No. 04 Corvette Racing Corvette ZR1. Photo credit: Rick Dole for Michelin North America

Corvette Racing, Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1

No. 03: Olivier Beretta, Tommy Milner, Antonio Garcia
No. 04: Jan Magnussen, Oliver Gavin, Richard Westbrook

A year ago, Corvette Racing opened at Sebring with a bang — though not the kind they or their fans would have wanted. The two cars collided on pit lane, which added to already challenging days and took them out of contention for a victory. Finishes of eighth and ninth put Corvette at a deficit in the driver, team and manufacturer championships for the entire American Le Mans Series season.

But a year later there are changes, and a winter of renewed optimism after ending the 2010 season with a last-lap win at the season-ending Petit Le Mans. Promising young American star Tommy Milner comes over from BMW and replaces Johnny O’Connell, who’s headed to the broadcast booth, aboard the No. 03 car. He’ll share with Olivier Beretta for the full season and Antonio Garcia in the endurance races. Jan Magnussen and Oliver Gavin’s chances to win are enhanced by former Porsche star Richard Westbrook, the third driver in the No. 04 this race.

This is part of a series of previews on Michelin technical partner teams in this year’s 12 Hours of Sebring.