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May 29 2012 04:31:17 PM EST

seemore.com

IMSA, the sanctioning body on the American Le Mans Series, will be holding a two-day open test at Virginia International Raceway on June 13-14. The test will operate very similar to the Sebring Winter Test.

Unfortunately for Corvette Racing, and other ALMS teams going to the 24hrs of Le Mans, the test is the same week as the big race and they will not be able to participate.

Slight disadvantage, but we think a victory in France is a little more important.

If you want to see a Corvette do a hot lap of the course, check out the 2012 ZR1 breaking the production car lap record HERE.

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I was also pretty damn excited they included VIR in the schedule. One of the most historic tracks in America on the ALMS schedule finally? Bring it on.

I recall reading a Corvette Quarterly article about the Z06 test mule running a 24-hour validation using VIR. They used VIR because at that time, the Milford Proving Grounds wasn't completed. The engineers couldn't have selected a more challenging course. Since then, I've given VIR a lot of respect in pushing both the engineers and the Z06 to the levels they've earned.

Full circle, eh? LOL!
--- SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 05.31.2012 at 10:06PM

May 21 2012 09:30:07 PM EST

It was announced at the 2012 New York Auto Show that the Viper would return to ALMS competition some time in 2012, and full season 2013 with a 2 car full factory effort team.

Here are the facts:
-ACO regulations define the minimum engine displacement as 5.5L, but have given SRT Viper a waiver to run a 8.0L engine. This is not an ALMS only waiver, this is a full ACO waiver.
-SRT Motorsports is partnering with Roush Industries on the development of the 8.0L V10.
-As of the announcement, Riley Technologies had no real race cars built yet.
-Other than 3 drivers, Kuno Wittmer, Dominik Farnbacher and Marc Goossens, there is no team in place yet.

As for the engine, this is obviously a sore spot in everyone's side, especially since Corvette was forced from 7.0L down to 6.0L then down to 5.5L. Our guess is that they will be restricted on revs, as well as intake size, and probably weight for at least a while until their true performance is observed. But with operating at lower revs, means less wear and tear on the engine. This is exactly what the 5.5L rule was made to prevent.

In addition, it has also been rumored that SRT has been in talks with the FIA and ACO to change the GTE regulations for 2014 to allow up to 8.0L. Since Oreca, the French motorsport company, isn't running the program this time, we are not sure if the French will want to make that drastic of a change to its most balanced class.

Of course this isn't the first Viper to race in the ALMS in recent years. The Primetime Viper from a few season back was heavily restricted. So much so that they could not be competitive even mid-pack. But on the other hand they were not a factory effort.

SRT has not said it directly, but we know their main goal is to beat Corvette. They have taken a few small stabs at GM/Corvette here and there, but no blood has been drawn...yet.

Graham Henckel - Chief Engineer for SRT Viper claims they will not put the SRT badge on anything that isn't racetrack proven. Our question is: How many races have the Jeep, Ram, Neon, Charger, 300, Crossfire, and Caliber entered or won?

As for Corvette.....do we really need to make a list?

Regardless, we welcome the competition. The more competition there is, the better the victories are.

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There is also some talks that SRT may be keeping in mind that the sport may head in the direction of GT3. I believe that is where all global GT racing is headed anyways so they may just have a leg up on it. In GT3, there is no max displacement and BoP is run a little different and actually a little easier and cheaper to balance from the team's point of view.

--- Chris Draper from BBV on 05.21.2012 at 12:06PM

The Sports Car Racing world is a business...as such, I understand how BMW, and Ferrari, and Viper can run rules excepted...the sanctioning body just wants the prestige of these kinds of makes running in their little dust up. I just think the sports car world still undervalues the Corvette brand and the money it brings to racing...they know the performance...THEY KNOW! See previous posts where Fehan finally admits that the sanctioning body did not want Corvette running the competition out of the sport. ;)

--- screx0472 from unknown on 05.21.2012 at 10:18PM

It seems like they are going to do the same thing they did (still doing) to the C6R, how they will make it so slow its not competitive, just so its not too fast from the start. With that said, theres no way the Viper will be competitive this year, or even next year. But in the future when they allow it to be competitive.. We've got some racing to do! The new viper is sexy and probably fast, but in 2014 when they release the C7.. its all eyes on the Vette baby!

