The Riley Technologies GT2 Corvette C6 enjoyed a impressive debut in the American Le Mans Series, although an over-heating issue forced the LG Motorsports run car to retire from the Sebring 12 Hours.
Team owner Lou Gigliotti, Doug Peterson, and Riley Motorsports pilot Marc Goosens shared the driving duties throughout the on-track sessions leading up to the race, showing strong pace and reliability during the testing, practice, and qualifying sessions.
“For a car that had never turned a wheel before this week, we're thrilled with how well things went,” Riley Technologies vice president Bill Riley said. “We were able to get a lot of laps in with this car and didn't miss any sessions with any 'new-car problems.' So we got a lot of data and made progress with the development program we have planned for this car. Obviously, our goal was to finish the race, but we still feel as though this was a great debut and that we accomplished a tremendous amount this week.”
The GT2 Class saw the race victory decided by less than one second in the 2007 event and once again provided a fierce battleground in 2008, attracting the largest class entry in the field and boasting brands from across the globe with Ferrari, Porsche, Viper, Aston Martin, and Ford GT-R all represented on the grid as the famed Corvette name joined the fray.
“I've been involved with putting a new car on the track a number of times in my career, but this was one of the most seamless debut runs that I've ever experienced,” Gigliott saidi. “Bill and his guys do a tremendous job. It is still early of course, but we are really excited about what we saw out of this car at Sebring, and we know that there is a lot more to come. I'm looking forward to putting everything to good use the rest of the year starting down at St. Pete.”
