The start of Gavin’s two-decade run with Corvette Racing came by way of Ron Fellows. During a race weekend at Watkins Glen in 2001, Fellows found Gavin, then the top driver at Saleen, and mentioned that the team might have an opening the next season. Fellows wrote a phone number on a piece of paper, and Gavin put it in the pocket of his firesuit.
When he got home, Gavin called the number, which belonged to Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing’s program manager.
“Doug said, ‘I’d like to offer you a contract right now, but I can’t do that until Gary Pratt has actually seen you drive this car,’” Gavin said. “They organized a test in November 2001 at Sebring. That was the very first time I drove a Corvette.”
Pratt, vice president of Pratt Miller, which designs and builds the Corvettes for Corvette Racing, was impressed. “It went well,” Gavin said. “They offered me a contract there and then. That’s how my Corvette Racing journey started.”
The journey left Gavin as the most decorated participant in Corvette Racing history, including five victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, five in the Twelve Hours of Sebring and five in the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Several weeks in the rearview now, the end of the full-time portion of his career still hasn’t caught up with Gavin.
“I think over time – the next weeks and months – it will sort of sink in a little bit, what has happened and what I’ve achieved, what we’ve achieved as a team at Corvette Racing over the 19 years that I’ve been there. … It’s still a little bit too fresh,” he said. “The (Sebring) weekend is still a little bit too fresh. I’ve tried to take a little bit of time to decompress from the weekend and rationalize everything that happened.”
It isn’t completely over, either. Along with the possibility to join the team for select endurance races, he intends to remain associated with the Corvette brand, which will offer the 2020 Corvette C8 for sale in Europe in mid-2021, with plans for a right-hand drive version available in the United Kingdom.
“I feel there’s a future for me with the brand,” Gavin said. “I’ve got 19 years with them, and I feel like there’s so much more. The passion I have for the car, I want to share that with the owners and I want to share that with the enthusiasts of the brand and push that out across the UK and Europe and maybe further.
“It’s one of those things that’s sort of ‘stay tuned.’ There are many things that could happen here. I’m excited about the future and excited about my time and what’s coming down the pike.”
Check Back Tomorrow For Part Two Of This Story.