Corvette win 'best yet' says team.

Corvette Racing's top brass are calling the 73rd Le Mans 24 Hours their best win yet after the Pratt & Miller team overcame the challenge of the factory Aston Martin team to record a wholly unexpected 1-2 finish in the GT1 class.

Despite being outpaced by the two British beasts over a single lap of the 8.45-mile French circuit, exceptional reliability and slick pit work helped keep the two C6-R's within striking distance of the two Astons.

In a four-way scrap that raged for more than 20 hours, all four leading contenders were still on the same lap as the race moved into the final four hours before ill-fortune struck both Aston's within minutes, leaving the two Corvette's sitting pretty as 1-2 in the class.

The team then had to survive the expected Aston fight back and as the race entered its final two hours, anything was still possible with the lead Aston one lap back and closing. However one Aston then ran out of fuel and the other coasted to a halt with radiator problems, finally sealing the win for Corvette in the final 90 minutes.

Drivers Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen were able to repeat their 2004 victory with a two-lap win over teammates Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis.

Corvettes' fourth 1-2 class finish at Le Mans in the last five years saw the two yellow perils claim fifth and sixth positions overall, just 21 laps behind the winning Champion Audi team.

"I pushed hard, it was like qualifying every lap," said Magnussen, who drove a stunning double stint towards the end of the race in withering 97-degree heat. "I was trying to stay out of trouble, be consistent and work the traffic. It paid off and we wore out the competition. I enjoyed every minute of it because I could see that we could widen the gap. It's the best we could hope for."

"This is a fantastic result for the C6.R's first outing at Le Mans," Gavin declared after he forced the pace in the closing hours in his own double stint. "The Corvette Racing team just never gives up. The team told me that we needed a certain lap time to make sure they would never catch us. We achieved the lap time we needed, and they broke. I take my hat off to Aston Martin, but nobody beats Corvette Racing. I'm just delighted to be part of the team and driving with brilliant teammates like Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen."

Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan was understandably delighted with a win that came in the C6-R's maiden appearance at Le Mans. "Each time you come here, you think it can't possibly get any better," he noted. "Last year after our 1-2 finish, I left thinking there was no way to top this, but this year we did. We didn't turn a wheel wrong, we didn't hit anything, we didn't break anything. That comes from the experience and continuity of being here year in, year out. I'm already looking forward to coming back in 2006."

"There should be no doubt that Corvette has arrived at world-class status," added Corvette chief engineer Dave Hill. "The success that we've had racing at Le Mans, linked with the capabilities of production models such as the new Z06, makes this the finest time in Corvette's history. The team has shown courage to take on strong adversaries over the years, from Viper and Ferrari to Aston Martin. I've had the honour to be here at Le Mans for six years, and this has to be the best one yet."