the slower driver should not alter his line.
Though the Peugeot was not without fault. He was pressing the issue in a technical section because he was getting chased down. They were only 2 or so corners away from a straight. He could have waited just a few more seconds. But he HAD to get around that C6 so he could get a good run on the straightaway to leave his pursuer to deal with the Vette on the straight and lose time.
Anyway...the engine failures were a huge disappointment. The accident was just a "s**t happens" kinda thing.
06-13-2010, 07:03 PM
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St. Jude Donor '13
About a year ago, I remember reading that they were switching from Katech built/maintained engines, to GM built/maintained.
I wonder if that's relevant to what happened?
I wonder if that's relevant to what happened?
06-13-2010, 07:08 PM
#14
Le Mans Master
I saw it all. (Not the whole race. Just the couple hours that all the feces hit the proverbial fan for the Corvette team about 12-4am CST)
Engine failures...weren't they using the new LS9 based engines? No details were really given at the time other than "oiling issues". Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
"The crash" was the Corvette's fault, not the Peugeot. No contact was made. At first viewing, it looks as though the Peugeot is losing his inside line and pushing the Corvette to the outside and into the rough stuff near the edge, causing the rear to step out.
My analysis is that it was a miscommunication on both drivers' parts...but the C6R had the right of way and gave it up; The Corvettes' mistake was that he altered his line to make room for the Peugeot on the inside as the Peugeot was expecting to pass on the outside, then dropped inside as he saw the Vette moving away from the apex. That's just part of developing "racecraft" or technique.
Just a "racing thing" that sometimes happens in mixed class racing. The Corvette had claim to the corner, but he gave it up trying to honor the blue flag, caused confusion, and ended him up tail-first in the wall.
Noble and respectable, but not very smart. It's always the responsibility of the passer to get cleanly by the passee and the slower driver should not alter his line.
Though the Peugeot was not without fault. He was pressing the issue in a technical section because he was getting chased down. They were only 2 or so corners away from a straight. He could have waited just a few more seconds. But he HAD to get around that C6 so he could get a good run on the straightaway to leave his pursuer to deal with the Vette on the straight and lose time.
Anyway...the engine failures were a huge disappointment. The accident was just a "s**t happens" kinda thing.
Just the couple hours that all the feces hit the proverbial fan for the Corvette team about 12-4am CST)Engine failures...weren't they using the new LS9 based engines? No details were really given at the time other than "oiling issues". Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
"The crash" was the Corvette's fault, not the Peugeot. No contact was made. At first viewing, it looks as though the Peugeot is losing his inside line and pushing the Corvette to the outside and into the rough stuff near the edge, causing the rear to step out.
My analysis is that it was a miscommunication on both drivers' parts...but the C6R had the right of way and gave it up; The Corvettes' mistake was that he altered his line to make room for the Peugeot on the inside as the Peugeot was expecting to pass on the outside, then dropped inside as he saw the Vette moving away from the apex. That's just part of developing "racecraft" or technique.
Just a "racing thing" that sometimes happens in mixed class racing. The Corvette had claim to the corner, but he gave it up trying to honor the blue flag, caused confusion, and ended him up tail-first in the wall.
Noble and respectable, but not very smart. It's always the responsibility of the passer to get cleanly by the passee and the slower driver should not alter his line.
Though the Peugeot was not without fault. He was pressing the issue in a technical section because he was getting chased down. They were only 2 or so corners away from a straight. He could have waited just a few more seconds. But he HAD to get around that C6 so he could get a good run on the straightaway to leave his pursuer to deal with the Vette on the straight and lose time.
Anyway...the engine failures were a huge disappointment. The accident was just a "s**t happens" kinda thing.
06-13-2010, 08:36 PM
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