Arnaud Peyroles and James Ruffier of Martini Callaway Racing secured the 2008 FIA GT3 Driver’s Championship at the Dubai Autodrome December 5 and 6 . This is the second championship season for the No.1 Martini Callaway Corvette Z06.R, which won the FIA GT3 Team Championship in 2007.
The talented young drivers secured a victory in the first of the weekend's two one-hour races to cinch the title. Peyroles started the race and focused on driving a fast yet cautious line, pitting after 11 laps and handing the car over to Ruffier. After the pit stop the team was in third and Ruffier steadily worked his way to the front of the pack. By the end of the race, Ruffier secured a five second lead over the second place car, and as the Callaway Corvette crossed the finish line the pair took the win, and the title.
“I couldn’t be more proud,” said Callaway Cars Founder Reeves Callaway. “To have Ruffier and Peyroles take the driver’s championship is thrilling. A win in this series for the second year running speaks volumes about the capability of the car and the team. Representing the Corvette and having built and supported all of the Corvette-based cars in the FIA GT3 Series, this underscores the racing pedigree of our cars. We compete against the best Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche and Ford GT racing programs have to offer, and winning such an intensely competitive series raises the awareness of what a capable platform the C6 Corvette is.”
“This victory is a testament to Peyroles and Ruffier’s skills and strategy on the racetrack,” says Callaway Competition Director and Team Manager Ernst Woehr. “It was a hard-earned victory for the drivers, the crew members and our engineering partners at the Callaway Connecticut facility. This victory is further proof that the Corvette is more than just an extremely fast sports car, it’s a world champion.”
The Z06.R – a homologated race version that started life as a stock Z06 Corvette – is built and campaigned by Callaway Competition GmbH in Leingarten, Germany. Woehr and his Callaway Competition partner Giovanni Ciccone are well-versed in the latest Corvette technology and work closely with their partner company, Callaway Cars in Old Lyme Connecticut. Many of the technologies and performance modifications utilized in the race program are also employed on Callaway’s line of Corvette-based street cars.