Chevrolet Corvette DP and Camaro GT.R S. win in Detroit

DETROIT (June 2, 2012) -- Chevrolet swept both classes in the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle GRAND-AM 200 on The Raceway at Belle Isle Park on Saturday: Darren Law and Joao Barbosa drove the No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype to victory in the DP class, and Jordan Taylor and Paul Edwards won in the No. 88 Autohaus Motorsports Camaro GT.R in the GT category.

Race winners Joao Barbosa and Darren Law celebrate

Photo by: Adriano Manocchia

Law and Barbosa started fourth and finished 0.440 seconds ahead of their Action Express Racing teammates Terry Borcheller and David Donohue for their first victory of the season, and the fourth in five races this year for the Corvette DP.

“Sweeping both the Daytona Prototype and Grand Touring races at Belle Isle, in the shadow of its world headquarters, makes this a very special day for Chevrolet Racing,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet Grand-Am Program Manager. “Joao Barbosa and Darren Law both drove extremely well on a course that is not very forgiving, and they needed that effort in order to outpace their Action Express teammates, Terry Borcheller and David Donohue.”

The No. 9 Action Express Corvette DP led a race-high 21 of the 72 laps of the two-hour race.

“Winning at Detroit with the Corvette -- it can’t be better than this,” Barbosa said. “Being part of the Action Express crew, I have no words.”

“You know what? If I bit my nails I would have no nails left,” Law, who started, said about being a spectator at the end of the race. “I was going crazy, but Joao did a stellar job. I have to thank all the crew and Action Express and also to win this in Detroit in front of Chevy’s headquarters, this is unbelievable. I’m just super happy.”

Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney started on the pole and led the first 19 laps, but a wreck while leaving pit road on lap 36 caused damage and left the No. 10 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP with a 10th-place-in-class finish.

The No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP, driven by Michael Valiente and Richard Westbrook, briefly led before it, too, was involved in a wreck that caused damage, leaving it with a ninth-in-class finish.

In GT, Taylor and Edwards started fourth in class en route to their first win of 2012.

“How cool is it do be driving that Chevrolet Camaro right in Detroit in the hometown of Chevrolet and General Motors?” Edwards said. “You can actual see the world headquarters right from the race track. It’s an awesome win.”

The No. 88 Autohaus Motorsports Camaro GT.R led a class-best 35 laps.

“What a tremendous win for Autohaus Motorsports, too, with Jordan Taylor and Paul Edwards in the No. 88 Camaro GT.R.,” Lutz said. “This Belle Isle course is very tight, and Taylor and Edwards had to race their way to the front under very competitive conditions. What an impressive effort.”

Taylor, who left to compete at Le Mans right after the race, said this was a great way to start a very busy month.

“The month of June will be packed for me, but it’s great to start off with a win for Camaro and Autohaus Motorsports,” Taylor said. “The guys have been doing a great job all year. It’s just been little things that have been biting us and this is great to finally get that win.”

John Edwards and Robin Liddell started first in class en route to a third-place finish in the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R.

In the Manufacturers’ Standings, Chevrolet leads DP by 17 points, and moved from fourth to second in GT, just six points off the pace.