January 2012 - Page 2 of 15 - C6Performance Journal

January 28, 2012

Five Corvette Daytona Prototypes at Rolex 24 Race This Weekend

Five Corvette Daytona Prototype race cars are running at the Rolex 24 Race in Daytona this weekend. Plus, there’s a red street bodied car, Number 46, entered by Michael Baughman Racing. Plus, there are three Camaros! Chevy is all over this!

We had posted on the Corvette Daytona Prototype back in November, and pictured the same car shown here, but with four teams running, all five cars are unique in appearance.

The Corvette Teams and Cars:

SPIRIT OF DAYTONA RACING – Blue DP Car #90
Antonio Garcia – Oliver Gavin – Jan Magnussen – Richard Westbrook

GAINSCO / BOB STALLINGS RACING – Red DP Car #99
Jon Fogarty – Alex Gurney – Memo Gidley

ACTION EXPRESS RACING – Red, White & Blue DP Car #9
Terry Borcheller – J.C. France – Joao Barbosa – Max Papis

ACTION EXPRESS RACING – Blue, White & Red DP Car #5
Darren Law – David Donohue – Christian Fittipaldi

SUNTRUST RACING – Orange & White DP Car #10
Max Angelelli – Ricky Taylor – Ryan Briscoe

MICHAEL BAUGHMAN RACING – Red Grand Touring Car #46
Michael Baughman – Mike Yeakle – Ray Mason

Best wishes to all of our Corvette drivers!

January 27, 2012

Win a Corvette GS Convertible or 19 Other Chevys During Super Bowl XLVI

Chevrolet is giving away 20 cars and trucks – including a 2012 Corvette Grand Sport Convertible – from now until the end of Super Bowl XLVI. To be in contention for one of the prizes, you need to download the Chevy Game Time app and complete the registration to receive your own special “license plate”. If your license plate is drawn before the game or is shown in one of the Chevrolet Super Bowl commercials run during the game, you win!

The Chevy Game Time app also includes a game-time trivia contest. By using the app to answer the questions during the game, you could win one of 14 vehicles. Questions will range from favorite Super Bowl snacks to questions about Chevy and their partners. Each question you answer correctly is one more change to win a new Chevy!

Chevy’s partners for the Super Bowl promotion include Bridgestone, Motorola, NFL, Papa John’s Pizza and SirusXM Radio. Thousands of prizes will be given away using the Chevy Game Time App so get yours for iPhone or Android. If you don’t have a smartphone, you can register via Chevy’s Game Time website to get your custom license plate and to answer the trivia questions.

Chevy will be giving away a new Camaro SS before the game. Two winning license plates will be drawn in commercials during the game and two will be show on YouTube ads the morning after the Super Bowl. Winners will also be notified via email.

Source:
General Motors

January 27, 2012

Win a Corvette GS Convertible or 19 Other Chevys During Super Bowl XLVI

Source:
General Motors

January 27, 2012

GM Opens “Windows of Opportunity”

“Are we there yet?” It’s an all too common phrase parents hear during long road trips. Probably not heard too much from children in Corvettes, though!

However, in an effort to avoid this boredom and occupy children’s minds, GM has come up with something… something catchy.

Imagine a rear door window, converted into an augmented-reality screen. This is exactly what the Bezalel School of Art and Design in Israel has created – “Windows of Opportunity.” GM created this window concept after Toyota had released something very similar – “Window to the World” technology.

From interactively drawing on windows, to checking other vehicle’s window screens, four different apps have been created thus far for children and adults alike. The reality of this new window tech leaves production likely far off in the future. Some would think this to be a major improvement for rear seat passengers.

Obviously, unless Chevrolet decides to build four door Corvettes (a thought we have explored before), this will not work on a Vette, but do you see any possible application for America’s Sports Car?

You can see an interesting short video here, to learn more.

January 27, 2012

Burnout Super Test: Corvette Z06 Centennial versus Caddy CTS-V Coupe

Josh Jacquot has the second best job in the automobile industry (Jim Mero rules!) as he gets to lay down the rubber for InsideLine.com’s Burnout Super Test. Last time we checked, the Corvette Z06 Carbon was the reigning champ, defeating a Viper SRT-10 by 50 feet. Josh brings back the new Corvette Z06 Centennial and decides to go head to head with another GM vehicle in the 500+ hp club, the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe.

So who’s got this? The 556-hp CTS-V Coupe has a 51 hp advantage but the Corvette is wearing the new Pilot Sport Cup tires and weighs nearly 1000 pounds less. We won’t spoil the fun so watch the video or hit the link for the full article.

“At the heart of every burnout, there’s a lot of abuse.” – Josh Jacquot

Source:
Inside Line

January 27, 2012

Corvette marks 60 years of performance with 427 Convertible

Chevrolet has just unveiled the 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition – the fastest, most capable convertible in Corvette’s history – as well as a 60th Anniversary Package that will be available on all 2013 Corvette models.

