Corvette celebrates 50th anniversary with podium.

Oliver Gavin, Kelly Collins and Andy Pilgrim brought their #50 Corvette C5-R into second in the GTS Class and 11th overall at the 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours, the greatest sportscar race in the World.

They completed 326 laps, 10 laps behind the #88 Prodrive Ferrari and just a fraction of a second ahead of their teammates in the #53 Corvette when they crossed the line together. Kelly and Andy notched their fourth straight podium finish while Oliver took home his third podium in three drives at Le Mans.

"This is truly fantastic," said Kelly Collins. "This is four years in a row for me on the podium and it feels great every time. We want to congratulate the Ferraris and the Prodrive organization as they ran a great race. But they should know that we'll be after them the rest of the season in the U.S."

Corvette Racing's legendary C5-R race cars have earned podium finishes in the last 29 consecutive races, including 20 victories. It is a record of consistency that spans more than three years, dating back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2000.

With track temperatures exceeding 95 degrees, the Corvettes had as much competition from Mother Nature during the 24-hour race as they did from the likes of Ferrari, Saleen, Chrysler and Pagani in the GTS class. Although two of three Ferraris failed to finish the race, the #88 Veloqx Prodrive Ferrari 550 car managed to stay out of trouble and hold off both Chevy Corvette C5-R's.

Both Corvettes had major stops for mechanical attention, including a gearbox change while the #88 Ferrari had an almost perfect race.

The Corvette Racing team will take to the track again on June 29th, at the Chevy Grand Prix of Atlanta, the second round of the American Le Mans Series.