General Motors And GM Racing Focus Two-Tiered Effort For The 70th Le Mans 24 Hours
LE MANS, April 30, 2002 - This year's 70th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours will see General Motors return to the famous Sarthe racetrack with two legendary brands, Cadillac and Corvette. The world's leading car manufacturer enters four cars in two competition classes: two Cadillac Northstar LMP 02s in the LMP900 prototype class and two Chevrolet Corvette C5-Rs in the GTS category. The cars and teams will compete against the leading names in the automotive world, including Audi, Bentley, Ferrari and Chrysler. In total, it will be the fourth time Cadillac enters the world's most grueling race; for Corvette it will be the 16th time the legendary sports car tackles the famed Sarthe track.
GM's two international endurance-racing teams will take time out from extensive North American testing programs to journey to Le Mans, France for the one-day test in preparation for the June 15 -16 classic 24-hour road race. The May 5 date is the only opportunity for the 50-car field to utilize the actual race track and public roads that make up the 13.6-kilometer track for the world's toughest endurance race.
Cadillac's Le Mans program is part of the changing face of the division and its expanding role in the marketplace. Cadillac will bring the new Cadillac Northstar LMP 02 twin-turbo racecars to compete in the LMP900 class. The new cars were designed and fabricated in a cooperative effort between GM Racing engineers and racecar designer Nigel Stroud in England, and assembled by Team Cadillac in Atlanta, Georgia. Although this will be the third year of a three-year program focusing on Le Mans, it will be just the second race for the new design, having made its race debut at Sebring in March.
Following the Open Test, Team Cadillac will continue extensive testing on North American tracks with a target of completing 19,000 kilometers of testing prior to returning to Le Mans for the race in June. Several of these tests will be designed to simulate 24 hour of continuous competition.
Corvette Racing will return to Le Mans as defending GTS class winners from 2001 with the same, yet more refined C5-Rs. Corvette continues the Chevrolet tradition of racing production-based vehicles to improve the breed and enhance the image of GM performance globally. In addition to Corvette, the Chevrolet Camaro and Monza models have also raced in Le Mans.
The Le Mans race will be the last outing for the two C5-R chassis that have racked up numerous wins and 1-2 finishes including last year's Le Mans and Daytona 24 Hours, the 2001 America Le Mans Series (ALMS) GTS Manufacturers' and Teams' Championships and the 2002 12 Hours of Sebring. Two new chassis will compete the balance of the North American ALMS schedule beginning at Sears Point May 19.
General Motors has a tradition of racing in Le Mans dating back to 1950, when American entrepreneur Briggs Cunningham entered two Cadillac's for the first time, finishing 10th and 11th position overall. It wouldn't be until 2000 before Cadillac returned as a manufacturer, although the brand's engines had been used in Allard cars in 1950, '51 and '53.
That same Briggs Cunningham would be the first to enter a Chevrolet Corvette in Le Mans in 1960, netting an eighth place overall on this first attempt. Corvette had been coming regularly to Le Mans until 1982 and later returned in the mid-90s when regulations allowed GT cars back into the race. For three decades, Corvette's famous engine also powered cars from other brands such as Bizzarini, Callaway, Chaparral, Courage, Iso-Rivolta, Lola, Lotus, Marcos and March.
Other GM brands to have supplied engines for Le Mans include Buick (with March, Norma and Tiga), Oldsmobile (with Riley & Scott) and Pontiac (with Spice).
GM brands or components were entered in 955 race events in 54 major racing series in 2001. GM brands produced 701 wins on paved ovals, dirt tracks, road courses, drag strips and street circuits in stock cars, sports cars, sprint and off-road configurations. GM participates globally in motorsports to continually develop its people and products and leverage its marketing programs.
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