corvetteinfocenterrh.jpg

C5-R

Home
C7.R
Corvette DP
GT4 C6
GT3 C6 Z06-R
GT2 C6.R
C6.R
C5-R
GT1 C4 ZR1
Callaway SuperNatural
Corvette Challenge
Corvette GTP
Trans-AM
1968 L-88
1967 L-88
Grand Sport
1963 Z06
1962 Sebring Racer
1962 Gulf Oil Corvette
1961 Gulf Oil Corvette
1960 LeMans Racer
1960 "Race Rat"
1959 Purple People Eater
1957 Corvette SS
1956 Sebring Racer
Corvette SR-2
1956 Daytona
ALMS GTS/GT1 Class 1999-2004

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

1999c5r-750.jpg

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

2000c5r-750.jpg

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

2001c5r-750.jpg

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

2002c5r-750.jpg

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
July 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

2003c5r-750.jpg

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
Aug 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

c5rmain.jpg

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
July 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

VIDEO: 2001 Victory at 24hr of Daytona

VIDEO: Inboard Lap of LeMans in the C5-R

VIDEO: Katech Engines on Speedvision (2001)

VIDEO: History of the C5-R

Corvette Racing History is not associated with GM or Chevrolet Motor Division
This site is best viewed with Mozilla Firefox