CORVETTE DPs AT BELLE ISLE: Going for Four Straight at Home
Four Corvette Daytona Prototypes to race in shadow of Chevrolet Headquarters

· Wayne Taylor Racing winner on Belle Isle in 2013, 2014

· Three straight 1-2 finishes for Corvette DPs on Belle Isle

· Chevrolet enters with 10-point lead in Prototype Engine Manufacturer standings

DETROIT (May 27, 2015) – There’s been no place like home for Chevrolet’s Corvette Daytona Prototype program. This weekend, four Corvette DP entries will try to give Chevrolet a fourth straight victory in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Presented by the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers. The event is part of the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix weekend on the Raceway at Belle Isle Park.

Saturday’s race is the fifth round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Prototype, Prototype Challenge and GT Daytona cars will race for 100 minutes around the 2.3-mile, 14-turn street circuit. It’s a layout that has been good to Corvette DPs over the years with three consecutive 1-2 overall finishes.

Jordan and Ricky Taylor in Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP are the defending race winners and won this season at Long Beach. Wayne Taylor Racing has won the last two events on Belle Isle with Jordan Taylor and Max Angelelli taking victory in 2013. Corvette DP drivers also have swept fast qualifier honors the last three seasons with two fastest race laps in the same span.

VisitFlorida.com Racing’s Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante, runners-up in 2014, enter this year’s race off a victory in the most recent TUDOR Championship round at Laguna Seca. The result also vaulted them into the Prototype Driver’s Championship lead. Their No. 90 Corvette DP hasn’t finished off the podium in four TUDOR Championship rounds this year.

Corvette DP drivers hold four of the top five spots in points. Defending Prototype champions Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi stand second and already have won once this year at Sebring in Action Express Racing’s No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP. Their Action Express teammates – Eric Curran and Dane Cameron in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP – are fifth in points.

“Winning at Chevrolet’s home track on Belle Isle is a major objective each year,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet Program Manager for Corvette Daytona Prototypes. “It’s a big weekend for our Corvette DP teams as well as GM employees and fans. We have been fortunate enough to find considerable success on Belle Isle for the last three years due to great teams, drivers and proper preparation. Our LS-based V8’s throttle responsiveness and proper chassis setup will provide a responsive race car at this demanding circuit. But the addition of the GTD cars will add a lot of traffic and create critical passing challenges. Patience and strategy will be vital elements to win.”

For the 2015 TUDOR Championship, all Corvette DP cars are running with updated Chevrolet bodywork that reflects the Corvette C7 production line.

The frontal area sees a striking change in design from the previous generation Corvette DP, including updates to the hood surface, headlights and radiator inlet area. The rear window area also has been updated. The Corvette DP will take styling cues from the C7 including the rear taillights.

At the heart of the Corvette Daytona Prototype is a purpose-built 5.5-liter Chevrolet LS9 V-8 engine developed by ECR Engines. The peak output is 560 hp as the power is regulated by a pair of sonic air restrictors that are mandated by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) – the sanctioning body of the TUDOR Championship.

The Corvette DP also features a new engine management system from Bosch Motorsport for 2015 and a continuation of a six-speed sequential gearbox with paddle-shift. The brakes feature six-piston calipers with carbon rotors. Without the driver, the Corvette DP weighs 2,285 pounds.

Chevy Racing Display Adds to Chevy Weekend on Belle Isle
In addition to the on-track action, fans on Belle Isle have the opportunity to see a sampling of Chevrolet’s best throughout the weekend at the Team Chevy Display. An impressive lineup of Chevrolet production and specialty vehicles will be on-site including 2016 models Camaro, Equinox, Malibu and Volt; along with Cruze LTZ, Corvette Stingray Convertible, Impala, Traverse, Tahoe, Trax, and the 2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year – Colorado.

Additional vehicles include a track-ready Camaro, the Corvette Z06 C7.R edition, a Chevrolet SS sedan and VisitFlorida.com’s No. 90 Daytona Prototype showcar.

An array of Chevrolet Trucks will be on display including: Silverado Rally Edition, Midnight edition Silverado, Silverado 3500 High Country, Silverado 1500 Crew Cab LTZ, Silverado 1500 Double Cab LT-ZL1, and Silverado High Country.

Fans also can meet and ask questions of their favorite Team Chevy Corvette DP drivers Friday at the Chevy display:
11:15 a.m.: Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante (VisitFlorida.com Racing)
3:15 p.m.: Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, Eric Curran, Dane Cameron (Action Express Racing)

The Team Chevy display will open at 7:30 a.m. ET Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. Sunday.

In addition, Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Presented by the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers will be paced by the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray coupe with the Z51 performance package.

The Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Presented by the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers, the fifth race of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, is set for 12:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 30 from the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. Live TV coverage begins at noon ET on FOX Sports 2 with a tape-delayed broadcast on FOX Sports 1 starting at 2 p.m. ET. Flag-to-flag radio coverage also will be available via IMSA Radio.

CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE QUOTES
JOAO BARBOSA, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP: “Detroit is definitely a place that we look forward to every year. We’re coming of a couple races where we didn’t get the result we wanted and historically the Belle Isle Grand Prix has been a turning point for our team. We had a very memorable win in 2012 where Action Express Racing finished first and second, and then a heartbreaker last year with a flat tire while leading on the last lap. We’ve always had fast cars and I’m confident that we will again this year for the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic.
“It’s great to run in Chevrolet’s backyard and we really want to win that event because of everything that Chevrolet has done to keep racing in Detroit. Chevrolet is undefeated at Belle Isle dating back to 2012 and we certainly hope to keep it that way with our Mustang Sampling Corvette DP.”

RICKY TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP: “It has been a good racetrack for us as we have had a good car there in the past. The track has changed a bit from past years but I don’t think it will affect our approach to the race. We expect everyone else will be stronger than ever, however, we do expect to not lose.
“I’d say (Belle Isle is) second only to the Rolex 24 (in importance). We put an incredible amount of emphasis on this event. Being right outside of GM’s headquarters, we give everything we have to give Chevrolet a good result on home soil.”

ERIC CURRAN, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINGEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP: “Detroit is an extremely important race for myself and everyone at Action Express Racing. I’ve been racing Chevrolets since 1999 and have been professionally associated with them since 2006. You can’t overstate the importance of Chevrolet’s impact on the Detroit Grand Prix and their contributions to keeping and improving racing at Belle Isle. Over $13 million in improvements have been made to the circuit since 2007 and a large part of that is thanks to our partners at Chevrolet.
“Whelen Engineering is a Made in America brand, and in terms of cars it doesn’t get more American than Chevrolet. So winning at Detroit in the shadow of the GM Renaissance Center would be a huge accomplishment for everyone on our team. Action Express Racing finished first and second in 2012, so that’s the goal this weekend as well.”
MICHAEL VALIANTE, VISITFLORIDA.COM NO. 90 CORVETTE DP: “It was great to finally get our first win of the season at Laguna Seca but that’s old news now. We are extremely confident in what we have going forward and what the team is going to bring to the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic. We’ve got the points lead now so we’ve gone from the hunters to the hunted. It’s a good feeling to lead the TUDOR Championship but we certainly can’t get comfortable. Over four races this season there have been three different teams atop the standings, four different race winning teams so it speaks volumes to the level of competition year.
“Belle Isle Park has changed so much in the past and thanks to Chevrolet and everyone at the Detroit Grand Prix, the experience improves every year. This is quickly becoming one of the top attended events of the season and it’s evolved beyond racing.”