The Championship Team the CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002
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The Championship Team THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 2002The Championship Team CONTENTS Tribute to a Team of Champions . .3 The Team . .4 The Photographers . .18 2002 Season Statistics . .22 Repeat Performance – 24 Hours of Le Mans . .24 United We Stand – Persian Gulf Tour . .27 That Much Sweeter – 12 Hours of Sebring . .34 ALMS, Sears Point to Miami . .38 Final Victory in a Remarkable Season – Petit Le Mans . .40 Dreams and Legends, by Gary Young . .42 Awards, Celebrations and Fun . .44 Pratt & Miller: Design, Develop, Build, Race, Win . .48 A Word from Robin . .54 Thanks to Our Sponsors . .55 Photos courtesy of Peter The Championship Team, PRATT & MILLER ENGINEERING & FABRICATION, INC. Brock, John Brooks, David copyright © 2002 29600 WILLIAM K. SMITH DRIVE, Noels, Robin Pratt, Richard Pratt & Miller Engineering NEW HUDSON, MI 48165 Prince, René Tanner. & Fabrication PHONE: 248-446-9800 Printed with permission. All rights reserved FAX: 248-446-9020 WWW.PRATTMILLER.COM 2 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 Tribute to a Team of Champions SUCCESS like we achieved in 2002 comes down to a team of really good people doing their jobs very, very well. In the following pages, we’re proud to present our team in photos from this season — doing what they do best. In 2002, their best surpassed even our remarkably successful 2001 season. We won 10 of 11 races, starting with the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring in March, and finishing with the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in October. Those were two jewels of the GTS triple crown, and in June we added the big one, with our second consecutive victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even more remarkable was the fact that eight of our 10 victories were one-two finishes. That shows how high the level of quality and commitment is throughout our team. It also represents a lot of hard work and resourcefulness. At Le Mans, for instance, Andy, Kelly and Franck took second place in spite of a setback as serious as a punctured oil pan. Ingenuity and great teamwork overcame that potential disaster in short order. Several times this year we beat faster cars simply because we have a highly skilled, experienced team that has been together a long time, and who work together really well. Thanks to you, we won another GTS Team Championship and Chevrolet added a second straight manufacturers’ title. A special salute goes to Ron Fellows, winner of the GTS champi- onship for drivers, and to Bill DeLong, GTS Mechanic of the Year for the second year in a row. Those personal achievements highlight their own abilities, but Ron and Bill would be the first to say that their awards reflect the skills and hard work of everyone on the team. We are proud to be part of this extraordinary group of people. Congratulations to all for a job well done. — Jim Miller and Gary Pratt 3 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 “We function as one team with two cars, and whichever car wins, Corvette Racing wins.” — Gary Pratt 4 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 Gary Pratt Jim Miller 5 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 RON FELLOWS JOHNNY O’CONNELL OLIVER GAVIN 6 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 BILL DELONG DAVE ALBRIGHT DOUG LOUTH STEVE COLE DAVID JAMES GARY YOUNG 7 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 MIKE ATKINS RON CLAYTON ROB COOPER TOM MIKRUT CHARLIE DEGENER JIM DURBIN JR REDFIELD 8 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 9 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 ANDY PILGRIM KELLY COLLINS FRANCK FREON 10 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 JOE KIEFER ROSS JEFFREY RAY GONGLA GREG HIATT MIKE TANNER 11 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 TOM DIEHM LYNN BISHOP RICH ELDRED DAN POLASKY RANDY HUGHES DON MALE STEVE HARTSELL 12 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 13 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 DAVE DECKER, PRS JIM KELLY, PRS FRANK PARKER, SCOTT BENTHAM, NICK OLSON, JOHN TAUBE, PARKER ENGINEERING BOSCH MOTORSPORTS AP RACING GOODYEAR MELANIE CORRELL, ROBIN PRATT TIMING & SCORING 14 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 GARY GRUBE, KEVIN PRANGER, RON HELZER, DEAN PELLETIER, MOTOROLA KATECH KATECH KATECH WARREN FRIEZE & FRITZ KAYLE, KATECH VANGIE BOSWELL, DARYL CLASEN, RALPH SIMPSON, PROMOTIONS IN MOTION COMPETITION GRAPHICS CATERING 15 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 STEVE SHANNON, HERB FISHEL, GM RACING GM RACING 16 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 DAVE HILL, GARY CLAUDIO, RICHARD BALDICK, GM RACING GM RACING GM RACING DOUG FEHAN, JOE NEGRI, JOHN RICE, GM RACING GM RACING GM RACING STEVE WESOLOSKI, RICHARD PRIESTER, LISA STANICK, GM RACING GM RACING GM RACING GARY DELEEUW, WALLY REESE, BENOIT FROGER GM RACING GM RACING GM RACING THE FRENCH CONNECTION 17 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 The Photographers RICHARD PRINCE 18 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 PETER BROCK 19 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 JOHN BROOKS 20 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 DAVID NOELS 21 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES, RACE 4 ROAD AMERICA 500 AMERICAN LE MANS Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin • July 7, 2002 SERIES, RACE 6 RACE: GRAND PRIX DE 