--- VetteFreak50 from Oregon on 05.21.2012 at 10:53PM

What I see as pure unadulterated madness is the ACO even allowing the SRT to join the GT field. Lets face it, they draw up a set of rules the are clear that the max displacement is 5.5 liters and SRT knows this but still proceeds to build the new (still looks like the old )Viper with an 8 liter engine and then ask for forgiveness. I know that it is all politics as we saw last year with the BMW and that with the Viper they will do somethings to restrict the full power of the engine, but I just don't see why they do these things.
So with that said, and no date as to when the Viper will join the ranks of the GT field, I am sure Corvette Racing as well as the other established teams will be wanting to see how this all pans out.

--- TR6speed from Florida on 05.22.2012 at 1:29AM

In GT3 the Callaway Corvette's are not allow to run these 427 7.0-liter engine. They have to run the 6.2-liter engine.

--- Anonymous from unknown on 05.22.2012 at 2:04AM

They are allowed to run the 7.0L but they would have to use a smaller restrictor, so they chose to go with a superchargerless LS9 6.3L and they get a larger restrictor. This gives them the same HP result and is more efficient.

--- Chris Draper from BBV on 05.22.2012 at 11:16AM

Don't dismiss a factory backed Viper effort. The Oreca Vipers were a force to be reckoned with.

--- Ben from Utah on 05.22.2012 at 2:55PM

The Primetime Viper was not given any restrictions. In fact, the ALMS gave it several waivers in an effort to make it competitive. The car was simply too big and heavy, and it didn't get any development help from Chrysler. The 8.0 liter Viper engine produces a ton of torque which can be tuned to develop maximim power at low RPMs. Bottom line: The 8.0 liter engine should not be permitted. Chrysler builds a good hemi which could be adapted to fit the car.

--- Rick: from Michigan on 05.22.2012 at 4:50PM

Let the Corvettes use the 7.0L engine and we'll run the Vipers out of this class just as was done in the old GT1. Instead on making Corvette Racing use a 5.5L engine, which isn't available for a factory Vette force the competition, BMW etc, to develope a bigger engine to be more competitive. I'm sure the buyers of the BMWs etc would appreciate this.

--- vetteguy from unknown on 05.22.2012 at 5:59PM

No need to fear, Corvette has always beat the other american competition! No matter if it's dodge or ford we always prove ourselves. Go Corvette!!!!

--- Allie Williams from Utah on 05.22.2012 at 11:42PM

They would need multiple waivers to run a Hemi V8 instead of just 1 for the higher displacement. That wouldn't make sense at all. They would need to re-engineer the entire car, move the engine mounts, transmission mounts, it would change the weight and balance of the car. All of which would need waivers and the car would need to be re-homologated. It just wouldn't be a viable solution. It's not as easy as is sounds. And since the production car is not available with a V8 I don't think they would allow it anyways.

--- Chris Draper from BBV on 05.24.2012 at 1:33AM

its always good to see more more cars in the GT class!! If aything ot will make team corvette step up their game to make sure everyone one gets to see their tail lights!!

--- coiln from Ayersville Ohio on 05.24.2012 at 9:55AM

I kind of like the suggestion by Rick: Michigan - to make the Vipers run on the HEMI V8s instead of the 8.0L V10. That sounds more reasonable to me. I'd never have thought of that and I think that would be a great compromise.

--- SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 05.24.2012 at 11:30AM

"RaceTRACK-proven", not necessarily race-proven. I know for a fact the SRT8 Cherokee is very impressive on track and has been extensively tested there.

Other than that, I'm just glad to see more competition.

--- Seb from France on 05.27.2012 at 5:54PM

I welcome the competition, and nothing the ACO submits to these days surprises me. Somebody said it earlier but it's worth repeating - sports car racing is a business and is politically driven from the standpoint of the ACO & manufacturers. They want Chrysler/SRT back in for obvious reasons and no one should have doubted the French rule makers would make it happen (read: cave to their demands). This does actually make what C7 brings to the table for engine options even more intriguing.

What this does tell me is that all the worries and fears of the demise of the ALMS from a couple of years back were incredibly premature. The ESPN deal that was deemed ignorant by so many has served to move the series forward and open doors, and this is precisely why SRT wants to be back. The exposure ALMS/24HLM offers is at its highest level in years.

Corvette Racing will field this new challenge and I for one expect a C7R in 2013, even if only for the last few races a la the GT2 debut. We will forever be the manufacturer/car/team that shut down an entire class. The ACO will never and we as Corvette owners & fans should never forget that. We have the backing of the greatest engineers in sports car racing with Pratt & Miller. They won't throw anything at us that we can't overcome.

