At the beginning of the month, Corvette Racing was out testing at Sebring as part of its preparations for the 2011 season. We then learned that the American make’s chances in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup will be defended by Larbre Compétition, while Luc Alphand recently announced his decision to bring his racing career to a halt after driving for Corvette in endurance racing since 2006…

Corvette Racing prepares 2011 season

Following a memorable final lap at Road Atlanta in October which ended up handing it the Petit Le Mans class win, the factory Corvette Racing squad returned to the Georgian venue for two days of testing, and they were followed by further work at Sebring earlier this month as the team gears up to its 2011 campaign. Work included a 12-hour endurance run with three cars, although track time was briefly interrupted to allow a wedding to take place without noise at Château Elan which neighbours the track.

Meanwhile, it has been announced that France-based Larbre Compétition is to run a GT2 Corvette C6.R in the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, and that it will perhaps have a second car for Le Mans. This year, Larbre Compétition took its Saleen S7.R to LMGT1 class wins at Le Mans, in the Le Mans Series and at Zhuhai. In 2011, Gabriel Gardel, Julien Canal and Patrick Bornhauser will share a ‘factory’ C6.R in the colours of BSI, Demeco, McDonalds and Michelin.

Last but not least, Luc Alphand, who has brilliantly defended Corvette’s colours in Europe over the years with his team Luc Alphand Aventures, has decided put an end to his driving days. ‘Lucho’ shared a C5.R, then a C6.R with his team-mates on four occasions at Le Mans (finishing once on the podium) and claimed two GT1 titles in the LMS. Luc Alphand’s record also includes a win on the 2006 Dakar, nine FIA Cross-Country World Cup event wins and rounding Cape Horn on a jet-ski in 2000! It was an accident while competing on two wheels at last year’s Rand’Auvergne that first prompted the former downhill skier to call it a day in motor sport.

Corvette, Labre Competition, Michelin