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CORVETTE OWNERS DEMONSTRATE
“ABOVE AND BEYOND” BRAND LOYALTY

C5 Registry members make voyage to Le Mans with their C5 Corvettes to support the Corvette C5-R at the legendary 24-hour event.

DETROIT - Americans can be a passionate bunch if they believe in something, and at times they go to great lengths to prove it.  Automobile brand loyalty can really get the blood boiling and ranks up there with politics and religion for many.  For example, taking  into account the Chevrolet Corvette’s long history of being touted as “America’s Performance Icon,” it’s only fitting that a group of passionate Corvette owners from the United States will be traveling with their cars to Europe in support of the Corvette C5-R racing effort at the 68^th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, June 17-18, 2000.

Showing unbridled enthusiasm for the Corvette C5 production vehicle (C5 refers to the fifth-generation Corvette), 19 members of the C5 Registry have made the necessary travel arrangements to ship their cars over to Europe to drive to Le Mans in support of the Corvette C5-R. The privately-owned Corvettes will be packed and loaded from various points throughout the United States for the overseas voyage. Once they arrive in England, the group will make its way to Paris via the Chunnel, a trek that will give Europeans a true taste of American sports car pride.

The stream of Corvettes will then wind their way through the French countryside to Chateau de Curzay, C5 Registry headquarters, located just south of Le Mans.  Following the 24-hour event and pre-race activities, the group plans to invade the beaches of Normandy for a once-in-a-lifetime photo shoot.

“The enthusiasm that General Motors and Chevrolet has shown for the Corvette C5-R is part of the reason we’re making this huge voyage to Le Mans,” said Dan Adovasio, C5 Registry director.  “That excitement got very infectious to us.  It affected our desire to go and see the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

“That’s really what fueled the whole idea of going to Europe - the passion and dedication that Chevrolet has to winning with the C5-R.  We certainly wouldn’t traipse all over Europe with our personal cars if we thought there wasn’t a real commitment on Chevy’s part to win.” 

One of the many highlights of the trip will be the meeting of the American and European C5 owners and their cars at the famous Le Mans pre-race parade.   Corvettes clubs from all over Europe - France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and more, are bringing up to 100 privately-owned C5s to Le Mans. This entourage of sports cars will have the honor of leading the parade through the town of Le Mans.  A “Corvette Corral” has been established at the racetrack for the 24-hour race for all C5 owners to park and cheer the C5-R to victory.

“We were worried that the C5-R Corvettes would be racing in France and there would be no one to cheer for them,” said Adovasio.  “This is such a great car with great drivers that we couldn’t imagine that.  So the C5 Registry decided to go and cheer for them.  Before we knew it, we had this whole thing coming together pretty quickly.”

Since the reintroduction of the Corvette to the racing scene in 1999 with the C5-R, Corvette owners and enthusiasts from around the world have shown a tremendous amount of support for the C5-R program.  The C5 Registry, founded in 1997 at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., is an example of the people that appreciate the C5 as one of the most remarkable American sports cars to come along in years.  In less than three years, the C5 Registry has grown from 20 initial members to over 4200 die-hard C5 owners from all over the world - Europe, South Africa, South America, Australia, France, England, Germany, Mexico, Canada and the United States.

According to Adovasio, that original group of 20 members had no inkling what the C5 Registry would evolve into.  “At the time, we would have been happy if we could get 100 people together who loved the C5 Corvette and wanted to have a good time.  Well, needless to say, we ended up with over 4200 people who have a great time together.  It’s all because of the nature of the car - the latest-generation Corvette is such a fabulous car that you can’t help but have fun driving it.  That fun just carries over to all of our events.”

“Corvette history is filled with a lot of racing tradition,” said Jim Campbell, Corvette brand manager.  “One of the reasons we go racing is because there is so much interest by our customer, the people that purchase our product every day, people like those in the C5 Registry.

“The success of current and future generations of Corvettes depends on the great commitment we have from groups like them.  They continue to go to great lengths in support of America’s premier sports car.”

Adovasio believes the phenomenal success of the C5 has contributed to the success and growth of the C5 Registry.  “If the C5 Corvette wasn’t such a fantastic car, the C5 Registry wouldn’t be any where near as successful as it is.  Also, even though the Corvette has always had a history of loyal followers, either individuals or clubs, it has always been on the local rather than the national level like the C5 Registry.

“In addition, the C5 Registry has its own Web site which allows instant global communication.  Before, a newsletter sent every few months was all that members received.  With the advent of the computer age, members now have a continuous flow of news and information. The C5 Registry Web site is the second-most visited Corvette Web site with over a million visits a month.”

Since the Corvette C5-R’s debut last year, C5 Registry members have traveled in large numbers to every race venue the C5-R has raced at – Daytona, Sebring, Sears Point, Las Vegas, Laguna Seca and Atlanta.  As more and more Corvettes began competing in various series, the C5 Registry decided to branch out with a fan club, C5 Registry Motorsports, complete with its own Web site. 

“We feel that racing is part of the heartbeat of America, the pulse of the Chevrolet Corvette,” comments Adovasio.  “The purpose of C5 Registry Motorsports is to foster support of Corvette C5 racing efforts, especially lower levels of grass-root racing. We want to support Corvette Racing wherever it is, not necessarily just the C5-R, but in all the sports car series that the Corvette runs in, wherever they might be.

“Ideally as this gets bigger and bigger, our goal is to have cheering sections at every race for Corvette C5 drivers.  This fifth-generation vehicle is just that fabulous of a sports car, but the true soul of the car is when it’s on the track racing.”

Gary Claudio, group marketing manager, GM Racing, explains that one of the most significant reasons GM races the Corvette is for the car owner.  “When we compete on the racetrack, it’s for the Corvette owners themselves because it reinforces the passion and enthusiasm they have for the Chevrolet Corvette.

“They go to extreme efforts to support us, so we do everything we can to maintain the high level of performance and excellence that the Corvette has always stood for.