C6Performance Journal

Here’s the official 2012 Woodward Dream Cruise video from Chevrolet. Gearheads and Corvette enthusiasts alike need to add this event to their bucket list.

Source:
Chevy’s YouTube Channel

Related:
[PICS] The Corvette Timeline at the 2012 Woodward Dream Cruise
[PICS] 2012 Corvettes on Woodward Food Drive
2012 Corvettes on Woodward is Set for August 15-17
[PICS] GM Design Team’s Personal Car Show on Woodward

 

I didn’t have the opportunity to catch the last few minutes of the American Le Mans Series at Road America on Saturday as we were in Detroit for the Woodward Dream Cruise. But I knew something significant had happened to the Corvettes when my twitter feed for Corvette Racing blew up with folks asking what the heck happened at the very end. Well, we did some digging and here is what went down during those final minutes at Road America.

Our friends at BadBoyVettes.com have put together this recap that shows what the postions of the GT cars were when everything went to hell:

At the time of the Corvette/BMW incident the #56 BMW was in P4 and #4 Corvette was P5. The #45 Porsche and #3 Corvette had already gone by the #56 BMW. The #01 Ferrari was battling with the #4 Corvette in P5 at the time. (The order before the incidents: #55, #45, #3, #56, #4, #01)

After the incident the #01 Ferrari got past both the #56 BMW and #4 Corvette and got up to P4 (after #55, #45, #3, #01, #4, #48) then took out the #3 Corvette in P3 on the final corner (finish #55, #45, #01, #4, #48, #3).

All of that happened on the last lap.

Following the race, there were some questions if any of GT competitors would be penalized for the shenanigans in the final minutes of racing. However, the ALMS has officially finalized the results so they must have determined that both incidents were caused by racing and left it at that.

None of this made the live broadcast, but after the race, this replay was shown:

Oliver Gavin summed up the race on his website:

“Racing in a multi-class environment you’re always aware of other battles going on, and I make a big effort not to get in the way of faster cars coming through. Getting in the way of those battles can seriously affect the outcome of someone’s race result and, when there’s a five-car train such as we had in GT, every second counts. The last ten laps were a bit crazy and, to top it off, I had some unintentional contact with the No.56 BMW. We talked it through and shook hands on it after the race but you always prefer to have a clean race from start to finish. The ALMS doesn’t always deliver that though as it’s so tight at the front. Great for the fans though, and ultimately good for us in the points battle.”

And speaking of points, with the #4 Corvette C6.R finishing 4th in class at Road America, Gavin/Milner are still in the lead for the Drivers Championships and Corvette still leads the Manufacturer Championship:

Drivers Championship Rankings (points in parenthesis):

1. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner (105)
2. Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia (88)
3. Dirk Muller (84)
4. Joey Hand (81)
5. Scott Sharp/Johannes Van Overbeek (80)
6. Jorg Muller/Bill Auberlen (75)
7. Patrick Long/Jorg Bergmeister (73)

Team Championship Rankings:

1. Corvette Racing (126)
2. BMW Team RLL (111)
3. Flying Lizard Motorsports (84)

Manufacturer Championship Rankings:

1. Chevrolet (126)
2. BMW (116)
3. Porsche (103)
4. Ferrari (100)

Tire Manufacturer Championship Rankings:

1. Michelin (140)
2. Dunlop (128)

Corvette Racing will be back in action on Saturday, September 1st for the 9th Round of the American Le Mans Series at the Baltimore Grand Prix.

Source:
BadBoyVettes.com

Related:
Corvettes Fourth and Sixth in Wild Finish at Road America
Corvettes Qualify Third and Fifth in Record-Smashing Qualifying Session
A Lap of Road America with Corvette Racing’s Tommy Milner
Corvette Racing at Road America: A Celebration of Speed