LAKEVILLE, Conn. -- Jan Magnussen and Johnny O''Connell didn''t give up when they were a lap behind the GT1 leader in today''s American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park. That perseverance was rewarded when they scored a come-from-behind victory after a sudden reversal of fortune put their No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R in front with 25 minutes remaining in the race. The pair''s fourth victory of the season was highlighted by a wheel-to-wheel battle between O''Connell and Olivier Beretta as they jockeyed for position as the No. 3 emerged from the pits after its final splash-and-go fuel stop.

O''Connell and Magnussen completed 157 laps on the reconfigured and repaved Lime Rock Park road course, finishing eighth overall. The No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R driven by Beretta and Oliver Gavin finished second with 146 laps after a gearbox problem sidelined the car with eight minutes remaining. The No. 009 Aston Martin DBR9 of Borcheller and Ducote was third in the GT1 class, completing 61 laps before retiring after an accident.

"Today''s race was a perfect example of why you never give up," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "Coming off our second and third-place finishes in Le Mans, you might think that this team might be a little bit down. But take a look at what happened today: Nobody gave up when one of the cars was almost a lap down. That''s what makes Corvette Racing a great team."

Magnussen started in the No. 3 Corvette and Gavin in the No. 4, and they completed their 57-minute stints without a caution period. The first full-course yellow began at the one-hour mark just after the Corvettes had pitted for fuel, tires and driver changes. When racing resumed 25 minutes later, the two Corvettes were nose-to-tail with O''Connell in the No. 3 and Beretta in the No. 4. The complexion of the race changed dramatically when a second safety car period began at 1:34 into the race. With the leading prototype between the two Corvettes, the No. 4 gained nearly a full lap on its sister car. Then a third yellow at 2:02 put the two cars back on the same lap.

"It was looking dark for a while, but No. 3 Corvette C6.R was a great race car today," Magnussen said. "I was unlucky with traffic in my stint, and then just after Johnny got into the car, the race leader was between the two Corvettes when the yellow flag came out. We lost nearly a full lap on the wave-by. It looked grim, but then we got back on the lead lap when the other car had to stop. Then they had a small problem and stopped again. We needed just a few gallons of ethanol to make it to the finish, and Johnny just pipped Olivier coming out of the pit lane. That was very exciting!"

O''Connell notched his 32nd career ALMS victory today, but it was his first win ever at Lime Rock Park.

"There are so many races we could have won but for bad luck," said O''Connell. "I don''t know if we should have won this one, but I''m going to take it!

”When I came out of the pits after the last stop, I saw Olivier coming," O''Connell continued. "I held the inside line, and the only way he was going to take me was on the outside – and that would have been impossible."

With their victory today, O''Connell and Magnussen now hold a 12-point lead (106-94) over their teammates in the GT1 drivers championship with six races remaining.

"That is racing," said Beretta. "We were fast again like we were in Long Beach and Salt Lake City, but the luck was not with us. At the end of the day, Corvette Racing finished one and two, and we are still working to improve for next year."

Gavin agreed: "You wonder when the luck will turn our way," he said. "Olivier drove brilliantly and the team did a great job. Now we need to get to the bottom of the issue with the gearbox. We''re pleased that both cars have come out of this race unscathed and are ready for next weekend in Mid-Ohio, because this is a very difficult track."

Corvette Racing’s next event is the Acura Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on Saturday, July 19. NBC will televise the race tape-delayed on Sunday, July 20, at 12 p.m. EDT.

