The Corvette C5-R was part of a plan by General Motors and Chevrolet to create a factory team for grand touring races globally, notably at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. GM chose the Pratt Miller group of Michigan to build and develop the cars and organize the racing team for a 1999 debut. Riley & Scott also assisted, running a second team for a year. Pratt Miller and GM used heavily modified road car mules to test engine and equipment. The race chassis shared only basic key structural elements with the road cars. A firewall was placed behind the driver's seat, eliminating rear visibility. A large diffuser and wing were added to the rear, with a splitter and hood vents at the front. The front headlights were replaced with permanent units. The C5-R initially used a 366 ci (6.0 liter) V8 engine based on the road car's LS1, later replaced by a larger 427 ci (7.0 liter) engine. Katech Engine Development constructed the engines, retaining elements of the production LS1 units. Eleven C5-R chassis were built by Pratt Miller between 1998 and 2004, with ten used by Corvette Racing and one for privateer use. A twelfth frame served as a test mule for the C6.R.
Modifications were carried out to improve the C5-R's capabilities. Changes to the bodywork's aerodynamics aimed to increase downforce. The hood design was changed during the 1999 season to replace small slat vents with a large open gap. The third and fourth chassis built in 2000 were three inches wider to improve cornering grip. Later modifications included air conditioning systems and a rear view camera to overcome the lack of a rear window.
Corvette Racing entered the 1999 24 Hours of Daytona with two cars. The C5-R of Ron Fellows, Chris Kneifel, and John Paul Jr. finished 18th overall. After failures at the 12 Hours of Sebring, Riley & Scott ran more American Le Mans Series rounds. A lone C5-R finished second in class at Sears Point and Laguna Seca. In 2000, Pratt Miller became the sole Corvette team, starting the season at Daytona. The Corvette of Fellows, Kneifel, and Justin Bell finished second overall, a minute behind a factory Dodge Viper. The team was not able to match the Vipers at Sebring or their debut at Le Mans but earned their first class victories upon returning to the ALMS, upsetting the Viper squad at Texas and the Petit Le Mans. The team earned third place in the GTS class championship despite a partial season. In 2001, the C5-Rs earned overall race victory at Daytona. The race also saw the first drives by Dale Earnhardt and Earnhardt Jr. in the Corvette C5-R, with their car finishing fourth overall. Pratt Miller ran their first full ALMS season, earning six class victories, including their second at the Petit Le Mans. The C5-R took its first victory at Le Mans, finishing eighth overall. Corvette Racing did not return to the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2002 due to rule changes but continued in the ALMS, winning nine out of ten events, including their first class victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Their only loss was to the Prodrive Ferrari team. Corvette secured their second win at Le Mans in 2002. In 2003, Prodrive's Ferrari 550 GTS' challenged Corvette Racing's dominance, winning the last four ALMS events, including Petit Le Mans. Corvette Racing secured their third championship by four points over Prodrive. The Ferraris ended Corvette Racing's Le Mans streak in 2003, during which Corvette Racing celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Corvette. Prodrive did not return to the ALMS for 2004, allowing Corvette to sweep the season and earn their fourth straight championship. Corvette Racing avenged their Le Mans loss, adding their third class victory at the event. This was the final season for the C5-R under the Corvette Racing banner. In total, Corvette Racing's C5-Rs earned 31 class victories in the ALMS, three class wins at Le Mans, and one overall victory at Daytona.
Initially, C5-Rs were built exclusively for Corvette Racing. In 2001, Pratt Miller began discussions with teams interested in purchasing C5-Rs. The British Atomic Kitten Racing squad planned to purchase two cars but could not reach a deal. The first C5-R was sold to an outside team in 2003.
Belgian Patrick Selleslagh's Selleslagh Racing Team (SRT) was the first C5-R customer, running in the Belcar championship. The car earned a season's best finish of second place at Spa. The team also entered the Spa 24 Hours as part of the FIA GT Championship, finishing 18th overall. 2004 saw a similar result with a best finish of second at a Spa round and a couple of thirds. In 2005, SRT won the opening round at Zolder and four more events, including the 24 Hours of Zolder, winning the overall BelCar championship. An eighth place was earned at the Spa 24 Hours. At the end of 2005, SRT bought a former factory C5-R. Both entered the French FFSA GT Championship the next season, with SRT managing a season best of second at Nogaro. In 2007, one C5-R earned five third-place finishes in FFSA GT. The team's second C5-R ran in the FIA GT Championship's Citation Cup, winning three races and finishing tenth overall at the Spa 24 Hours.
American Tom Figge purchased the second customer C5-R in 2004, a former factory car. Plans were made to use the car in the 2005 ALMS season for his Pacific Coast Motorsports squad. They struggled against other privateers like ACEMCO Motorsports' Saleen S7-R, finishing on their class podium only once in seven races before abandoning the series.
The Belgian-Dutch GLPK-Carsport team purchased another former factory chassis for their first full entry in the FIA GT Championship. The team earned two victories at Imola and Zhuhai, as well as a fourth-place finish at the Spa 24 Hours, which was later disqualified. The two victories helped the team finish fourth in the teams championship. For 2006, the team moved to the Belcar series. In 2007, the Dutch Carsport Holland half separated, leaving PK-Carsport to return to FIA GT with the C5-R. The team finished third at the Spa 24 Hours, three laps behind the winners.
Following Pacific Coast Motorsports' departure from the ALMS, their car was offered for sale. The Belgian PSI Experience team purchased this car and a C6.R for use in 2006 in the FFSA GT Championship. The C5-R earned a victory at Lédenon, with French singer David Hallyday part of the driving squad. PSI also entered the Spa 24 Hours, finishing eleventh overall. PSI remained in FFSA GT for 2007, earning another race victory at Nogaro. The C5-R was also entered in a few rounds of the FIA GT Championship's Citation Cup.
French Olympian Luc Alphand bought an ex-factory chassis for use in the Le Mans Series in 2006. The car earned two second-place finishes and a third in the five-race season, finishing third in the championship standings. The team also entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing third in class. 2007 brought a new C6.R, and both cars were campaigned in the Le Mans Series and the FFSA GT Championship. Three second-place finishes were earned in FFSA GT, while the Le Mans Series entries earned only two third-place finishes. The car was entered at Le Mans, finishing 24th.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
Gallery · 4 related images
