http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/in-the-cockpit-oliver-gavin-monterey/

http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/race/driver-columns/oliver-gavin/olly-gavin-on-his-magnificent-monterey/

Enjoy a different viewpoint on the race and a couple of other areas!

Podium as night fell at Laguna Seca

Success in the six-hour event gave the British driver his 36th career ALMS victory and his young team mate Tom Milner his second, but they had to battle extremely hard for their second victory in two races.

Seven GT cars finished on the same lap and there was never a time throughout the six hours when a train of GT cars wasn’t providing entertainment and nose-to-tail racing.  In addition to the win Olly set fastest GT lap of the race, and the result takes he and Tommy to the head of the ALMS GT points’ standings.

“We had just enough pace to take on anyone today”, said a beaming Olly.  “It was very close with our sister car, both the BMWs and the Aston Martin at the start.  Once again, any one of about six cars could have won but we managed to nail it all together and I’m thrilled with the result.  We kept out of trouble and got past people when necessary and Tommy had a very solid middle stint which kept us in the hunt all the time, despite the setbacks we had to overcome.”

The first round of pit stops, which took place under the first of six full course caution periods, set the No. 4 Corvette on its course for victory when the crew managed to beat the remainder of the GT field out of the pits.  Olly held onto the lead until the third round of pit stops when a fueling problem delayed them considerably and dropped them back to seventh in class.

The two drivers set about clawing back the deficit but it wasn’t until the final round of pit stops – with just over an hour of the race left to run – that the tables turned back in their favour with a re-shuffling of positions after another flawlessly fast turnaround by the No. 4 pit crew led by Brian Hoye.   That, together with a great overtaking move by Olly on Wolf Henzler and a little luck, kept victory in sight through to the end.

Heading the GT train

“It was an exciting race,” said Olly with some understatement!  “There was always something going on, with lots of chopping and changing positions.  We weren’t racing any one car but maybe five or six and always a different car with different characteristics.  You had to think carefully how to pass and how to make those passes stick and every lap was a challenge which kept you on your toes the whole time.
“It was a great race for me today and it’s nice to get two in a row and the championship lead.  That gives us a big boost going forward into Le Mans and I’m very happy to be in this position.  It’s been a great start to the season.”

Olly and the Corvette Racing team now turn their full attention to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.  The only official test day to be held takes place on Sunday 3rd June, with the race itself on 16/17th June.

Coming down through the famous 'Corkscrew' section

After heading two of the three practice sessions leading into today’s 15-minute window during which the grid was set for tomorrow’s six-hour race, Olly watched from the edge of his seat as his Corvette Racing team mate Tommy Milner secured a front row grid spot in a nail-biting session.  Five different manufacturers were represented in the top six places and less than one tenth of a second separated the six cars behind Milner, showing just how competitive it is.

“Qualifying was extremely exciting wasn’t it?” said a delighted Olly after he’d warmly congratulated his American team mate in the No. 4 Corvette.  “First of all it seemed like the ESM Ferrari had it, then Tommy was on top, and then Darren in the Aston Martin came through and blew everyone else away.  You can see from the six cars behind us, all within four or five hundredths of a second, that this track gives super close racing so it bodes extremely well for a good race tomorrow.

“In the last practice session before qualifying we didn’t even put new tyres on and we just ran a simulated race session.  Tom reported that the car was pretty solid and we’re happy with things leading into tomorrow.  It was Tommy’s first qualifying session of the year and he did a stellar job, ticking all the boxes we talked about before the session.  I’ll be starting tomorrow and he’s put me at the front with not too much wear on the tyres – exactly what I asked him to do.  Perfect job!”

The six hour race into the darkness at the former US Army base, the 2.238 mile Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca road course on the Monterey Peninsula, California, begins tomorrow at 1:30 pm PT and live streaming coverage will be available outside the USA via www.americanlemans.com. ESPN2 airs the race at 5 pm ET on Sunday, May 13, with live coverage available on race day starting at 4:15 pm ET on ESPN3.

2   Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

The main challenge at Laguna is that it’s a low grip track with quite a polished surface so you never really feel the tyre biting into the tarmac.  Additionally, with the colour of the asphalt being what it is, particularly at dusk it’s often tricky to see where the track finishes and where the sand or grass begins.  If an engineer hears the word ‘dust’ once, he hears it a 100 times!

