MONTEREY, Calif. - Corvette Racing drivers Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen qualified their Compuware Corvette C6.Rs third and fourth respectively in the hotly contested GT class for Saturday's six-hour American Le Mans Series Monterey. Gavin turned his quickest time on his fourth flying lap, stopping the clock at 1:23.101 (96.952 mph) in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R. Magnussen responded with a 1:23.201 (96.835 mph) on his fifth and final flyer. Jaime Melo put Risi Competizione's Ferrari 430 GT on the pole at 122.752 (97.361 mph).

"I was just chipping away at the time on every lap," said Gavin. "I was hoping to find that last little bit so we could challenge the Ferraris on the front row. My engineer, Chuck Houghton, and the crew have been working really hard over the last two days to give the car a good balance. We've got the setup a lot closer, but we still need to find a little bit more. That's the difference between where we are now and being on pole. I feel confident that the adjustments we'll make tonight are going to help us and we'll be strong for six hours tomorrow."

Both Corvettes improved their lap times significantly from the earlier practice sessions on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course on the central California coastline.

"The car was very good, but I still don't think I hit it exactly like I wanted," said Magnussen. "We are trying some different things that might not have been the best for qualifying but it felt like the car got better and better on the run, which is very encouraging."

Earlier today the team celebrated the upcoming 50th anniversary of Corvette's first participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Dr. Dick Thompson, who drove one of Briggs Cunningham's Corvettes at Le Mans in 1960, and Dick Guldstrand, co-driver of the Dana Chevrolet Corvette at Le Mans in 1967, were reunited with their historic race cars. With the Corvette C6.Rs scheduled to begin their journey to France on next Thursday, thoughts of Le Mans loom large.

"As a warmup for Le Mans, this will be a good test," Gavin said. "We're also mindful that these cars are going to Le Mans in just a few days - I think the crew reminds us of that hourly! I'm hoping more than anything that Olivier and I can get a decent result. We've had some rough luck in the first two races, and we need to score points tomorrow if we hope to challenge for the championship."

The American Le Mans Series Monterey will start at 2:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, May 22, and will be televised by CBS Sports tape-delayed on Saturday, May 29 at 1:30 p.m. ET. The six-hour race will be streamed live online at americanlemans.com starting at 5:30 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio, Sirius Channel 127, and XM Channel 242.

American Le Mans Series Monterey GT Qualifying:
Pos./Drivers/Car/Time
1. Melo/Bruni, Ferrari 430 GT, 1:22.752
2. Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 430 GT, 1:23.067
3. Gavin/Beretta, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 1:23.101
4. O'Connell/Magnussen, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 1:23.201
5. Auberlen/Milner, BMW E92 M3, 1:23.350
6. Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 1:23.379
7. Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari 430 GT, 1:23.394
8. Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:23.484
9. Sellers/Henzler, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:23.991
10. Robertson/Robertson/Murry, Ford GT, 1:24.750
11. Gentilozzi/Dalziel/Goosens, Jaguar XKRS, 1:26.381
12. Krohn/Jonsson, Ferrari 430 GT, 1:36.708
13. Law/Neiman/Bernhard, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:28.481

Patrick Long took the lead for good on a restart with eight minutes left to win by 0.365 in GT for Flying Lizard Motorsports and Porsche.
He and Jörg Bergmeister won at Mazda Raceway for the second straight season. Long passed BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team’s Joey Hand and his BMW M3 on the inside of Turn 11 just as the green flag flew, a legal move.

Hand had taken the class lead with 33 minutes left when Long pitted for fuel only. He and Dirk Mueller finished second, just ahead of Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta.

