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Compuware Racing Corvette Driver Biographies
Ron Fellows Ron FellowsRon Fellows is one of the founding drivers in General Motors' Corvette C5-R sports car racing program and was responsible for the team's first ALMS victory in September 2000 at the Texas Motor Speedway. Fellows is recognized as one of North America's best and diverse road racing drivers; he has won races in every level of competition he's raced, from NASCAR to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A native of Windsor, Ontario, Fellows developed an early love for auto racing, competing first in karts, followed by Formula 1600 and Formula 2000. After a subsequent nine-year stint as a gas pipeline worker, he returned to racing for good in the early 1980's and launched what would become a legendary career behind the wheel. Fellows found early success in his first level of professional competition, the Player's/GM Challenge series, where he won the Series Driver's Championship in 1989. Fellows' achievement continued in SCCA Trans Am racing, where he went on to win 19 races in only 95 starts—a distinction that ranks him 6th all-time behind Mark Donahue. He then followed with distinguished competition in sports prototype racing, NASCAR Craftsmen Truck, NASCAR Busch Grand National, and the NASCAR Winston Cup series. In the late 1990's Fellows became the primary development driver for GM's Corvette C5-R program and went on to achieve an unparalleled level of success, with significant victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Le Mans and virtually every road racing circuit in North America. Fellows won the ALMS GTS drivers' championship in 2002 and shared the title with teammate Johnny O'Connell in 2003. In addition to his duties with the factory Corvette program, the Canadian also drove for the top-ranked Dale Earnhardt, Inc., in NASCAR Winston Cup, piloting a Chevrolet to the front of the pack in both road racing dates on the 2003 calendar. In 2002 and 2003, Fellows was named to the Auto Racing All-America First Team for road racing. A resident of Mississauga, Ontario, he has been instrumental in setting up the "Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship," a series that helps young Canadian drivers make a connection to professional, sponsored racing. Career Highlights
Johnny O'ConnellJohnny O'Connell is a factory driver in General Motors' Chevrolet Corvette Racing sports car racing program and was responsible for the team's first overall victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona and first Le Mans class victory in 2001. O'Connell is recognized as one of North America's best and diverse racing drivers. O'Connell developed an early love for auto racing and found success right from the start in single seaters. Competing professionally for the first time in the Formula Atlantic series in 1987, he won five races en route to the championship and was awarded the Rookie of the Year award. Success followed in the road racing arena, where O'Connell won the 12 Hours of Sebring for his class in 1993, overall in 1994 and another class victory in 1995. He also won his class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1994, his very first outing at Le Sarthe. He subsequently ran a season of Indy Cars and then re-entered sports car racing with Panoz until receiving an offer to join the "works" Corvette effort for 2001. O'Connell proved himself worthy of the challenge, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona outright in his first race behind the wheel of the Corvette C5-R and followed with the team's first victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Since that point he has won countless races, helped the team capture three straight manufacturers' titles and pulled home the drivers' championship for the GTS class in 2003 along with teammate Ron Fellows. For 2004, O'Connell will reprise his role with the #3 Compuware Corvette C5-R in hopes of capturing another championship for Chevrolet. O'Connell lives in Georgia with his wife, Robin and children, Canaan and Kelly. Career Highlights
Oliver GavinOliver Gavin is a factory driver for General Motors' Chevrolet Corvette Racing program and has been driving for GM Racing since 2002. Gavin is recognized as one of the world's best young talents in sports car racing, amassing a string of impressive victories and lap records in only a few years since his departure as a championship-winning formula car driver. A native of Cambridgeshire, England, Gavin began his motorsport career in karting in the 1980s, where he successfully competed in a number of British national series. In 1990, Gavin moved up to racing single seaters and promptly won the British National Formula First Series in 1991, capturing 11 wins in 12 races. The remarkable season for the Briton meant securing the prestigious McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year award. The following year he had an impressive debut in the in the British Formula Vauxhall Championship, finishing second in points. In 1993, Gavin moved up to the highly-regarded British Formula 3 Championship and finished as runner up to the title. In 1994, Gavin raced in the FIA International F3000 championship. Returning to British Formula 3 in 1995, he dominated with six victories and captured the title concurrent with his role as a test driver for the Pacific Formula 1 team. In the late '90s, Gavin competed in the International Touring Car series as a works Opel driver along with a recurring role as a Formula 1 test driver for Benetton in addition to driving the pace car during the Formula 1 season. In 2002 Gavin was named as the third driver for Chevrolet's works Corvette Racing program; along with drivers Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell, Gavin won all three long distance events in the GTS class. In 2003, Gavin was named as lead driver for a full season in the Corvette C5-R in the American Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans; along with four record-setting pole positions, Gavin captured two GTS victories en route to finishing third in the driver's championship. In 2004, Gavin will reprise his role as the lead driver in the #4 Compuware Corvette C5-R along with new teammates Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen. When not racing, Gavin competes in marathon, biathlon and triathlon events. He resides in Yardley Hastings, Northamptonshire, with his wife, Helen and children, Lily and Isaac. Career Highlights
