Both Chevrolet Corvettes made it to the finish in 10th and 11th overall - 3rd and 4th in class - having challenged the Vipers throughout the race. Small technical problems put the cars back in the standings, but the American sportscars showed their real potential.

"If you're serious about winning at Le Mans, you can't leave any stone unturned in your quest," said Herb Fishel, Executive Director of GM Racing. "The level of competition is at such a high level that you have to come here prepared to run it like a sprint race, and you have to be 100 percent in all aspects, whether it's the team, the drivers, the car - even mental preparation.

"We knew when we committed to come here we did so in full understanding of the significance, the challenge and the risk of doing so," Fishel added. "Our expectations were to perform in a respectable manner, to demonstrate a high level of commitment and show that GM is serious about Le Mans. I believe we met those expectations, to prepare for next year and beyond.

"The 24 Hours is unique, it's truly the toughest race in the world," Fishel said. "Our most sincere congratulations to Audi Sport Team Joest, who clearly deserved to win. And our thanks, too, to the ACO, the people of Le Mans and our fellow competitors who made General Motors so welcome in this, our first Le Mans."

Said Cadillac Northstar LMP Program Manager Jeff Kettman: "Throughout the white-hot crucible that is Le Mans, the difficulties Cadillac faced were nothing short of colossal. Still, the Argentinium silver car, along with their European counterparts, fought along bravely as their Cadillac Northstar engines raced along with near flawless perfection. As certain ancillary aspects of the car suffered failure (clutch and gearbox), the Northstar engine performed up to Cadillac's ultra-high standards. Sure, everyone here is disappointed that we didn't finish higher, but we are extremely pleased with the durability of this engine. And this crew put in a Herculean effort to get us to the finish. Now that we know some of the weak spots with these cars, we will certainly work to rectify it. We know where and when our competitors were faster. We come away from this track confident that we will do better next year. So, really, there's a lot of great news for Cadillac in our first year at Le Mans."

Said Motorola-DAMS Cadillac team boss, Jean-Paul Driot: "We are just glad to have been a part of Le Mans and this great experience that goes with it. Our team worked hard and I am proud of the valiant effort that we made to include the drivers who started out in 9th position, continuing to climb to our highest one at 4th."

   - Autoworld.com

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