Fans Can Back Their Favorite with Pledges to "Bike Ride to Fight Cancer"
It will be the USA vs. England, experience and treachery vs. youth and enthusiasm, and management vs. labor when Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan takes on Corvette Racing driver Oliver Gavin in a winner-take-all bicycle race at the Tour de Road America on Friday, August 8.
The Corvette Challenge match race will pit Fehan, 60, from Birmingham, Mich., against Gavin, 35, of Yardley Hastings, England. They'll race one lap around the punishing 4.048-mile, 14-turn Road America course in the Tour de Road America Bike Ride to Fight Cancer to establish bragging rights in Chevrolet's championship-winning road racing team. The two-wheeled grudge race is a prelude to the four-hour American Le Mans Series Generac 500 at Road America on August 9.
"Fitness plays an important role throughout the Corvette Racing team," said Fehan, who will compete in the Michigan Senior Olympics. "As program manager, I try to lead by example – and it's clear that some team members need a little work. Finishing the London Marathon was certainly a glamorous achievement for Oliver, but a bike race at Road America will separate the men from the boys. Remember, the British had the prettiest uniforms, but we won the war!"
"I'm younger, fitter, stronger – and smarter," countered Gavin, a three-time ALMS champion. "Despite his advanced age, I'm sure that Doug will push himself hard because he wants to win as badly as I do. Knowing him as I do, I'm confident that it won't be a clean fight, but I've got some tricks up my sleeve as well. I've done marathons and triathlons, but the bicycle race with Doug will certainly be the greatest challenge yet. I'm not sure if it's a good career move to beat the boss, but I'm going for it!"
Fans can show their support for either Fehan or Gavin by pledging donations to the Lance Armstrong Foundation online at www.pelotonride.org/corvettechallenge.html. Corvette Racing fans can also pledge donations in person at the Corvette Corral or by mail with a form downloaded from www.pelotonride.org/CorvetteChallengeForm.pdf.
"Show me the money!" declared Fehan. "The ALMS has a Green Challenge for the environment, but we've got our own Green Challenge for Corvette Racing fans, and it's all about American greenback dollars for the fight against cancer. If they want to back a winner, they'll pledge for me, but even if they choose to support Gavin, at least their donation will go to a good cause."
Gavin and Fehan will be joined on the track by their fellow drivers and team members, race fans, families, local cyclists, and cancer survivors. The ride is open to cyclists of all abilities and all kinds of bikes. Proceeds of the fundraiser support the cancer survivorship, advocacy, education, and research programs of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang Camp, and the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic.
Corvette Racing’s next event is the Generac 500 at Road America, scheduled to start at 4 p.m. CDT on Saturday, Aug. 9. SPEED will televise the race tape-delayed on Sunday, Aug. 10, at 2 p.m. EDT.
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-Rick Voegelin -also photo