3   Mighty Corvettes (plus Milner, Magnussen and Matador!)

In previous years we haven’t always got our set up right and last year in particular was a difficult race for all of us.  However, the Corvette C6.R has had major development since then and, coming off two very good results at Sebring and Long Beach, we’re confident we’ll be able to fight anyone at any venue this year.  We know we haven’t automatically got it covered and still have to work hard but all four of the drivers are fired up and motivated with our excellent car.  Choosing the right tyre at the right time is a key factor and we’re working closely with Michelin on that.

Tommy and I are forming a good team in the No.4 car and are bonding well.  I think we’re a good force in the championship and will take the fight to anyone at Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari or Porsche…or Mags and the Matador!

4   Monster preparation for Le Mans

It’s a six-hour race into the darkness so we’re getting into the swing of endurance racing again following our two hours at Long Beach.  It’s very much a dress rehearsal for Le Mans, going through all the routines and pit stops, flexible strategies, and working with the car and tyres in cooler, evening conditions.

5   Marathon memories

I’ve recently run the London Marathon but, even without that event, all the training and running I do is in preparation for Le Mans.  Just as the team is focussed towards the 24-hours, I base my whole season around that race and train to be as fit as possible for that week.  I find marathon running is a great foundation for my fitness and it’s easy to keep that up in Monterey as there are excellent trails or the beach to run on.  It’s a great environment to be in and around and I’m sure Antonio – who ran a marathon in Madrid the same weekend as mine in London – and I will be running each morning.  I was a little disappointed not to have beaten my personal best time of 2 hours 58 minutes in the marathon, but I finished under 3 hours again and you learn something every time.

A smile for Helen, who took this great pic, and the family!

They trained together for much of the year, starting in Daytona and going right through to last week, and there was inter-team competition all the way through between Corvette’s  Olly and Antonio Garcia.

Yesterday Olly completed the Virgin London Marathon, running for The Cystic Fibrosis Trust, in 2 hours and 58 minutes while Antonio completed the Madrid Marathon in 3hours and 2 minutes.  It was just as close over 26.2 miles as over 24 hours!!

Of the 36,000 runners, Olly finished 1073^rd overall and 624^th in his age group.

Long may the competition continue.

A happy Olly and No. 4 crew chief, Brian Hoye

Olly returned to the top step of the GT podium at Long Beach today after a fantastic ALMS race through the concrete canyons of the 1.96 mile California temporary street course.  He and Tommy Milner were masterful in their No. 4 Corvette C6.R to take the win and finish 6th overall, with the British driver claiming a new race lap record in the process.

The result proves beyond doubt that Olly is the Long Beach maestro as he has won the GT1/GT class of the American Le Mans Series here three times in six visits, and has only once not been on the podium.

With Friday’s practice and qualifying being a washout due to unseasonable rain – the latter officially cancelled due to the amount of standing water on the track – the race grid was set on championship positions after the Twelve Hours of Sebring.  Olly and Tommy started third behind the Dirk Muller/Joey Hand BMW and Jan and Antonio in the No. 3 Corvette and, for many in the 33-strong field it was the first dry laps they’d turned all weekend.

“The win is very, very satisfying,” said a beaming Olly.  “It all just went our way today.  Sometimes you have to capitalise on others’ misfortunes, just as they would if the tables were turned, and today was one of those days for us.  It was Tommy’s first ALMS win and first with Corvette Racing, so I’m really pleased for him as he didn’t put a foot wrong at the start, and avoided all the bumping and banging of the first few laps.  He had to use his tyres pretty hard at times to stay ahead of the chasing pack, but gave me some great advice for my stint and that definitely made the difference.”

A well-timed caution for the whole field came at 55 minutes into the two-hour race, and from then on it was a question of controlling the race, although it wasn’t always easy.  “I passed Scott Sharp’s Ferrari to get second with 50 minutes to go and then needed to pick off Dirk Muller’s BMW, which was blocking pretty aggressively.  I saw a chance at Turn 9 and stuffed it up the inside of the corner.  For a split second I thought, “Uh oh, not sure we’re going to make this”, but the car was really good and planted under me so I was able to make the pass stick and pulled away.  I knew that as long as I managed the tyres and was smart I had it covered.

“I eked out a lead, but I had in my mind that we might get a caution at any time and might need to have a bit in reserve with the tyres.  There was crazy traffic towards the end, and lots of people were struggling with lack of grip.  I had the team going at one point as the lead went from 13s down to 5s over the last 5 or 6 laps but I was in control and am delighted for the whole team with the result!”

