The 2009 American Le Mans Series gets underway this week with the now traditional Sebring 12 Hours.  This classic race is tough on cars and drivers and many teams use it as essential preparation work for Le Mans.  This usually boosts the grid and creates some fascinating battles for honours.

Of course, winning the 12 hours of Sebring is a major honour in itself joining an impressive list of past winners.  Oliver will be keen to add to his four class victories on this demanding track.  This year the No 4 Corvette only have their teammates to beat but the rivalry will be no less intense as the whole team prepare for Le Mans and their final GT1 appearance.  After Le Mans they switch to GT2 and Olly is already eagerly anticpating getting to grips with the new car.

However, Sebring is currently the focus and he and Olivier will be joined by a new driver this year at Sebring and Le Mans, Marcel Fassler.  Marcel is very quick having driven a Corvette in the FIA GT Championship last year and Olly is already enjoying having Marcel around.  There is also a new face in the No 3 car with Antonio Garcia joining Jan and Johnny at the longer races.

Oliver has arrived at the track early and has recorded a short interview for Oliver Gavin TV.  To download the video click here (large file!).

Sebring also marks the start of Corvette Racing's 10th anniversary in international road racing. The team made its competition debut in February 1999 at Daytona, and competed in its first Sebring 12-hour race the following month, finishing fourth in the GTS class. Since that modest beginning, Corvette Racing has become one of the world's premier production sports car teams, winning eight consecutive ALMS GT1 manufacturers and team championships, seven straight drivers' titles, and five class victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This will, of course, be the final appearance of the Corvette C6.Rs in the GT1 class in the Sebring 12-hour endurance classic. The twin Corvette C6.R race cars (chassis Nos. 5 and 6) are beginning their third season, and are scheduled to be retired in preparation for new global GT class rules that will take effect in 2010. These two cars have accounted for 23 of the team's 74 wins.

Corvette Racing will be powered by cellulosic E85R ethanol fuel at Sebring for the first time. The team adopted the renewable fuel made from wood waste after last year's Sebring race, and used E85R throughout the remainder of the 2008 ALMS season. Cellulosic ethanol was one of the key ingredients in the team's overall victory in the inaugural ALMS Green Challenge in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans held at Road Atlanta in October 2008. The winning No. 3 Corvette C6.R achieved the best overall score based on performance, fuel efficiency and environmental impact under criteria developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and SAE International. Corvette Racing's use of an alternative fuel on the race track reflects GM's commitment to producing fuel-efficient vehicles for customers - there are 3.5 million E85-capable GM FlexFuel vehicles on the road today.

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is scheduled to start at 10:30 am local time on Saturday.  The race itself will be shown live in the UK on Motors TV on Saturday starting at 2.00 pm.  You can, of course, also follow Olly's progress here on his website!