Join Corvette Racing's Johnny O'Connell as he and the team attempt to send the Corvette C6.R off in fitting style at Le Mans with a sixth GT1 victory for America's supercar. Johnny is a three-time class winner at the 24 Hours and can become the first American to become a four-time champion. For more on Johnny, visit his personal Web site at johnnyoconnell.com
- Posted 11.20.09
- JOHNNY O: SAFETY FIRST AT PRATT & MILLER
- Studying driver protection a never-ending aspect for Corvette Racing
Corvette Racing’s Johnny O’Connell says the crew at Pratt & Miller have been hard at work restoring and rebuilding the Corvette C6.R that was heavily damaged in the epic last-lap duel between teammate Jan Magnussen and Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Jörg Bergmeister in the Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón.
Johnny O'Connell: "Many aspects of the crash have been analyzed and changes made to the car to better protect us in the future."
The Corvette and Porsche banged side-to-side coming out of the final turn in a frantic GT2 battle. As they beat on each other toward the finish, Magnussen went around hard into the outside wall just before the start-finish line.
“Perhaps one the greatest strengths of Corvette Racing is the close association we have with the production side, and the relationship between the two,” O’Connell wrote on his personal blog. “Included in that is the importance both place on safety. Jan’s wreck was huge. He’s still not back to 100 percent but is getting close. That said, many aspects of the crash have been analyzed and changes made to the car to better protect us in the future. Just like was done when Dale Jr. had his crash and fire (at Infineon in 2004), things have been changed and improved. So as we move to the future all of us drivers will be confident in the safety or our car and know that everything has been looked at many times by the best in the industry.”