American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix GT1 Results Pos./Drivers/Car/Laps 1. O''Connell/Magnussen, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 157 2. Gavin/Beretta, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 146 3. Borcheller/Ducote, Aston Martin DBR9, 61 (accident)

GT1 Championship Standings (unofficial after five of 11 events) Manufacturer/Points 1. Chevrolet 110 2. Aston Martin 23

Driver/Points 1. Jan Magnussen 106 Johnny O''Connell 106 2. Oliver Gavin 94 Olivier Beretta 94 3. Ron Fellows 30 4. Max Papis 26 5. Terry Borcheller 23 Chapman Ducote 23 Antonio Garcia 23

NEXT EVENT July 19, 3:30 p.m. EDT, Acura Sports Car Challenge, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio TV: NBC, July 20, 12 p.m. EDT

General Motors'' Chevrolet division made its Corvette far more desirable in 1956 after watching the car''s sales fall since its 1953 introduction. If it hadn''t done so, it would have seen rival Ford''s 1955-57 two-seat Thunderbird trounce the ''Vette.

The first Corvette was one of GM''s'' auto show concept cars -- brought to life in late 1953. It was pretty, but had gimmicky "futuristic" styling with such things as "jet-pod" taillights. GM had never built a sports car, so the ''Vette had assembly problems with its fiberglass body, tepid performance from an old Chevy six-cylinder engine and a lazy two-speed automatic transmission when foreign sports cars had manual gearboxes. There were no outside door handles or roll-up windows, just clip-on plastic side curtains.

Beyond that, the $3,498 Corvette cost nearly as much as a Cadillac, which was America''s most prestigious car.

The 1953 models were reserved for VIPs such as celebrities, socialites and top businessmen. They weren''t bad autos but disappointed sports car fans, who wanted a manual gearbox, and those who just wanted a fast, flashy two-seater with power accessories. Only 315 were built.

Chevy made the ''Vette more readily available in 1954, but just 3,640 were built that year. In 1955 production dwindled to less than 1,000 cars, leaving Chevy with some 1,500 unsold models at year''s end.

Major changes were needed, especially because Ford sold 16,155 of its popular new two-seat Thunderbird, which had a potent V-8, slick metal body, three-speed manual or automatic transmission, outside door handles and roll-up windows. The $2,944 "T-Bird" appealed to sports car fans (although Ford just called it a "personal car") and to those who just wanted a fast, stylish two-seater.

Thunderbird''s sales were a slap in the face to Chevy.

Coming to the Corvette''s rescue were brilliant engineer Ed Cole, who gave the ''Vette a sensational, optional new Chevy V-8 to accompany the six-cylinder, and a three-speed manual transmission late in the model year. Helping Cole was savvy Belgium-born engineer/sports car racer Zora Arkus-Duntov, who improved the car''s handling. The 1955 Corvette looked the same as the 1953-54 model, so most overlooked the latest version despite the improvements. Sales thus totaled only 674 cars.

Few overlooked the 1956 model, which cost $3,120. Thanks to Cole, Arkus-Duntov and GM styling chief Harley Earl, who gave the Corvette purposeful styling, the fourth-year model was dramatically improved. It now looked like a serious sports car. It also had optional power windows and a power soft top. A $215.20 hard top gave sedan-like weather protection.

The dashboard still was more flashy than functional, but so what? The $3,120 car did 0-60 mph in 7.3 seconds with its close-ratio manual transmission and topped 120 mph because Chevy made the V-8 standard. It had 210 horsepower -- or 225 with a high-lift camshaft, twin four-barrel carburetors and dual exhausts. The six-cylinder had 150-155 horsepower.

Arkus-Duntov improved steering and handling -- making the 1956 ''Vette fast through curves. The 1956 Corvette was so good it won the tough Class C production Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) racing championship. And a 1956 ''Vette was the fastest modified car at that year''s Daytona Speed Weeks. The Thunderbird two-seaters were hopeless on race tracks. But then, Ford never said they were sports cars.

"My boss gave me a ride in his new Corvette," my uncle Ormond told me with a laugh in 1956. "He scared the heck out of me, hitting 85 mph in just second gear. Then he shifted into third, only backing off after we topped 100 mph and were still going strong."

That was heady stuff for 1956, when a powerful 1956 Cadillac V-8 took more than 10 seconds to hit 60 mph. Corvette sales jumped to 3,467 cars.