1st, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins, TROIS RIVIÈRES #4 Corvette C5-R, 109 laps Trois-Rivières, Quebec, 2nd, Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, Oliver Gavin, Canada • August 3, 2002 #3 Corvette C5-R, 108 laps RACE: QUALIFYING: 1st, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins 1st, Ron Fellows, #3 Corvette C5-R, 116.305 mph #4 Corvette C5-R, 155 laps 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, #4 Corvette C5-R, 115.651 mph 2nd, Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, #3 Corvette C5-R, 153 laps QUALIFYING: 1st, Ron Fellows, #3 Corvette C5-R, 86.235 mph 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, #4 Corvette C5-R, 85.875 mph AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES, RACE 2 GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA Sears Point Raceway • Sonoma, California • May 19, 2002 RACE: 1st, Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, #3 Corvette C5-R, 81 laps 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins, #4 Corvette C5-R, 80 laps QUALIFYING: 1st, Ron Fellows, #3 Corvette C5-R, 99.452 mph 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, #4 Corvette C5-R, 99.259 mph AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES, RACE 3 GRAND PRIX OF MID-OHIO Lexington, Ohio • June 30, 2002 RACE: 1st, Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, #3 Corvette C5-R, 106 laps, 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins, AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES, RACE 10 #4 Corvette C5-R, 105 laps, AUDI PRESENTS PETIT LE MANS QUALIFYING: Road Atlanta • Brazelton, Georgia 1st, Ron Fellows, #3 Corvette C5-R, 1m22.066s October 12, 2002 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, #4 Corvette C5-R, 1m22.196s RACE: 1st, Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, Oliver Gavin, #3 Corvette C5-R, 362 laps 3rd, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins, Franck Freon, AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES, RACE 8 #4 Corvette C5-R, 357 laps MONTEREY SPORTS CAR AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES, RACE 1 Qualifying: CHAMPIONSHIPS MOBIL 1 12 HOURS OF SEBRING 2nd, Ron Fellows, #3 Corvette C5-R, 113.14 mph Laguna Seca Raceway • Monterey, California Sebring, Florida March 16, 2002 4th, Andy Pilgrim, #4 Corvette C5-R, 112.29 mph September 22, 2002 RACE: RACE: 1st, Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, Oliver Gavin, 3rd, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins, #3 Corvette C5-R, 317 laps, #4 Corvette C5-R, 102 laps 4th, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins, Franck Freon, 5th, Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell #4 Corvette C5-R, 306 laps #3 Corvette C5-R, 41 laps, QUALIFYING: QUALIFYING: 1st, Ron Fellows, #3 Corvette C5-R, 111.279 mph 3rd, Andy Pilgrim, #4 Corvette C5-R, 95.499 mph 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, #4 Corvette C5-R, 111.056 mph 4th, Ron Fellows, #3 Corvette C5-R, 95.260 mph 22 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES, RACE 7 MAIL2WEB.COM GRAND PRIX AT MOSPORT Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada • August 18, 2002 RACE: 1st, Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, #3 Corvette C5-R, 113 laps 24 HOURS OF LE MANS 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins, Le Mans, France • June 15-16, 2002 #4 Corvette C5-R, 112 laps RACE: QUALIFYING: 1st, Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, Oliver Gavin, 2nd, Ron Fellows, #3 Corvette C5-R, 116.15 mph #63 Corvette C5-R, 335 laps 3rd, Andy Pilgrim, #4 Corvette C5-R, 115.45 mph 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins, Franck Freon, #64 Corvette C5-R, 331 laps QUALIFYING: 2nd, Oliver Gavin, #63 Corvette C5-R, 3m54.903s AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES, RACE 5 5th, Andy Pilgrim, #64 Corvette C5-R, 3m57.972s THE CADILLAC GRAND PRIX OF WASHINGTON, D.C. RFK Stadium Circuit • Washington, D.C. July 21, 2002 RACE: 1st, Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, #3 Corvette C5-R, 131 laps, 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins, #4 Corvette C5-R, 130 laps, QUALIFYING: 1st, Ron Fellows, #3 Corvette C5-R, 86.870 mph 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, #4 Corvette C5-R, 86.187 mph AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES, RACE 9 CADILLAC AMERICAN LE MANS CHALLENGE Miami, Florida • October 5, 2002 RACE: 1st, Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, #3 Corvette C5-R, 119 laps, 2nd, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins, #4 Corvette C5-R, 118 laps QUALIFYING: The 2002 Season 2nd, Ron Fellows, #3 Corvette C5-R, 70.801 mph 3rd, Andy Pilgrim, #4 Corvette C5-R, 70.289 mph 23 THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM 2002 Repeat Performance Second Le Mans victory shows the team’s quality In 2002, Corvette Racing joined the rare few teams who have climbed to the top of the Le Mans victory podium two years in a row, occupying the first- and second-place spots both times. The repeat performance made a resounding statement about the quality of the team. “The whole team functioned really, really well,” said Gary Pratt, team manager. “The people on our crews — and most of our drivers, too — have been working together for a long time, and that kind of continuity really pays off in a long race when clear, precise communication is critical. We couldn’t have asked for a much more trouble-free race if we had written the script ourselves.” Smoothly run 24 hour races don’t happen by chance, however.