Gavin and Beretta Win GT1 in Inaugural St. Petersburg ALMS Race

Rare Driveline Problem Sidelines O'Connell and Magnussen on the Streets of St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta sailed to their second consecutive GT1 class victory of the season on the waterfront street circuit in St. Petersburg, Fla. The two Ollies had a smooth run to the American Le Mans Series winner's circle in their No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R after a driveline problem sidelined the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen.

"It was a very strange race today, but as usual my Corvette, my crew and my teammate were perfect," said Beretta, who extended his record for ALMS career victories with his 30th win. "It was very important to stay out of trouble. There was a lot of traffic ahead and behind, and I had to always be careful of the walls. There were quite a lot of things to deal with at once, but that is all part of sports car racing."

Gavin and Beretta completed 111 laps of the 1.8-mile temporary street circuit, finishing eighth overall. The race pace was slowed by five caution periods.

"The restarts were very tough," Gavin reported. "The tire temperature dropped quickly when we were behind the pace car and there was a lot of rubber pickup. Some of the GT2 cars were very quick on the restarts so I just had to let them go. I just tried to drive within myself, and on several laps I found I needed to pick up the pace to keep my concentration up and maintain my focus. You can't ever let up on a street circuit."

The two Corvettes were within a second of each other until the first caution period began at 46 minutes into the race. The pole-winning No. 4 Corvette had a slight advantage when O'Connell's car suddenly slowed on the course just as Beretta made his first pit stop for fuel, four Michelin tires, and a driver change.

"When I got in the car I was unsure what was happening with our sister car, and I just drove a rather lonely race," said Gavin. "The No. 4 Corvette was flawless, and it performed extremely well."

With no power going to the rear wheels, O'Connell was forced to park his Corvette after completing 37 laps. The No. 3 Corvette did not complete 70 percent of the overall winner's total laps, so under ALMS rules O'Connell and Magnussen were not eligible for championship points.

"It's very rare for Corvette Racing to have a mechanical problem, but over the past few years it seems the No. 3 Corvette has had the bad luck," said O'Connell. "It's tough for Jan and me because this race could ultimately decide the championship. Even if there are only two cars in the race, you want to be a competitor. The only thing that will make this feel better is if we have good luck at Le Mans."

"This is a very unusual situation for us, but that's the reason we're out here racing," commented Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "We'll look at the parts, see what the issues are, address any problems, and make the cars more bulletproof. There's something to be learned from this, and that's what we'll do."

Corvette Racing's next event is the second of three consecutive street races, the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, April 14. The 1-hour, 40-minute race on a 1.968-mile temporary street circuit will begin at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. local time), and will be televised in a same-day broadcast on the SPEED Channel from 8 to 10:30 p.m. ET.

Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg GT1 Results
Pos./Drivers/Car/Laps
1. Gavin/Beretta, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 111
2. O'Connell/Magnussen, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 37

GT1 Championship Standings (unofficial after 2 of 12 events)
Manufacturer/Points
1. Chevrolet 46 2. Aston Martin 19

Driver/Points
1. Oliver Gavin 46
    Olivier Beretta 46
3. Max Papis 26
4. Jan Magnussen 22
    Ron Fellows 22
    Johnny O'Connell 22
7. Antonio Garcia 19
    Liz Halliday 19
    Darren Turner 19

NEXT EVENT:
April 14, 2007, Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
TV: SPEED, April 14, 8 - 10:30 p.m. ET

Release Date: March 31, 2007

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BERETTA EXTENDS SERIES RECORD WITH ST. PETERSBURG GT1 POLE

Olivier Beretta claimed his record-setting 19th career ALMS pole today in qualifying for Saturday's inaugural Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg. Beretta turned the fastest lap in the GT1 class at 1:09.531 (93.196 mph) in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R. Johnny O'Connell qualified the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R at 1:10.212 (92.292 mph) on the 1.8-mile temporary circuit alongside Tampa Bay.

"I always like street courses because I was born near Turn 1 in Monaco," said Beretta, a lifelong resident of the principality that hosts the Monaco Grand Prix. "It is a different challenge than a road course because you know that you cannot put a wheel off the line or you will be in the wall. I ran street races in Formula 3 and Formula 3000 in Europe, so I'm happy that we have some new street races in ALMS this year.

"The car was quick since the beginning, and that shows the strength of Corvette Racing in being able to set up a car quickly at a new circuit," said Beretta. "There were many red flags during practice so the sessions were quite short, but Olly (Gavin) did a very good job on setting up the car."

Beretta recorded his quick time on his second timed lap, while O'Connell logged his best time on his third circuit.

"I said to myself, 'You know the track, you've been in this situation before, so you just have to push,'" Beretta reported. "The Corvette was fast, I drove hard without making a mistake, and the lap time came."

O'Connell encountered traffic on the bayside course as the GT1 cars shared the track with slower GT2 machines.

"When you're planning to do only five laps in qualifying, and if you have traffic every lap, you can't get a good shot," said O'Connell. "I like this circuit, but I'm disappointed that we didn't go quicker. I think the guys deserved to see a little quicker time from the No. 3 Corvette C6.R, but it is what it is."

Thoughts at the conclusion of the race...

Olivier Beretta (#4-GT1 Corvette C6.R) "The street race is hard because you have to be more careful and the walls are quite close. For the fans its nice because they get right close to the cars, but for us it makes it harder."

Oliver Gavin (#4-GT1 Corvette C6.R) "This course isn't too bumpy, its quite quick, easy to drive really. Others were just driving crazy today. We wanted to go fast but also take it easy. When you have another car pushing you, you don't daydream and have to concentrate, you want the cars behind you to push you. On the restarts everyone struggled with getting going again. It took a couple of laps to get the cars right, but after that it was all right. These cars are going to be going to Le Mans, and our bosses would prefer it that we don't bend the car, and it's in our minds to not take any stupid risks. We push ourselves, the three and four car, and we would like more competition, but we are trying to take it easy to keep the cars for Le Mans."