The 24 Hours of Le Mans stands alongside the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 as one of the world's greatest auto races. Although Le Mans is not as well known in the U.S., it's the "Big One" in the rest of the world. This weekend's race will be covered by 2,000 journalists, seen by nearly 300,000 spectators, and broadcast to a worldwide TV audience. It's an immense course, nearly 8.5 miles long, that includes a dedicated race track and two-lane country roads. This is the 75th edition of a race that's steeped in history and tradition.

I'm very proud that Corvette Racing is competing in this classic endurance contest. Corvette Racing is Chevrolet's official factory road racing team, and we're fielding two race-prepared Corvette C6.Rs with an international roster of championship-winning drivers: Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R, and Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Max Papis in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R. The Corvette Racing team has scored five victories in the last six years in the GT1 class, and we're aiming to add a sixth Le Mans title against formidable competitors such as Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Saleen.

It's a colossal project to transport an entire race team from Michigan to Le Mans. Planning for this year's event began more than a year ago. The team shipped an entire 18-wheeler packed with tools and equipment to Le Mans on an ocean freighter two months ago. Then the race cars were flown to Europe two weeks ago, accompanied by crates filled with engines and spare parts. When there's an ocean between a race team and its shop, the crew has to bring everything but the kitchen sink.

C6.R #4

One of the things I've learned in my own career is that racing demands discipline. You must prioritize what's important, and you've got to be finished on time. If there are 100 things you'd like to do, you must concentrate on the most essential items. If your car isn't ready when the officials call the cars to the starting grid, they run the race without you.

I try to bring that same racing spirit to GM. I want to instill a sense of urgency in the people I work with, and I think we've achieved that in the Corvette group. Success in racing is ultimately about teamwork – you must have a good driver, a good crew chief, and a good pit crew. If you're missing one element, you won't win.

I've also learned that I hate to lose. That same attitude definitely applies in today's business environment. Racing teaches you to make continuous improvements, because if you're standing still, the competition will pass you in a heartbeat.

Zora Arkus-Duntov

I know that I am going to feel a tremendous sense of pride when those two yellow Corvette C6.R race cars begin the 24-hour Le Mans marathon at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. To have Corvette competing at this level of international competition is the fulfillment of the dream of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the first Corvette chief engineer. Corvette has long been known as an American icon, but now Corvette is recognized globally as a world-class performance car, due in part to our success at Le Mans and in the American Le Mans Series. There is an enthusiastic group of Corvette owners in Europe, and many of them will drive their Corvettes to the Le Mans circuit.

As the Corvette team has enjoyed success in Le Mans, our sales outside of the U.S. have nearly tripled. We're now selling Corvettes in 30 countries around the globe. In the States, Corvette Z06 accounts for about 20 percent of Corvette sales; in Europe, the demand for Z06 is more than 50 percent. European drivers are intense and passionate in their love for sports cars, and they recognize that Corvette Z06 pushes the performance envelope.

The sixth-generation Corvette is a perfect example of how the realms of racing and production can interact to the benefit of both. The street car is better because of the race car, and the race car is better because of the street car. Most importantly, our engineers are better because of the interaction between the race team and the production team.

Need some examples? The cockpit temperatures in the C6.R hit 150 degrees during hot weather in Le Mans. The race team called in GM engineers who design air conditioning systems for production vehicles, and working together they devised an A/C system that lowers the interior temperature significantly. Cooler temperatures in a race car can help to reduce driver fatigue and prevent mental mistakes.

When I went to Le Mans for the first time in 2006, I learned that it takes an exceptional car, awesome drivers, an outstanding team and great leadership to achieve success in such a grueling race. In all of my years in motorsports, I've not seen a better organized, more cohesive team than Corvette Racing. One of our goals at General Motors is to go faster – we must keep finding new ways to make better cars quickly and efficiently. If you want to learn about going fast, a championship caliber race team like Corvette Racing can teach us a lot.

To read about last year's results at Le Mans, make sure to check out FastLane. And make sure to keep watching our Flickr account for photos from this year's race.