In a week’s time Olly will be taking to the streets again, but this time without the aid of his Corvette.  He will be running in the 2012 Virgin London Marathon with the aim of beating his 2010 time of 2 hours 54 minutes and 20 seconds.  With many Olympic hopefuls heading the Elite section of the 35,000 entrants, Olly is hoping that a new training programme he’s followed, together with their fast pace, will give him the impetus needed to set a new personal best record and raise awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

After a wet practice session early Friday morning, everyone was hopeful for a dry qualifying session at the other end of the day.  The streets of Long Beach were, however, awash and qualifying for Saturday’s two-hour American Le Mans Series at Long Beach race was cancelled due to rain and standing water on the temporary circuit.

With the starting grid consequently determined by championship points, Olly and Tommy Milner will line in third place on the GT grid behind the Hand/Muller BMW (on pole) and Jan and Antonio in the No. 3 Corvette.

The early morning practice session was shortened by red flags and intermittent downpours, limiting the Corvettes to less than two-dozen laps in two hours. Eight hours later, qualifying began under sunny skies, but the rain returned shortly after the start of the 15-minute session for the GT entries. Race officials red-flagged the session and subsequently abandoned qualifying. In accordance with IMSA regulations, the grid was then set on championship points.

Olly set a time of 1:32.641 in two flying laps, the fourth quickest time in the rain-shortened session and said, ”It was looking good on the first couple of laps.  Our tyres were taking a little time to come in with the cold track, but we had a good car and I was catching the cars ahead of me quickly. Then it really started raining as I came down the front straight. At that point I could see the mist on the circuit, cars were struggling to stop and were going down the escape roads. I knew the session would be red-flagged and thought we’d have to start wherever we were, P4 at the time. Subsequently the officials abandoned the session and we’ll start on points instead.

“It’s a shame we didn’t get a full run in the dry here, but I feel that the car is going to be good,” he continued. “I feel optimistic about the race tomorrow. I know the Corvette Racing crew is doing an excellent job setting up the car, and I’ll take our Vette over any other car in the field straight off the truck!

“Every time we were getting close to going on track it would start to rain a little and then really pour down.  Speaking to people who’ve been coming to Long Beach for years and years, no one can ever remember it raining.  If our qualifying session had been 45 minutes earlier in the afternoon it would have been dry.  I feel a bit sorry for Antonio as he hasn’t done a single dry lap at Long Beach but I think Tommy also stands a good chance of making a demon start in the race.”

Jan was fifth quickest in two timed laps with a 1:32.872, but the No. 3 Corvette C6.R will start second based on its runner-up finish in the season-opening Sebring 12-hour race. The forecast for the race is dry.

ESPN2 will broadcast the American Le Mans Series at Long Beach live at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 14.  European fans can follow the race on www.americanlemans.com

With grateful thanks to Rick Voegelin at Corvette Racing.

Olly with Stefan Pfeiffer (left) and Guy Smith (right) who ran a marathon distance with him at Long Beach last year

This coming weekend the two-time GT1 class Long Beach class winner will be taking to the historic 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course for the second round of the American Le Mans Series.  Teamed with Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette C6R, and aiming to build on the fine points tally accumulated at the Twelve Hours of Sebring, Olly knows the race will be a challenge from the moment he arrives in California.

“There’s going to be 36 cars on the concrete-lined circuit which will potentially make traffic a huge issue and there’s only two hours of track time before the two-hour race, the shortest on our ALMS calendar,” notes Olly.  “You have to approach the race in the way that every single second on track is vital and you have to do your homework well, sitting down with your engineers and team mate and going through everything in detail before first practice.

“Unfortunately we have practice and qualifying either end of Friday, with greatly differing temperatures and track conditions and there’s no warm up on Saturday so you’re straight into the race.  You often find yourself at Long Beach making adjustments to the car during the race, such as tyre pressures, to balance the car out.

“Of course everyone’s in the same boat and has the same amount of time, and it usually ends up with people who’ve been at the front in practice at the front of the race – although a street race can always throw up an a twist or two!  It’s usually very good racing, and Long Beach is always an exciting event for a bit of a thrash.  Fuel strategy is always key to a good result – a lengthy caution can potentially lead to a one-stop race, and that’s all going on in your mind while you’re dicing with 11 other GT cars.

