As always, I was very much looking forward to going back to Le Mans, and running on the circuit. Without a doubt it is my favorite event of the year, and the one that you are thinking the most about over the long winter months. They had changed the track from last year, putting in some esses in place of the straight downhill run from the famous Dunlop bridge, and initially we were all a bit skeptical about it. You just hate to see such a famous and historic track changed. But once we had a good look at it, we all realized that it just adds a bit more character and challenge to the place. It could get dicey in the race with the difference of speeds between classes, but it is the same challenge for everyone…hopefully it won’t cause any problems.

For all of us on the number 63 car, things started out a bit on the bad side. I was the first in the car, and had a slight vibration at high speed…which is always a cause for alarm. It went away though, but unfortunately I had a gear box brake and needed to get a tow back in from a flat bed. That took up some time with the guys putting in a new box, so Oliver got in the car…with a new box…and after three laps again lost another gearbox. Again we lost a lot of time with the car being brought back in, but fortunately by that time we had been able to analyze the first box and see what was the problem. A new box was built, and from that point on we had no problems the rest of the day. Over all the car was very good….perhaps a bit too much oversteer, but that is something we can address for the race. All three of us…Myself, Ron and Oliver put in pretty much equal times, and are confident about the race.

Quickest in our class was the Ferrari, which we all expected to run well at Le Mans. Very very fast in a straight line. Our guess is that they ran qualifying tires to do their time as they never matched their early morning times in the afternoon. One Viper also went quicker than us…but again…think it was tires. Both the 63 and 64 car of Andy Kelly and Franck also went well…so team Corvette should again have a good chance of doing well.

Flight Ops from the Con	Chased by a Carrier!	Ron & I in Bahrain

After Le Mans, all 6 drivers , Doug Fehan and Gary Claudio got on a plane to visit the US Navy. We were based out of Bahrain just off the coast of Saudi Arabia. To say it was an incredible trip would be an understatement. We visited several ships, and some bases in the area. Everyone treated us great, and I know that all of us left with a strong feeling of pride about the US Navy, and especially the men and women that make such an incredible sacrifice for us.

Next up for us is Sears Point, a circuit that our car seems to work well at. Ron and I will be racing a brand new car there, and needless to say I’m looking forward to it.

Johnny O

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