Presented by the author and racing program manager
Speaker: Douglas Fehan
Program Chair: Mark Pope
18-Nov-13
Holiday Inn, Flint, MI
6:00 PM Social Hour
7:00 PM Dinner
8:00 PM Program
Speaker: Douglas Fehan
Program Manager Corvette Racing at GM Racing
A racing odyssey that began more than 50 years ago at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo,
N.Y., has taken Doug Fehan to victory celebrations at the world’s greatest race
tracks. Fehan has traveled a long and winding road from the dusty Midwestern bullrings where he began his career, to the top step of the podium at Le Mans, Sebring, and Daytona. While Fehan’s official title is GM Racing program manager for the American Le Mans Series, he is, in fact, the heart and soul of Corvette Racing.
Fehan went to work on the blueprint for GM’s first factory-backed Corvette racing program. Two years later, Corvette Racing broke cover with the C5-R, followed by the C6.R in 2005. Through August 2009, Corvette Racing has scored 78 victories, including an overall win in the 2001 Daytona 24-hour race, six wins in the GT1 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and seven class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Eight consecutive manufacturer’s championships for Chevrolet put an exclamation point on Corvette Racing’s success under Fehan.
Corvette Racing opened a new chapter with the debut of the next- generation Corvette C6.R in the GT2 category on August 8, 2009. In anticipation of a single GT class in 2010, Corvette Racing is developing the new ZR1-based GT2 Corvette C6.R to compete against rivals representing Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Viper, Panoz, and Ford.
“It’s hard for me to control my passion for Corvette,” he admits. “I’ve tried to develop Corvette Racing as a giant tree, and the farther we can spread its roots, the stronger the tree will be. I enjoy being a one-man band playing the Corvette tune in a variety of places, from the Corvette Museum and Corvette club meetings to the GM boardroom. The future looks good for Corvette Racing, and I think we’ll continue to be a force in motorsports for many years to come.”
Fehan is an unabashed advocate for the Corvette cause and an icon for legions of faithful Corvette fans. He received the ALMS “From the Fans” award in 2004 and 2008.