Max PapisMax Papis is a factory driver for General Motors' Chevrolet Corvette Racing program. Papis is widely recognized as one of the world's best racing drivers and has found success in both sports car racing and single-seater competition. A native of Como, Italy, Papis started racing in karts in the early 1980s and was asked to join the Italian National Karting team at age 12. In 1989, Papis moved to auto racing when he ran a partial season in Italian Formula 3, following that with many podiums and victories in the prestigious open-wheel series. In 1993 and 1994, Papis raced in International Formula 3000 and began testing Formula 1 cars for Lotus and Renault. Arrows Formula 1 tapped the Italian for seven grands prix in 1995, with Papis recording a best finish of seventh at his home track of Monza. The following year saw Papis making his debut in sports cars and select CART events; he finished as a runner-up to the IMSA championship in the World Sports Car championship for Ferrari, capturing three victories. He followed with more success and exposure driving Champ Cars while simultaneously developing his skills as an able sports car racer in events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona, which he won in 2000 in the sportscar division and overall in 2002. In 2004, Chevrolet chose Papis to join the works Corvette program as an endurance partner for the team's three long-distance events. Papis will co-pilot the #3 Compuware Corvette C5-R with 2003 ALMS champions Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell. Although tremendously active with racing and personal appearances, the Florida resident runs his own sports marketing company and keeps active with an intense physical fitness program. Career Highlights
Olivier BerettaOlivier Beretta is a factory driver for General Motors' Chevrolet Corvette Racing program. Beretta has become one of the most successful drivers in endurance racing, collecting a string of championships and victories at some of the world's most renowned circuits. A native and resident of Monaco, Beretta began racing karts before moving to the French Formula Three series in 1989. He was third in the championship in 1990 and took third place at the Monaco Grand Prix support race that year. In 1992 Beretta mixed a season of International Formula 3000 with Formula One testing duties for Lotus. In 1994, he finished sixth in the F3000 championship for Forti while testing for the Larrousse Grand Prix team. He competed in 10 grands prix for the team, finishing in the top 10 on three occasions, the best of which was seventh in the German Grand Prix. Beretta's first taste of Le Mans was in 1995 with the Chevrolet-powered Courage team. He became involved in the development of the Chrysler Viper in 1996 and finished third in the FIA GT drivers' championship in 1997 with four wins and eight pole positions. In 1998, Beretta won the FIA GT Drivers' Championship, sharing the honors with Pedro Lamy, winning eight out of 10 races, and finished second at Le Mans. In 1999 Beretta won the FIA GT Championship, the American Le Mans Series GTS class championship and the Le Mans 24 hours GTS class, scoring 13 of his team's 16 race wins. He followed the next season with an overall victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona, a class victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring, another Le Mans class title and the ALMS championship. 2001 saw the Monegasque enter prototype driving, running a Dallara to fourth overall at Le Mans and again to fifth overall in 2002 before joining Panoz the following season for the ALMS and Le Mans, where he finished fifth overall. In 2004, Chevrolet tapped Beretta to join Oliver Gavin for a full season of racing in the factory #4 Compuware Corvette C5-R in the American Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Beretta lives in his native Monaco with his wife, Paola and child, Riccardo. Career Highlights
Jan MagnussenJan Magnussen is a factory driver for General Motors' Chevrolet Corvette Racing program. Magnussen is recognized as one of the world's best racing drivers; he has won races and championships in everything from single seaters to touring cars. Starting a racing career in his native Denmark, Magnussen captured numerous national karting titles before winning the junior World Karting championship in 1987 and 1988 and Formula K world title in 1990. He went on to start a successful stint in single seaters, winning the prestigious Formula Ford festival at Brands Hatch in 1992. In 1994 Magnussen captured 14 wins for Paul Stewart Racing en route to winning in the British Formula 3 championship. He also served as a Formula 1 test driver for McLaren before contesting two years of touring car championships in the DTM and ITC in 1995 and 1996. In 1997 Magnussen joined Formula 1 full-time with the Stewart Grand Prix team, where he finished a highest sixth place in Montreal in 1998. After Panoz named Magnussen to join their factory sports car effort in 1999, the Dane went on to find considerable success in endurance racing. He captured six wins in the American-built prototype and established himself as a star in the nascent American Le Mans Series. In 2004, Chevrolet chose Magnussen to join the Corvette Racing program as an endurance partner for the team's three long-distance events. He will co-pilot the factory #4 Corvette C5-R with Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta. Magnussen lives in England with his son, Kevin. Career Highlights
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