Canadian Ron Fellows wins at Sebring

With files from Rick Voegelin // GM Racing Communications

CORVETTE RACING SCORES SIXTH SEBRING 12-HOUR GT1 VICTORY

O'Connell Notches Record-Setting Seventh Sebring Class Win with Magnussen and Fellows

SEBRING, FLA - After a long day's race into night, Corvette Racing scored its sixth GT1 class victory in seven years in America's classic endurance race, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen and Ron Fellows drove their No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R to an eight-lap victory over their teammates Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Max Papis in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R.

The winning trio completed 328 laps of the 3.7-mile, 17-turn road course and finished eighth overall. The runner-up Corvette completed 320 circuits and finished 10th overall. The No. 008 Aston Martin DBR9 was third in the GT1 class with 299 laps completed.

O'Connell became the all-time leader in Sebring victories with his seventh career win on the historic circuit. His victory tonight broke a longstanding tie with motorsports legend Phil Hill, who tallied six victories on the Sebring course.

"Every record you get is special, but this was probably the most special," O'Connell said. "I've been coming here for 18 years, and I can't think of a better hot rod than the Corvette C6.R to set the record.

"It's huge to break Phil Hill's record," O'Connell continued. "Phil is the embodiment of everything that was wonderful about that era of sports car racing. When you meet some of your childhood heroes, they're a disappointment, but when I met Phil, he was the coolest cat in the world. He talked about the beauty of the cars he competed in and the spectacle of this race. When you spend time with someone who is that deep and insightful, you come away with a much better understanding of how special this race is.

"When you win Sebring, you share it," he noted. "It's not about one guy. I got my first ALMS win with Jan in 1999, and I've won some 25 races with Ron. I can't think of two finer gentlemen and race car drivers I'd rather share this win with."

The ides of March did not treat the No. 4 Corvette C6.R as kindly. At one hour and 56 minutes into the 12-hour race, Beretta brought the car to the pits with an apparent drivetrain problem.

"I came out of Turn 9 and it went completely loose," said Beretta. "I thought the race was gone. I was worried that wheels would lock up and couldn't bring the car back to the pits. I didn't want to get stuck on the course."

The stricken car went to the transporter where the crew replaced the right halfshaft in nine minutes. The No. 4 Corvette C6.R then returned to action with Papis at the wheel and a nine-lap deficit to the class-leading No. 3 Corvette.

"We lost the inner tripod joint on the right side," explained team manager Gary Pratt. "All of the lube was still there, but it snapped one of the three drives at the spline. We've never seen a failure like that before."

Tonight's victory was the third Sebring win for Fellows and O'Connell as teammates. The pair won previously with Gavin in 2002, with Franck Freon in 2003, and with Papis in 2004. The car made 10 pit stops totaling 13 minutes ­ a minute and a half less time in the pits than the closest competitor.

"Today's race was unfortunate for the No. 4 car, but we ran well all day with the No. 3," Fellows said. "My crew chief, Dan Binks, and the guys had flawless pit stops. Johnny and Jan did a great job, and I couldn't be happier than to win Sebring with these guys. Just like Le Mans last year, we kept plugging away. It's a tough, tough track; it's hard on equipment and physically demanding. I think all three of us feel we have some unfinished business at Le Mans, and that's the next big prize we're going to shoot for." ...