1999 – 2004 Corvette C5-R

Corvette C5-R Model Guide

This article was first published at Corvette-Racing-Tripod

The Corvette C5-R was part of a plan by General Motors and their Chevrolet brand to create a factory team to participate in grand touring races not only in North America, but also elsewhere in the world, most notably at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. GM had previously been against approving factory support for Corvette racing programs, although the IMSA GT Championship’s Corvette GTPs had seen some support until they ended competition in 1989. With the fifth generation Corvette however, GM chose to show the performance capabilities of the new car by using a more production-based racing car instead of the “in-name-only” Corvette GTP. Their intentions were to take on Dodge and Porsche, who were already running in the category at the time.

General Motors chose the Pratt & Miller group of Michigan to build and develop the new racing cars, as well as to organize the racing team in preparation for a debut in 1999. Riley & Scott also assisted in the project, running a second team for a year. Since regulations in place at the time limited the team to using elements of production Corvettes, Pratt & Miller and GM used heavily modified road car mules to test out the engine and other equipment that the racing cars were to use.

Later, the actual race chassis were built, sharing only basic key structural elements with the road cars. A firewall was placed immediately behind the driver’s seat in the cockpit, eliminating any rear visibility inside the car. A large diffuser and wing were added to the rear, while a splitter and vents on the hood were added to the front. The front headlights were also replaced with protruding permanent units in place of the pop-up headlights on the road car.

The C5-R initially used a 366 ci (6.0 liter) V8 engine based on the road car’s LS1. This was replaced with a larger 427 ci (7.0 liter) engine several months later during the 1999 season, and became the standard engine for the C5-R for the rest of its career. Katech Engine Development constructed the C5-Rs engines, although they retained elements of the production LS1 units.

1999 ALMS GTS Class

Jan 31	Daytona, FL	24hrs	USSRC	GT2	Start 1 & 4	Finish 2 & 12
Mar 20	Sebring, FL	12hrs	ALMS	GTS	Start 1 & 2	Finish 4 & 7
Sep 19	Road Atlanta, GA	100km	ALMS	GTS	Start 3 & 3	Finish 3 & 4
Oct 10	Laguna Seca, CA	2hrs	ALMS	GTS	Start 3	Finish 2
Nov 7	Las Vegas, NV	2hrs	ALMS	GTS	Start 3	Finish 3

2000 ALMS GTS Class

Feb 6	Daytona, FL	24hrs	Grand Am	GTO	Start 1 & 3	Finish 2 & 10
Mar 19	Sebring, FL	12hrs	ALMS	GTS	Start 1 & 5	Finish 6 & 5
July 17-18	Le Mans, France	24hrs	FIA	GTS	Start 2 & 3	Finish 4 & 3
Aug 6	Mostport, ON	2hrs 45min	ALMS	GTS	Start 1	Finish 2
Sep 2	Texas Motor Speedway	2hrs 45min	ALMS	GTS	Start 2	Finish 1
Sep 30	Road Atlanta, GA	10hrs	ALMS	GTS	Start 1 & 1	Finish 1 & 3
Oct 15	Laguna Seca, CA	2hrs 45min	ALMS	GTS	Start 1 & 4	Finish 2 & 2
Oct 29	Las Vegas, NV	2hrs 45min	ALMS	GTS	Start 5 & 2	Finish 3 & 6

2001 ALMS GTS Class

Feb 3-4	Rolex 24hrs	Start 14 & 19	Finish 1 & 2
Mar 4	Texas 2hrs 45min	Start 6 & 7	Finish 1 & 4
Mar 17	12hrs of Sebring	Start 10 & 12	Finish 2 & 3
Jun 16-17	24hrs of LeMans	Start 27 & 29	Finish 1 & 2
July 22	Sears Point 2hrs 45min	Start 10 & 11	Finish 1 & 2
Aug 4	Portland 2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 3	Finish 1 & DQ
Aug 19	Mosport 2hrs 45min	Start 3 & 4	Finish 1 & 3
Aug 25	Mid-Ohio 2hrs 45min	Start 14 & 15	Finish 1 & 2
Sep 9	Laguna Seca 2hrs 45min	Start 7 & 8	Finish 2 & 3
Oct 6	Audi Petit Le Mans 1000 miles	Start 15	Finish 1

2002 ALMS GTS Class

Mar 16	12hrs of Sebring	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 4
May 19	Sears Point 2hrs 45min	Start 11 & 12	Finish 1 & 2
June 15-16	24hrs of LeMans	Start 29 & 32	Finish 1 & 2
June 30	Mid-Ohio 2hrs 45min	Start 10 & 13	Finish 1 & 2
July 7	Road America 500 miles	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 2
Jul 21	RFK Stadium Circuit 2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 2
Aug 3	Le Circuit Trois Rivieres 3hrs	Start 12 & 13	Finish 1 & 2
Aug 18	Mosport 2hrs 45min	Start 13 & 15	Finish 1 & 2
Sep 22	Laguna Seca 2hrs 45min	Start 3 & 4	Finish 3 & DNF
Oct 5	Miami 2hrs 45min	Start 13 & 15	Finish 1 & 2
Oct 12	Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta 1000 miles	Start 18 & 20	Finish 1 & 3

2003 ALMS GTS Class

Mar 15	Sebring, FL	12hrs	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 3
Jun 14-15	LeMans, France	24hrs	Start 3 & 5	Finish 2 & 3
Jun 29	Road Atlanta	2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 3
July 27	Infineon Raceway	2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 4	Finish 1 & 2
August 3	Le Grand Prix de Trios Rivieres	3hrs	Start 2 & 4	Finish 1 & 2
Aug 17	Mosport	2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 4	Finish 1 & 7
Aug 24	Road America	2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 2	Finish 2 & 5
Sep 7	Monterey Sports Car Championship	2hrs 45min	Start 3 & 4	Finish 2 & 3
Sep 27	Cadillac American LeMans Challenge	2hrs 45min	Start 2 & 3	Finish 4 & DNS
Oct 18	Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta	1000 miles or 10hrs	Start 4 & 6	Finish 3 & 5

2004 – ALMS GTS Class, 10 Races, 10 Poles, 10 Wins

Mar 20	Sebring, FL	12hrs	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 6
Jun 12-13	Le Mans, France	24hrs	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 2
Jun 27	Mid-Ohio	2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 2
July 5	Lime Rock Park	2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 2
July 18	Infineon Raceway, CA	2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 3
Jul 25	Portland, OR	2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 2
Aug 8	Mosport	2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 2
Aug 22	Road America	2hrs 45min	Start 1 & 2	Start 1 & 2
Sep 25	Petit LeMans @ Road Atlanta	1000 miles or 10hrs	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 2
Oct 16	Laguna Seca	4hrs	Start 1 & 2	Finish 1 & 2