This year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a landmark one for Corvette Racing. It is the 20th consecutive appearance for the program at the famed race dating back to 2000 – the longest current streak for a single entrant.
With eight class victories in 19 starts, Corvette Racing is one of the most successful teams in the history of Le Mans. Below is a handful of notes and statistics ahead of this year’s race…
• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 20 years at Le Mans: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette.
• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries since 2000 – Corvette C5-R (2000-04), Corvette C6.R (2005-13) and Corvette C7.R (2014-current).
• 3: Number of wins for the Corvette C5-R – 2001, 2002, 2004.
• 4: Number of wins for the Corvette C6.R – 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011.
• 8: As in Chevrolet’s small-block V8. More than 100 million units have been sold worldwide and is the most successful engine in American motorsports.
• 8: Class victories for Corvette Racing at Le Mans – all since 2001.
• 9: Number of drivers who have won races at Le Mans for Corvette Racing – Olivier Beretta, Ron Fellows, Antonio Garcia, Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, Tommy Milner, Johnny O’Connell, Scott Pruett and Jordan Taylor.
• 12: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001.
• 16: Number of GT Le Mans wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing since the start of 2014. That’s tied for the most among manufacturers and entrants in GTLM.
• 19: Number of victories for Corvette Racing’s lineup at Le Mans.
Oliver Gavin: 5 Jan Magnussen: 4 Antonio Garcia: 3
Marcel Fässler: 3 Tommy Milner: 2 Mike Rockenfeller: 2
• 21: Number of drivers to compete for Corvette Racing at Le Mans. Oliver Gavin leads with 17 Le Mans starts for the program while Jan Magnussen has 15.
• 21: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres and Utah.
• 107: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 99 in North America and eight at Le Mans.
• 218: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.
• 95,221.25: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 19 previous trips to Le Mans. That represents 11,299 laps… or nearly four full trips around the Earth at its equator. The two Corvettes need to complete 4,778.75 miles to reach the 100,000-mile mark at Le Mans.
• 104,671: Approximate pounds of freight sent by Corvette Racing to Le Mans by air and by sea!
• 289,913.28: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history – covered “just” 248,655 miles.