January 26, 2012

New Corvette Daytona Prototypes Ready for this Weekendâ€™s 50th Anniversary Rolex 24

new-corvette-daytona-prototypes-ready-for-this-weekends-50th-anniversary-rolex-24

Chevrolet is ready to kick off the GRAND-AM Racing 2012 season as five new Corvette Daytona Prototypes are ready for their first combat mission at this weekend’s Rolex 24 at the Daytona International Speedway. The five Corvette DPs will allow Chevrolet to challenge for the overall win at the Rolex 24 for the first time in 11 years. Also competing at the Rolex 24 under the Team Chevy banner are three Camaros running in the GT class.

The new Corvette Daytona Prototypes made their debut last November. Four teams will run the five new prototypes: Action Express Racing, fielding the No. 5 Corvette DP and the No. 9 Corvette DP, SunTrust Racing Corvette DP No. 10, No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP and the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP.

At the Roar Before the 24 testing session, all five of the Corvette Daytona Prototypes took a turn at the top of the speed charts.

“This is an exciting time for Chevrolet,” said Mark Kent, GM Racing Director. “We roll into the 50th anniversary of the famed Rolex 24 with the new Corvette Daytona Prototype. Our engineers worked tirelessly with all of our teams, preparing the best possible packages for all of our Chevrolet entries in three classes. That collaboration has resulted in what we believe will be an extraordinarily competitive effort by our teams in DP, GT and GS. We were encouraged by our teamsâ€™ performances at the Roar Before the 24, and we are ready to get going in 2012.”

Weâ€™ll be paying special attention to the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette Daytona Prototype as the drivers are all from the ALMS Corvette Racing program. Here are the teams and drivers racing under the Team Chevy banner:

Driver line-ups for the Corvette Daytona Prototypes:

No. 5 Action Express Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP
David Donohue, Darren Law, Christian Fittapaldi
No. 9 Action Express Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP
Joao Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, JC France, Max Papis
No. 10 SunTrust Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP
Max Angelellli, Ricky Taylor, Ryan Briscoe
No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Chevrolet Corvette DP
Antonio Garcia, Richard Westbrook, Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen
No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP
Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, Memo Gidley

Driver line-ups for the Rolex 24 GT Class Camaros:

No. 88 Autohaus Motorsports Camaro GT.R
Jordan Taylor, Paul Edwards, Tommy Milner, Matthew Marsh
No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R
Robin Liddell, John Edwards, Robbie Bremer
No. 75 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R
Al Carter, Hugh Plumb, Eric Curran

Also racing the Rolex 24 GT class is one lone Corvette, the No. 46 Corvette from Michael Baughman Racing. Driving the No. 46 Corvette will be Ivo Breukers, Armand Fumal and Feff Nowicki.

The Green Flag for the 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona is Saturday, January 28th at 3:30 pm ET with the checkered flag falling at 3:30pm ET on Sunday, January 29th. SPEED will provide coverage of the race from 2:30 – 11PM ET on Saturday and 9:00 am to 4:00 PM on Sunday. The race will also be streamed live on SPEED.com.

Source:
Team Chevy
Photo Credit: Oliver Gavin

January 26, 2012

1953 Corvette VIN #005 Sells for $445,500 at RMâ€™s Scottsdale Auction

1953 Corvette VIN #005 Sells for $445,500 at RM's Scottsdale Auction

It didnâ€™t quite reach the pre-auction expectations, but the third-oldest Corvette in existence still sold for a whopping $445,500 at the RM Auction in Arizona on Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. The car was predicted to sell for between $450,000 and $650,000 but fell short of those targets â€“ though still one of the highest priced 1953 Corvettes ever sold.

Serial Number #005 has a long and documented history, beginning with its purchase on July 16, 1953 from Wilmington, Delawareâ€™s Diver Chevrolet by Crawford Greenewalt, who was either president or chairman of the board of DuPont Company from 1948 to 1967, as a gift for his wife, Margaretta DuPont Greenewalt.

According to a 1980s interview, once the car was assembled, GM Styling Chief Harley Earl drove it to a friendâ€™s Ford dealership, and after that it made its way to the Ford Motor Company Engineering Department, well before many of Chevroletâ€™s own staffers even saw the car themselves.

Number 5 is apparently one of the first three examples ever sold to the public and as such features unique early production features. Among its many interesting features, Number 5 is the last 1953 Corvette produced without an outside rear-view mirror, and it was one of the handful of early Corvettes fitted with a stainless-steel VIN tag, as opposed to the later aluminum version. This car was also built with a chrome speaker grille, and Corvettes 4, 5 and 6 were the only 1953 models sold to the public with basic chrome Chevrolet Bel Air hubcaps. The original frame for Corvette 5 is one of the 12 â€œpilot runâ€ Corvette frames built, which were utilized for the Motorama cars, the engineering bucks and the first six production Corvettes. According to John and Melanie Kocsis, who bought the car in 1997 and began a lengthy and intensive restoration, the frame for Corvette 5 is stamped #10 in two locations, the same as the number-stampings on the frame of Corvette Number 6.