The Corvette really came alive in 1957 with the addition of optional power-producing fuel injection. Engine size rose from 265 to 283 cubic inches, and the fuel-injected V-8 produced 250 to 283 horsepower. Standard horsepower of the V-8 with a four-barrel carburetor was 220, and you could get the carbureted V-8 with 245 or 270 horsepower. The 283-horsepower ''Vette with the manual transmission did 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds -- fast by today''s standards.

The base 1957 ''Vette convertible cost $3,176.32 A four-speed manual transmission was $188.30. And a $780.10 option got you a totally race-ready ''Vette, with faster steering, special springs and shock absorbers, heavier front stabilizer bar and finned, ventilated brake drums with ceramic-metallic linings for heavy-duty, high-speed use.

The Corvette finished first and second in the GT class against international sports car competition during the 1957 12-hour race at Sebring, Fla. A 1957 Corvette also won the SCCA championship for Class B production cars.

Forty-seven years ago, the boom of a GM small-block V-8 engine first resonated on the Mulsanne Straight, rumbled through Arnage and rocked Tertre Rouge. While Chevrolet is widely recognized as the most successful manufacturer in American motorsports history, Chevrolet also has been well represented in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Chevrolet performance has a French accent at the world’s most famous endurance race.

The lure of Le Mans has proven irresistible for Chevrolet racers. The recent success of Corvette Racing at Le Mans was presaged by generations of Chevrolet-powered racers who drove production Corvettes, handbuilt prototypes and homebuilt specials at the Circuit of the Sarthe. Chevrolet has a rich racing heritage in Europe that spans the spectrum form Briggs Cunningham’s trio of solid-axle Corvettes and John Greenwood’s bewinged warriors to Jim Hall’s innovative Chaparral coupes and Billy Hagan’s NASCAR-inspired Camaros. The following are highlights of Chevrolet’s competition legacy at Le Mans.

PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. (May 19, 2008) - Before the 2008 season is done, Phoenix Performance owner Joe Aquilante would like to change the statistic that a Chevrolet Corvette has never won the GT class race in an event of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.

Aquilante''s experienced crew has modified a production Chevrolet Corvette C6 to Grand-Am''s Prep 1 specifications for the GT category, and armed it with championship-winning drivers and crew. The car debuts in Monday''s (May 26) Lime Rock Classic 250 race around the 1.53-mile Lime Rock Park road course in northwest Connecticut.

Drivers are 20-year-old Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., a 2007 SCCA National Champion with a Corvette in the thundering T-1 class; and John Heinricy, Royal Oak, Mich., winner of 11 SCCA National Championships, 40 professional sports car races, and four professional drivers'' championships.

"Our goal is to prove you don''t need a budget the size of what it takes to run for President of the United States to be successful in the GT category," said Aquilante. "Grand-Am has two sets of preparation rules for the class, Prep 1 and Prep 2. We''d like to show the less-expensive Prep 1 way can be successful.

The basis is a production Chevrolet Corvette, the GM Performance Parts catalog, and experienced personnel to build and drive the car, and good tactical calls in the race, Aquilante added. "We put the car on a 500 lb diet, improved the handling and the aero package, and bought a GM ‘crate'' LS6 engine, which is an SCCA Touring 1 class engine. Spectators at Lime Rock can buy the same exact engine."

Charged with creating the race strategy, then adapting tactical moves to what really happens, is veteran driver Don Knowles, Pittsboro, N.C., who has been racing at Lime Rock since 1972, winning six of 26 races contested in 12 brands of cars.

Knowles and Heinricy, as co-drivers for Joe Aquilante in professional endurance races, have also been the guiding lights for Andrew Aquilante''s burgeoning career. "I began in the Phoenixville Quarter Midget Club when I was eight years old. Don and John became my driving coaches and mentors when I started driving race cars in 2004," said Andrew, a junior at Penn State University, where he is studying Mechanical Engineering.

