Corvette fights back for 'greatest' Le Mans win.

The Corvette Racing team came from behind - well behind - to win a dramatic GTS class battle in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the #64 crew of Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen catching and passing the pace-setting Ferrari to head up a 1-2 result that, at one point, seemed far from possible.

The 'European' team came home sixth overall, leading the sister #63 car of Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis across the line in a formation finish that still beggared belief.

"This is our greatest Le Mans victory," insisted programme manager Doug Fehan, "Le Mans provides a global space where we can show what teamwork can accomplish, and we never worked harder - before or during a race - which makes the victory that much sweeter."

After 24 action-packed, and often sleepless, hours of racing, the Corvettes return to the top step of the podium for the third time in five years, 45 years after Briggs Cunningham first brought the marque to Le Mans.

"I'm thrilled for the team today, as this is a major accomplishment," said GM Racing director Doug Duchardt, "This is exactly the result we've been working so hard for - although it was a rollercoaster of a 24 hours."

Both Corvette teams had to overcome many obstacles during the race, ranging from triple driver stints to numerous front and rear bodywork changes which occurred during the course of the accident-prone race.

Papis and O'Connell each put in a sleepless performance of more than ten hours behind the wheel after team-mate Fellows was sidelined after an accident earlier in the night while, over in the #64 car, Gavin, Beretta and Magnussen fought hard to overcome two innocent brushes with faster prototypes.

After putting early incidents behind them, the Corvettes got themselves back into a position where they could take advantage of any opportunity that might come their way - although the leading #66 Ferrari held a comfortable lead for the majority of the morning. The deciding moment came near the midday mark, as Beretta brought the #64 car in for a pit-stop at exactly the moment that the Ferraris were finishing extensive repairs.

"We knew today's race would be difficult, but I don't think we expected it to be like this," Beretta commented, "Everyone on the team worked very hard, never giving up, and that is why we won today."

The two cars were now back on the same lap and only yards separated them. Magnussen took the wheel and never looked back, putting distance between the back of his Corvette and the lead Ferrari. The lead would open to a number of minutes over the Dane's near two hour stint in the car, before Gavin finished smoothly as the Ferraris encountered more troubles.

"This is a very, very big win for us," the Briton said afterwards, "After what happened here last year [when Corvette was blown away on an important anniversary], we fully reviewed our programme and carefully prepared for this race."