Chevrolet’s C5-R Corvettes ventured south for the march 4^th Leather Center Grand Prix of Texas and the opening round of 2001’s American Le Mans Series. It was something of a homecoming for team Corvette since the program’s very first victory came at last year’s Texas Grand Prix. In contrast to 2000, both of the factory Corvettes were in attendance this year. The #3 car was driven by Ron Fellows and Johnny O’Connell while the #4 car was handled by Andy Pilgrim and Kelly Collins, a driver arrangement that will likely remain consistent at all of this year’s “sprint” races, which last only two hours and forty-five minutes. The longer races – Sebring, Le Mans, and Road Atlanta’s Petite Le Mans –justify the addition of a third driver for each car. Look for Franck Freon, a regular last year, and an as-yet unnamed driver to replace Chris Kneifel, who is giving up his C5-R seat to take a position as chief steward for CART.
The mood in Texas for Corvette team members resembled the rainy, overcast skies