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 Corvette unveiled the new Racing Corvette C6 R
corvette racing will open a modern chapter with the competition debut of the next-generation corvette c6.r at the mid-ohio sports car lesson upon august 6-8. in anticipation of a single gt lesson in 2010 , corvette racing will test and develop the latest corvette c6.r in the gt2 category in the ultimate five rounds of the 2009 american le mans sequence. with the upcoming impel to a unified gt category , the twin compuware corvette c6.r race cars will compete against rivals representing ferrari , porsche , bmw , aston martin , jaguar , viper , panoz , and ford.
Based upon the corvette zr1 supercar , the next-generation corvette c6.r has flat stronger links to the production version of america's performance icon than its predecessors. the gt2 rules require the implement of a Heap Of production-based components , expanding the opportunities for the two-way transfer of engineering between the race track and the showroom. the updated corvette c6.r utilizes the zr1's carcass scheme , aerodynamic package , aluminium construct and chassis constitution , steering system , windscreen , and other components. the race team has prepared the cars for the rigours of endurance racing with safety and performance modifications as permitted by the gt2 rules.
"one of the a Heap Of benefits of the corvette racing program has been the possibility to demonstrate the engineering transfer between the race car and the production car , " said flaw kent , gm racing manager. "the global movement toward a single gt lesson will permit us to compete head-to-head with extra marketplace competitors while incrementing both the production content of the corvette c6.r race cars and the relevance of racing to our customers. this is a step that positions corvette for the future of production-based sports car racing worldwide , and a impel that is customarily aligned with gm's marketing and commerce objectives in racing."
Previous versions of the corvette c5-r and c6.r race cars hold dominated the gts and gt1 categories in the final decade , winning 77 races and eight consecutive alms championships. the gt1 corvettes were retired following corvette racing's sixth victory in the 24 hours of le mans upon june 14 , 2009.
"in our decade in gt1 , our necessary focus has been upon racing victories and the validation of the corvette as a world-class sports car , " said tadge juechter , corvette chief engineer. "as an genuine way to communicate to knowledgeable customers , nothing beats racing. as a cost-effective means to improve vehicle performance , nothing beats racing. these are the reasons racing is in corvette's dna.
"behind the scenes , the race team and the production car team hold grown closer together , finding a Heap Of ways to befriend each other and to construct both cars better , " juechter said. "most automotive companies bestow lip service to claims love 'racing improves the breed' or 'race upon sunday , vend upon monday'. for team corvette , it is a daily reality. it is now impossible to fancy one team without the other."
The upcoming gt regulations required a comprehensible redesign of the corvette c6.r package. in post of the gt1 corvette's steel construct , the gt2 version utilizes the production zr1's hydroformed aluminium construct as the foundation for a fully integrated tubular steel safety cage. the gt1 version's broad , louvered fenders are replaced by production-based zr1 fenders with wheel flares. in accordance with the aerodynamic regulations , the raise wing is reduced 25 percent in width , the diffuser is a insipid panel without fences or strakes , and the splitter extends just as far as its production zr1 likeness. steel brake rotors hold replaced the carbon discs utilised previously , and the wheels are aluminium instead of magnesium. the adjustable steering column and steering rack are sourced from the street corvette.
"integrating a steel safety cage that meets gm racing's stringent criteria as customarily as the force and durability targets required in racing is a challenge with an aluminium construct , " explained corvette racing engineering director doug louth. "working in conjunction with the constitution and chassis engineers in the corvette production group , we designed , built and tested a Heap Of examples before we finalized the conformation. we went through a similar procedure with the production corvette group upon the carcass scheme and aero components. it was truly a collaborative campaign between the production engineers and the race team."
In the remaining races in 2009 , the corvette race cars will be powered by 6.0-liter gm small-block v8s that are based upon the 7.0-liter ls7.r that powered the gt1 version. this discount in displacement was achieved by shortening the crankshaft stroke from 3.875-inch to 3.32-inch. the diameter of the series-mandated intake air restrictors was decreased from 30.6 mm to 28.6 mm , with a corresponding discount in engine output from 590 to 470 horsepower. a 5.5-liter production-based gm small-block v8 is currently under development and will be introduced at the inaugurate of the 2010 season. the corvette racing team is continuing its commitment to green racing with the implement of e85r ethanol racing fuel.