Saturday’s results
1. (35) Simon Pagenaud, Montmorrillon; Marino Franchitti, Edinburgh, Scotland; David Brabham, Maidenhead; HPD ARX-01c (1, LMP), 237.
2. (2) Klaus Graf, Dornham; Sascha Maassen, Raeren; Memo Gidley, San Rafael, CA; Porsche RS Spyder (2, LMP), 230.
3. (8) Christophe Bouchut, France; Mark Wilkins, Toronto, ON; Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Oreca FLM09 (1, LMPC), 229.
4. (9) Kyle Marcelli, Barrie, ON; Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Tom Weickardt, Whitefish Bay, WI; Oreca FLM09 (2, LMPC), 229.
5. (19) Joerg Bergmeister, Langenfield; Patrick Long, Bellaire, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (3, GT), 227.
6. (17) Dirk Mueller, Monte Carlo; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; BMW E92 M3 (4, GT), 227.
7. (14) Oliver Gavin, Yardley Hastings; Olivier Beretta, Monte Carlo; Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (5, GT), 227.
8. (12) Jaime Melo, Milan; Gianmaria Bruni, Rome; Ferrari 430 GT (6, GT), 225.
9. (13) Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Ferrari 430 GT (7, GT), 225.
10. (15) Jan Magnussen, Roskilde; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (8, GT), 224.
11. (20) Wolf Henzler, Nuertingen; Bryan Sellers, Braselton, GA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (9, GT), 224.
12. (7) Elton Julian, Los Angeles, CA; Christian Zugel, Holmdel, NJ; Gunnar Jeannette, Salt Lake City, UT; Oreca FLM09 (10, LMPC), 222.
13. (16) Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA; Tommy Milner, Leesburg, VA; BMW E92 M3 (11, GT), 222.
14. (11) Brian Wong, Newport Beach, CA; Mitch Pagery, Deerfield Beach, FL; David Ducote; Oreca FLM09 (12, LMPC), 222.
15. (1) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, Bracken, Yorkshire; Andy Meyrick, Chester; Lola B09 86/Mazda (13, LMP), 220.
16. (23) Nic Jonsson, Buford, GA; Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Ferrari 430 GT (14, GT), 220.
17. (24) Jeroen Bleekemolen, Monte Carlo; Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, Haarlem; Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (1, GTC), 219.
18. (26) Andy Lally, New York, NY; Rene Villeneuve, Woodland Hills, CA; Henri Richard, Los Altos Hills, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (2, GTC), 218.
19. (25) Juan Gonzalez; Butch Leitzinger, Rebersburg, PA; Rudy Junco Jr., Monterrey; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (3, GTC), 217.
20. (33) Ricardo Gonzalez, Mexico; Luis Diaz, Mexico City; Rudy Junco Jr., Monterrey; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (4, GTC), 217.
21. (28) Bryce Miller, Summit, NJ; John McMullen, Spring Lake, NJ; Luke Hines, Essex; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (5, GTC), 216.
22. (27) Shane Lewis, Jupiter, FL; Lawson Aschenbach, West Palm Beach, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (6, GTC), 216.
23. (21) David Murry, Atlanta, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Design Ford GT (7, GT), 215.
24. (30) Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Timo Bernhard, Dittweiler; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (8, GT), 213.
25. (32) Bill Sweedler, Westport, CT; Romeo Kapudija, Lincolnwood, IL; Jan-Dirk Lueders, Barrington Hills, IL; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (9, GTC), 212.
26. (31) Galen Bieker, Burbank, CA; Kris Wilson, Huntington Beach, CA; Robert Rodriguez, Zephyr Cove, NY; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (10, GTC), 212.
27. (34) Doug Baron, Pacific Palisades, CA; Loren Beggs, Montclair, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (11, GTC), 211.
28. (18) Guy Cosmo, West Palm Beach, FL; Ed Brown, Las Vegas, NV; Ferrari 430 GT (12, GT), 194.
29. (22) Marc Goossens, Huntersville, NC; Ryan Dalziel, Orlando, FL; Jaguar XKRS (13, GT), 191.
30. (4) Pierre Ehret, Tegernsee; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Tony Burgess, Toronto; Lola B06 10/AER (14, LMP), 170.
31. (5) Paul Drayson, London; Jonny Cocker, Guisborough; Emanuele Pirro, Monte Carlo; Lola B09 60/Judd (15, LMP), 108, Gearbox.
32. (6) Tom Papadopoulos, Long Island, NY; Ryan Lewis, Indianapolis, IN; Johnny Mowlem, London; Oreca FLM09 (15, LMPC), 107.
33. (29) James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA; Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL; Bret Curtis, Valencia, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (16, GTC), 83.
34. (3) Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Nikolas Konstant, Los Angeles, CA; Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B06/10 AER (17, LMP), 38.
35. (10) Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Andy Wallace, England; Burt Frisselle, Kihei, HI; Oreca FLM09 (16, LMPC), 8.

Billed as the warm-up for the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans, the six-hour American Le Mans Series Monterey was contested on an unseasonably cold day in central California.

With track temperatures in the low 50s, getting a grip on the roller coaster 2.238-mile Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit was the chief challenge.

After a fast and furious battle in the GT class, Corvette Racing's No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta finished third.
The No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell finished sixth and won the Michelin Green X Challenge in the GT category.
The No. 45 Porsche driven by Patrick Long and Joerg Bergmeister won the class with a 0.365-second margin of victory over the Mueller/Hand BMW.

Laguna Seca

Both Corvettes ran at the front in the hard-fought GT division. Starting third on the GT grid, the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R lost track position to its rivals on its fourth pit stop, but Gavin charged from seventh to first during his second stint.

After the final round of fuel stops, Gavin was in third and within striking distance of the leader - but two late-race cautions stymied his attempts to move up in the finishing order.

"I wish that last caution hadn't come because I think we had them," Gavin said. "We had the speed but that last caution just killed any chance.
It was great fun racing against the Porsche and the BMW - there was a bit of bumping, but it was all fair. In the back of my mind was always the thought that this car needs to go Le Mans in a few days, and any damage today could have a direct effect on how we perform there.
I wanted to make sure that it would be ready to leave for France next Thursday."

"It was great to be fighting for the victory," Gavin continued. "We still need to find that last little bit, but it will come. We got some good points today and I'm pleased about that. This championship is going to be about grabbing podiums and points whenever you can because it's full-out racing."

The No. 3 Corvette took the lead after the first round of pit stops, but was penalized for a pit-lane infraction after its second stop. The stop-and-go penalty dropped the car to seventh, but Magnussen was on a mission.
He took the GT class lead at 4:18 and was fifth overall after a heated battle of the brands between Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche, and BMW. A punctured right-front tire in the final 20 minutes and subsequent penalty consigned the No. 3 to sixth at the checkered flag.

"It was really good racing, but it's a shame when it goes that way towards the end and you feel all your hard work is for nothing," Magnussen said.
"It was just one of those days where it looked like we had a great shot at winning it in the beginning, and then things got in the way."

The No. 3 Corvette won the Michelin Green X Challenge in the GT class by going the farthest, the fastest, with the least environmental impact.

"Our focus at Corvette Racing is multi-faceted - to design and build top-quality race cars that are fast and that demonstrate leading-edge green technology," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan.
"Capturing another Michelin Green X Challenge title for Chevrolet and GM is a huge accomplishment."

Corvette Racing’s next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de La Sarthe in Le Mans, France. The 24-hour race will start at 3:00 p.m. CET on Saturday, June 12. Portions of the classic endurance contest will be televised live on SPEED.