"To have friends like that, who are willing to share all their experience, to me, is like part of the ‘unfair advantage'' Mark Donohue used to claim. Turned out his secret was the whole package, and that''s what I think we have with a solid car like the Corvette, my dad''s crew, plus John and Don. I''m told John and Don were co-drivers for 19 of John''s 40 pro race wins, including one at Lime Rock in 1989. They seem to think alike, and if they don''t they reason things out."

Behind the pit wall, Aquilante has merged the top minds on his Corvette project with the lead men on his Subaru project for the Grand-Am KONI Challenge series. The crew includes Kurt Omensetter, Mark Giusti, Chris Boughter, Chuck Montague, Jeff Parsons, Mike Volpe, Brad Hunter, Chip Benford, Drew Spoto, Kevin Prifti, Jason Lang, Matt Smith and Jeanne Aquilante. The Phoenix Corvette and its competitors practice on Friday, May 23, qualify on Saturday, then race Monday at 2 p.m. ET. The race will be televised live by SPEED.

About Phoenix Performance Located in Phoenixville, Pa, Phoenix Performance is owned by Joe Aquilante. Based in a 32,000 sq. ft. race shop 35 miles west of downtown Philadelphia. Phoenix Performance-prepared cars have won 18 SCCA National Championships since 1999 - including three wins per year for the past four years, two professional series Manufacturer Championship, and the GM Motorsports Winner''s Circle Award. For more information, call 610-482-0141 or visit www.phoenixperformaceinc.com and www.phoenixperformance.net.

Whether it''s a high-tech wind turbine, a vintage generator that runs on coal gas or a restored steam engine, I''m fascinated by alternative power sources and fuels. I''m also interested in powerful cars that are fun to drive. Hey, I''m a car guy first, environmentalist second—what can I say? There''s grease in my veins.

Take my 2006 Corvette Z06. Thanks to Pratt & Miller Engineering, a New Hudson, Mich.-based performance shop that specializes in designing and building fast-moving rides for the road and racetrack, the Vette now develops 600 hp, has a top speed of 208 mph and runs on a homegrown alternative to gasoline—cleaner-burning E85 ethanol. Now that''s a fun-to-drive car.

But why a Corvette? Why turn a perfectly good high-performance vehicle that''s already thrilling to drive into a muscle-bound, flex-fuel speed demon? The answer is simple: It''s exciting and sends the message that an alt-fuel vehicle doesn''t have to be a slow, boring econobox whose only claim to fame is that it emits fewer greenhouse gases than a car that burns gasoline alone. Reducing harmful emissions is a wonderful thing, but it''s not very interesting on its own. A car like this, on the other hand, makes people stop and say, “Wow!” It demonstrates that going green doesn''t have to be dull.

Even if it''s just an engineering exercise, I hope building a high-performance flex-fuel vehicle like this will open more people''s eyes, especially enthusiasts'', to the idea of using alternative fuels. If it inspires just one engineer to think up environmentally friendly solutions to the future-fuel issue that preserve the excitement and driveability of cars, this project will have been well worth the effort.

The transformation from mild-mannered Z06 into a C6.R Le Mans race car for the street—P&M calls it a C6RS—began with dropping in a new powerplant from Katech Perform­ance, the folks from Clinton Township, Mich., who build engines for the Corvette C6.R racing program. Milled from a solid block of billet aluminum, the new 8.2-liter small-block V8 has 1.2 liters more displacement than the stock engine. The one-off reciprocating assembly includes a forged-steel crankshaft and connecting rods, and forged ­aluminum pistons. It churns out a tire-melting 600 lb.-ft. of torque (130 lb.-ft. more than a stock Z06).

Power from the mighty V8 was originally routed through a strengthened T-56 six-speed transmission and a high-performance Centerforce dual-friction clutch. But P&M reworked the electronics, turning my Vette''s T-56 into a sequential shifter. For me, this setup is the best compromise between electronically ­controlled paddle shifters (which I don''t like) and a full manual (which I do like). My left foot is happy to do the work instead of delegating it to a bunch of circuits. Now, shifts are lightning quick—bam, bam, bam!