“It’s still to be decided who will qualify and start, and Tommy and I will figure it out on Thursday.  Tommy was going well last year until held back by some contact and also did well at Baltimore so obviously has good pace on street courses.  I’m feeling confident and looking forward to it.”

Eight days after the race, Olly will be taking part in the 2012 Virgin London Marathon with the aim of beating his 2010 time of 2 hours 54 minutes and 20 seconds.  With many Olympic hopefuls heading the Elite section of the 35,000 entrants, Olly is hoping that a new training programme he’s followed, together with their fast pace, will give him the impetus needed to set a new personal best record and raise awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Richard, Tommy and Olly on the ALMS podium

Olly proved today that, in racing, you never give up, no matter what.  Despite running in the top three of the GT category for much of the race, and indeed leading the class on more than one occasion, it looked towards the end that a podium position for the No. 4 Corvette would be just out of reach.

The last lap of the 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring was one for the history books, however, and Oliver made a decisive move in the final moments of the race to pass the No. 155 BMW of Jorg Muller to claim third place in the ALMS and fourth place overall in the GT class.  He joined his Corvette team mate, Jan Magnussen, on the podium after the Dane made a similar last-lap move to pass the AF Corse Ferrari of Olivier Beretta for second – thus claiming the Corvette team’s first podiums and points finishes of the season.

Taking place in hot, sunny conditions throughout, the GT race was a thriller and five cars finished on the same lap after nose-to-tail racing for the majority of the once-round-the-clock classic.  With 63 cars on track through the combination of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the American Le Mans Series, there was plenty of action from start to finish.

Oliver said afterwards:  “Certainly, looking at the race as a whole it was very positive.  We had a good, fast car which seemed to be just that little bit quicker than the No.3 car and both Tommy and Richard drove really well.  I think it’s set us up extremely well for Le Mans.

“In the end what changed our race was a pit strategy call which didn’t go our way.  With all the cautions that happened through the race, to not have one in the final two hours was unusual.  If there’d been one we’d have been in the prime position to capitalise on it, but it didn’t happen so we ended up 30 seconds or more back up the road in fifth instead of first.

“To finish on the podium is a good start to the season and for the team to have a 2-3 is great for Corvette.  We’ve got a good car and we’ve got ourselves in a positive position for the rest of the season and for Le Mans.  It’s a shame we couldn’t get the victory but there’ll be plenty of opportunities throughout the year.”

Oliver now heads directly from the USA to the Paul Ricard HTTT track in the south of France to drive a GM Camaro for Reiter Engineering in a GT3 performance test.  His next race in the USA will be the second round of the ALMS at Long Beach, California on 14th April.

Olly’s  best lap in the No. 4 Corvette of 1:59.007 was shaved by Jan [Magnussen] by just one thousandth of a second to secure the series’ fastest GT lap.  They GM factory drivers both narrowly missed out on the combined WEC/ALMS pole position which was taken by AF Corse’s Gimmi Bruni in a Ferrari 458 Italia with a record-breaking time of 1:58.427.

“It’s great we’ve started the season off with a 1-2 qualifying performance in the ALMS,” said a satisfied Olly. “The guys have worked extremely hard over the winter getting this all together and that’s now paid off.  We’ve got to convert it into a decent result tomorrow and this is just a very small step towards being victorious, but at least we’re up the sharp end.  Hopefully we’ll be able to avoid most of the mess that often occurs mid field, but who knows what will transpire tomorrow?”

The Northamptonshire, UK-based driver continued:  “I’d have liked to pip Jan if I could but it’s always a good battle between us two and there’s rarely much between us.  He just managed to squeeze another lap out of the fuel and I couldn’t – I got a bit of a bobble coming into T5 on my last lap.  It would have been great to have another shot at it, but unfortunately it didn’t work out.

“I’m pleased with the car, for the team, and really looking forward to tomorrow.  The Ferraris are obviously very fast but it seems like we’re right there on pace and consistency and can battle with anyone.  Our race car is good to drive and doesn’t deliver any nasty surprises, so I’m pleased about that.”

Oliver will be on track in Sebring for the 12-hour race on Saturday, 17th March, beginning at 10:30 am (EST)/2:30pm (GMT).  The race will be broadcast in the USA at noon on Sunday, 18th March on ABC and shown live on ESPN3.  Motors TV in Europe will show the race from 2.15pm, break for 2.5 hours at 7pm then run through to the flag from 9.30pm, and there is full coverage for all outside the USA on ALMS.com.