Itâ€™s interesting to note that the Corvette, which was based on the EX-122 concept of 1952, is still one of the few GM Motorama designs with their space-age, show-car styling virtually unchanged for production. More than 300,000 spectators turned out to see the car in early 1953, and production began in Flint, Michigan just a few months later on June 30, 1953.

Source:
RM Auctions
Photo credit: RM Auctions

January 26, 2012

Virginia & Carolina Region Supports Corvette Caravan 2014

North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia Corvette owners and enthusiasts are invited to participate in caravaning to the National Corvette Museum in late August 2014 with the official group.

Frank & Laura Sancineto (pictured here) are the local Caravan Captains. A summary of their Official Announcement follows:

Attention Corvette Enthusiasts: Are you ready for another caravan? If you missed the 50th Anniversary Caravan in 2003, and the 15th Anniversary Caravan to the National Corvette Museum in 2009, here is your chance to join other Corvette friends for the 20th Anniversary of the National Corvette Museum by participating in the 2014 Caravan. Mark your calendars for August 24-31, 2014. The festivities will begin in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 24.

My name is Frank Sancineto. My wife Laura and I were captains for the North and South Carolina 50th Anniversary and the 15th Anniversary Caravan. We had such a great time and met so many wonderful people we now call friends, that we are going to be captains again for this trip.

Our road trip begins at the host hotel in Concord, North Carolina: The Hampton Inn, I-85 at exit 49, 9850 Weddington Rd., Concord, North Carolina 28027.

The route: I-85 S to Spartanburg, SC; I-26 W to Asheville, NC; a stop at the Ingles Supermarket (located off exit 1 – 1851 Highway 14 East, Landrum, South Carolina 29356 (864-457-5187) for gas, snacks, and/or lunch; then I-40 W to Tennessee. Our destination is the Smoky Mountain Stadium, exit 407.

Please note: if you cannot start with us in Concord, meet us at the Smoky Mountain Stadium.

From there, the route is: I-40 W to I-75 N to Kentucky 80 W; 80W to I-65 S into the NCM.

Information about registration and our events will be updated as it becomes available.

Please email Frank at F6978@aol.com if you would like to participate as a local leader and/or volunteer for our committees.

January 25, 2012

Johnny Oâ€™Connell Joins Bondurant as VP of Global Operations and Corvette ZR1 Instructor

Johnny O'Connell Joins Bondurant as VP of Global Operations and Corvette ZR1 Instructor

The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving has named Corvette Racing icon Johnny Oâ€™Connell as vice-president of global operations, effective immediately.

Oâ€™Connell will oversee international expansion opportunities at the request of Bob Bondurant, who founded the school 44 years ago and has since turned it into the largest purpose-built driving school in the world.

“Johnny is another exceptional past Bondurant instructor/champion to have made full circle and returned to my team,” Bondurant said. “Believe me, I could not be happier! Johnny and I planned this day in 1989, when my school was at Sears Point Raceway (now Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.). Wow, itâ€™s here! Johnny will continue his racing career to break a few more records, as well as taking on the role as Bondurantâ€™s VP of global operations.”

O’Connellâ€™s impressive resume includes four class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a record eight 12 Hours of Sebring class victories, winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, three American Le Mans Series class championships, and 38 ALMS wins and ALMS records for most starts (102), most podium finishes (80), most top-five finishes (93), and most top-10 finishes (100).

Since most of his success has come in Corvettes, O’Connell was an easy choice to lead the new division of the Bondurant School, where students acquire racing and driving skills in Grand Sports, Z06, and ZR1 Corvettes, among other vehicles. In fact, heâ€™ll even be the exclusive Bondurant Corvette ZR1 expert instructor, conducting a two-day forum each month for ZR1 owners and enthusiasts.

“I canâ€™t tell you how excited I am once again to be working with Bob,” Oâ€™Connell said. “Not only has Bob always been a mentor to me, but as someone who has taught at all of the major racing schools in the ’80s and ’90s, I’ve always believed his method was by far the best at ensuring students left the school with the greatest skill set and most confidence.”

The Bondurant School – based on Firebird Racewayâ€™s 600 acres in Phoenix, Ariz. – features a 15-turn, 1.6-mile road course, an eight-acre asphalt pad for advanced training, and more than 200 race-prepared vehicles, sedans, and open-wheel cars.

Earlier in 2012, Oâ€™Connell and Pfadt Race Engineering announced that they would be donating a portion of the sales of their official Johnny Oâ€™Connell swaybars made through the National Corvette Museum for its Motorsports Park slated to be finished in fall 2014. The 2.9-mile race track will be a new focal point at the National Corvette Museum, putting the emphasis on performance-related activities, the very core of Corvette heritage.

Source:
Bondurant Schook of High Performance Driving