--- DarkKnightC6 from Aiken, SC on 05.28.2012 at 1:22AM

Not even worried about the Viper. That car is gonna have to go through the same learning curve as every other new entry.

--- C64ME from SoCal on 05.29.2012 at 9:14PM

Okay for one, SRT is a new Chrysler Brand for 2013. SO, SRT Jeeps, Rams, Neons, Chargers, 300s, Crossfires, and Calibers do NOT count under the SRT brand. The SRT on these cars only means that SRT upgraded the car when they were a performance division, not a brand. I assure you, all cars under the SRT BRAND NAME will be track proven. Next, its already been proven that the Chrysler small block Hemis (5.7 liter) can be easily competitive when upgraded and tuned properly. The engine regularly produced 375 horsepower to the rear wheels (so realistically there's more power before the flywheel), or thereabouts. Just by changing the heads on that engine to 6.1 liter hemi heads, the engine shoots up close to, if not over, 400 horsepower (i can't remember the exact values), and people, thats with a STREET TUNE. Now, okay you're sayin that you gotta have a 5.5 liter, 2 tenths less engine. Fine, they won't have an issue doing that if they gotta, and they'll still make just as much horsepower. Next, there are already plans to release the viper with TWO engines for the public sale. The V10 and a 6.4 Hemi, and the hemi potentially produces more power than the Grand Sports engine and could easily be modified to produce more than the Z06. Next, its a well known fact that Vettes are more heavy and less agile than the viper, especially the new one, which has dropped 100 lbs and now has probably a Ferrari chassis or a derivative of one and suspension done by ferrari or worked on by Ferrari. The car produces more natural downforce than the vette. Even Ralph Gilles of SRT said "It won't be a Ferrari, but it'll have a lot of Ferrari parts. Next, hate to say it, but from what ive seen, the original vipers in the 90s and early 2000s beat Vettes pretty regularly. Next, there will be less of a learning curve for the Viper, SRT has the track experience of Dodge, Ferrari, Masarati, and Lancia behind it, plus it was designed originally with the help of Carrol Shelby and his company, which though he has passed, is still in existence. I think Corvettes are nice cars. Indeed, they perform well. But the Viper is much more a threat than you believe.

--- Alex from NC on 06.01.2012 at 11:18AM

....and so it begins.

--- Chris Draper from BBV on 06.01.2012 at 3:06PM

And people think the C7 Corvette will have a 5.5 liter engine. It's not.

--- Anonymous from unknown on 06.01.2012 at 4:35PM

Just some facts for Alex from NC...

SRT Viper weights:
3200 lb (1500 kg) (base)
3277 lb (1486 kg) (GTS)

Corvettes:
3180 lb (1421 kg) (Z06)
3350 lb (1519 kg) (ZR1)

Yeah the ZR1 is alot heavier but the Z06 is lighter than either trim level of the Viper.

Weight, that goes to the Corvette.

Power?
SRT Viper:
640 bhp (480 kW)

Corvettes:
505 hp (376 kW) (Z06)
620 hp (462 kW) (ZR1)

Viper wins there but not by much over the ZR1, then again it's engine has 2 more cylinders than both and 1.4 litre more than the Z06, 2.2l more than the ZR1 (which makes up for that with a supercharger).

As for nimbleness, that lightweight Z06 should run rings around the Viper thanks to a lighter and better positioned V8 vs the heavier V10 in the front of the Viper.

However the Viper is meant to be raw and all about that huge engine along with a huge pricetag.

My verdict? As nice as the new Viper looks for the money give me a Z06 with all the performance trimmings on the options list.

