As the turn of the Millennium approaches, a new chapter in Corvette history is being written. Building on the dream Zora Arkus Duntov worked so hard to realize throughout his career with General Motors, and drawing on the Corvette’s long and distinguished competition record in all forms of motorsports, Chevrolet is once again preparing to pit America’s only true production sports car against the best the world has to offer.

Based on the new C5 Corvette, GM has created a GT2 racer, dubbed the C5-R Corvette! The C5-R debuted against an international field of world-class sports cars at the Daytona International Speedway for the 1999 Rolex 24 at Daytona Endurance Race.

The latest addition to Chevrolet’s fifth-generation family of C5 Corvettes, the hardtop, was also the official pace car for this event.

International Speedway Corporation’s vice president of marketing, Greg Sullivan, welcomes Corvette’s world-class image to Daytona with open arms. "Partnerships like this demonstrate a serious commitment to our fans to bring our sport to the next level by welcoming sponsors like Chevrolet," states Sullivan.

Several of General Motor’s subsidiaries and business partners have stepped up to fuel the C5-R sponsorship as well. GM Goodwrench Service Plus, marketed by GM Service Parts Operations (SPO) and current sponsor of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt and NHRA champion Warren Johnson, has expanded its successful GM racing portfolio by becoming the primary sponsor for the Chevrolet C5-R Corvette. New factory engineered race parts are now available to sportsman racers through GM Performance Parts. Corvettes other sponsors include: UAW-GM, GMAC, Mobil 1 and Action Performance Companies Inc.

For now, Corvette is content with competing in the U.S. in 1999 on its quest to improve the breed. But international sports-car racing has been put on alert — Corvette is back.