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5/29/08 Utah ALMS Race Report |
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World Challenge and KONI star delivers a strong performance in his American Le Mans debut with LG Motorsports. SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT and KONI Challenge driver Eric Curran found himself behind the wheel of yet another impressive piece of Chevrolet machinery at the recent American Le Mans round held in Tooele, Utah.
Curran, accustomed to racing and winning with his Whelen Engineering Corvette in SPEED GT and his Georgian Bay Cobalt in KONI ST, was drafted into the LG Motorsports ALMS Corvette C6 for round four of the championship, held at Miller Motorsports Park.
“Lou Gigliotti called me a week before Miller and mentioned that his regular co-driver Doug Peterson might not be driving there,” said Curran. “He asked if I would be interested in driving if there was a seat available and I jumped at the opportunity.”
Gigliotti was impressed with how quickly Curran adapted to the new cars and team. “Eric climbed into a strange car and carried the burden well. Other than it being based on a Corvette, it is an entirely different handling car with Dunlop slicks, and Eric matched and ultimately beat my best time for the full week. We would be fortunate to be able to add Eric to the team.”
Gigliotti and Curran have battled each other in the SPEED GT series up through 2007, so the two are well aware of each other’s abilities. “Lou and I have become really good friends over the last few years of racing in World Challenge. We’re both ‘Corvette guys’ trying hard to win races.”
 For Curran, the LG C6 was a pleasure to drive from the very first laps. “Lou had me do three laps in Fridays practice and as I was quick right away. I got out of the car with a fairly impressive lap time after those few laps and said, ‘Wow, this LG Motorsports Corvette is a lot of fun!’ The next day Lou had me do a few more laps to help give feedback for altering the suspension. I seemed to fit right into the team right away.”
Based on his earlier speed, Eric was asked to qualify the car. “Later that day Lou had me qualify the car, and we put it 9th on the GT2 grid. Each session I ran the car went quicker. With a few more sessions and a little more development, the LG Motorsports Corvette would be at the front.”
With the LG Corvette added to Curran’s resume, he’s driven almost every model of the car in recent history. “At this point I’ve driven four different World Challenge Corvettes, a Rolex GTS Corvette, two Rolex GT Corvettes, and now an ALMS Corvette. I obviously love Corvettes! The LG Motorsports C6 is about as much fun you could have in a race car. The series allows slick racing tires, lots of modifications to the chassis, big brakes and downforce. It drives differently than the WC car but because I know Corvettes so well I got up to speed quickly, and hope to be driving it again.”
Having shared a car with Lou Gigliotti for the first time, Curran sees a lot of potential to make it to the top. “Lou and his team at LG Motorsports are a very dedicated crew; they are working very hard, and after only their fourth race, I helped them run as high as 3rd place and we finished 7th. They have a lot of potential to threaten the best teams in GT2.”
Curran is hoping he made enough of an impression at Utah on the team and potential sponsors to earn an invitation back for the rest of the season. “Well if it was my choice I would in for the season. I really enjoyed working with my buddy Lou and fit in great with the team. The only problem is an age old one. Will we have the funding to do more races? All the guys at LG Motorsports would love to have me there and I think I could be a great addition to the program.”
Team owner Gigliotti is also working hard to keep Curran in the car. “Moving forward with our season will depend upon funding to continue. This Series is not only the best series for the Corvette to race in it happens to be the most expensive. From tires to competitive engines and the cost of a full ALMS-quality pit crew, everything is amplified. We have not given up yet and neither has Eric in our quest to find the necessary funding. We know that Eric would be a great addition to the team.”
Photo 1: Eric Curran at the 2008 American Le Mans Series round 4 event, held in Tooele, Utah. (Photo: John Thawley)
Photo 2: Curran (right) compares noted with co-driver and team owner Lou Gigliotti. (Photo: John Thawley) |
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