While much of the hardware has changed , corvette racing's catalogue of championship-winning drivers carcass the same. johnny o'connell and jan magnussen will participate the no. 3 compuware corvette c6.r , and oliver gavin and olivier beretta will drive the no. 4 compuware corvette c6. r. they will be joined by antonio garcia and marcel fassler at petit le mans.
Corvette racing likewise has the continued befriend of its long-time sponsors and technical partners. compuware is the team's necessary sponsor , with mobil 1 supplying low-friction lubricants and michelin providing its world-class racing tires. corvette racing's sponsors likewise include xm satellite radio , uaw-gm , genuine corvette accessories , bose , motorola , prs guitars , and bbs.
"compuware leads the earth in application performance solutions , and partnering with corvette racing gives us another high-tech , high-performance and high-impact platform for intercommunicating to our customers and opportunities , " said compuware chairman and ceo peter karmanos , jr. "the launch of the corvette c6.r in gt2 is a large extension to our relationship with popular motors , chevy and corvette. we look perverse to flat extra victories in the months ahead."
The gt2-spec corvettes were designed , built and tested upon a compressed catalogue. the program was approved and announced in september 2008 , and construction of the introductory chassis began in early december. the introductory track test was guided at road atlanta upon april 8-9 , followed by single-car tests in elkhart lake , wis. , and sebring , fla.
"the corvette racing team had to take upon several challenges simultaneously to slay this program , " said doug fehan , corvette racing program manager. "we were preparing for our steady race season with the gt1 cars while crafty the gt2 version. the cars were being built and tested in the midst of our preparations for le mans. the team was multi-tasking to the extreme , operating upon a leaner budget and a faster timeline. it was a monumental campaign to hold these cars ready for the mid-ohio race."
Advanced engineering tools enabled corvette racing to encounter the challenge. "with the short development catalogue , we relied upon 'virtual' scheme and computer simulation extra than ever before , " said team manager gary pratt. "we made scheme , engineering and constructing simultaneous processes as much as possible. for example , while the introductory chassis was being built , we continued to operated computer simulations upon suspension geometry and refined the aerodynamics using cfd (computational liquid dynamics) because these areas didn't hold to be finalized until latter in the production timeline. we hold developed the capabilities to accomplish finite element analysis and composite falsehood in-house , which has accelerated our scheme and production cycle.
"we're not running for a championship this year , customarily we're looking at the upcoming races as preparation for 2010 , " pratt said. "our just testing from this point upon will be at the races , and we'll be executing it in the public eye. certainly we hope to accomplish the same flat of success that we did in gt1 , but the calibre of the competition we will face in gt2 is very towering. when we started in gt1 in 1999 , it took a while to win; now we hold 10 years of experience that should befriend us to become competitive in a modern category. everyone at corvette racing is looking perverse to the challenge."
Fehan is confident but canny with Regards To corvette racing's opportunities in the gt2 category: "in the limited testing we've done customarily far , we've been very impressed with the car's durability , reliability and performance , " he said. "we'll continue to focus upon those three factors in the upcoming races. we peep the rest of this year as a development cycle , and we fancy that our experience as a team in preparation , race strategy , and cave stop execution should permit us to be competitive flat provided there is a slight performance disparity."
The gt2 version of the corvette c6.r will construct its debut in the acura sports car challenge at the mid-ohio sports car lesson in lexington , ohio. the two-hour , 45-minute race is scheduled to inaugurate at 3 p.m. edt upon saturday , august 8. abc will televise the race tape-delayed at 2:30 p.m. edt upon sunday , august 9.
About popular motors: popular motors formation , one of the world's largest automakers , traces its roots back to 1908. with its global headquarters in detroit , gm employs 235 , 000 individuals in every major region of the earth and does commerce in a Heap Of 140 countries. gm and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries , and vend and service these vehicles through the following brands: buick , cadillac , chevrolet , gmc , gm daewoo , holden , opel , vauxhall and wuling. gm's largest national market is the unified states , followed by china , brazil , the unified kingdom , canada , russia and germany. gm's onstar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety , security and information services. popular motors formation acquired operations from popular motors corporation upon july 10 , 2009 , and references to prior periods in this and other concourse materials refer to operations of the antique popular motors corporation. extra information upon the modern popular motors formation may be inaugurate at www.gm.com.
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