--- Mitch from Australia on 06.01.2012 at 11:05PM

Are you talking about the current ZR1? Or the C7? THe C7 is desperately reaching out to beat Viper. Those huge air channels? Those are to try and produce the needed downforce to keep it on the ground, which, as we can see from many photos displayed here, Corvettes have a big problem doing. Next, there's a possibility that while the 2013 version will have only 640 hp and 600 ft lb of torque, coming years will feature even more horsepower. This 8 liter has around 150-200 hp left in it naturally. The originals ahd to be DETUNED to keep them driveable by the everyday person. Since the ZR1 already has to be supercharged, id say the good ol boys at GM have run out of naturally aspirated horsepower in the motor. I also might add that they have the hellp of Ferrari, whose new 6.4 liter pumps out well over 700 hp, and have a 800 hp derivative coming out to replace the Enzo. With Ferrari doing this, you can bet that SRT will get some love too. Also, Ferrari is doing that with an engine that is lacking 1.6 liters of the Viper's engine. Weight thing: true. I will say that its currently a little heavy, but a Z06 won't beat it. Ligther maybe. More horsepower and torque? Nope. Weight is a big factor, but as Chrysler Corp.is famous for, they'll hp you to death. Next, as I said, the Viper has more natural downforce. It hooks to the ground better than the Vette, and the faster it goes, the more downforce if makes thanks to Ferrari's new famous wind vanes from the 458, not to mention the air channeling underneath the car. So while the V8 in the Vette you say is positioned better? The Vipers producing the downforce at the nose it needs to compensate, as well as the hood airchannels similar to elongated ones off the Ford GT, has the air channels to assist the rear wing in producing immense downforce at the rear, and will turn just as well. There are a lot more factors than weight and horsepower to consider. My family has a 2008 Dodge Charger SRT8. It outhandled out Mustang GT. The Charger has close to 600 to 1000 lbs on the 'stang. The brembos and Chrysler race suspension keep up with it fine. And that car isn't even touched by Pina Farina (i know i probably spelled that wrong, sorry). Also, i night add GM has to be careful not to let Peugeot-Citroen touch that vette. If so, it will lose until both companies go bankrupt, which btw, as long as they try allying with P-C, they are almost guaranteed of. Especially with the C7, Vettes are trying to copy companies like Ferrari, who they know (though Ferrari hasn't had much GT1 success lately) have a winning formula and design.

Okay pricetag... well thats your opinion. 137,000 isn't all that bad. The reason the Vette is cheaper is because they make cheap parts and produce so many of them. No offense, Corvettes are cliche, just like mustangs. I live near an area that isnt economically that great, but tbh, theres still vettes and 'stangs everywhere. While it does depend on opinion, when I was riding in a bus on a field trip in middle school, we stopped next to a brand new C6 vette (this was a few years go). The kids around me were more interested in the stock Hummer H2 behind it. When a vette rides next to a Ferrari 458, guess what the average person is looking at more? Not the Vette. New Viper rolls down the road. Corvettes beside. The average person will look at that Viper well before they note anything about the corvette. While i know you all think differently, it is my opinion that though the Vettes are nice cars, the Viper is far more beautiful.

--- Alex from NC on 06.05.2012 at 12:32AM

Perhaps the re-bodied C6.R for this year's ALMS Season is a vision for the next generation Corvette, Alex, IMO. I hope to the car gods that's true because I knew that as soon as FIAT got a hold of the Viper, they were going to do something special with it.

Holy hell, they did. FIAT did a wonderful job with the Viper.

Having said that, I welcome the new and improved competition Viper...even with the now full factory backing. I think the new wide-body C6.R currently racing is indeed a look-see into the new C7.

--- SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 06.05.2012 at 1:59AM

Alex:

Dude road cars don't develop downforce, the best they can do is reduce lift. Those big vents in the hood of the Viper? They're there to cool down that huge engine, air flowing thru radiators slows down a fair bit so there's SFA chance of actual downforce being generated there. I also don't see a significant splitter on the front so you'll have to show me where you get this information that the Viper generates more front downforce from.

Let me guess, you're a kid with no concept of actual engineering or reality ($137,000 is almost as much as a house dude) so all of what you have said is info posted on news and info sites along with some of your own armchair engineering. Nice one...

--- Mitch from Australia on 06.08.2012 at 10:35AM

Last comment:
Alex:

Dude road cars don't develop downforce, the best they can do is reduce lift. Those big vents in the hood of the Viper? They're there to cool down that huge engine, air flowing thru radiators slows down a fair bit so there's SFA chance of actual downforce being generated there. I also don't see a significant splitter on the front so you'll have to show me where you get this information that the Viper generates more front downforce from.

Let me guess, you're a kid with no concept of actual engineering or reality ($137,000 is almost as much as a house dude) so all of what you have said is info posted on news and info sites along with some of your own armchair engineering. Nice one...
--- Mitch from Australia on 06.08.2012 at 10:35AM

May 21 2012 01:15:52 AM EST

Ok. So the #90 German-built Callaway Competition Corvette piloted by Magnussen, Westbrook and Milner kinda got its ass kicked this time 'round the 'ring. It was plagued with troubles from the second hour on but in true badboy style it fought on and came within 20 minutes of completing the full 24 hours of this famously grueling 15.2 mile circuit.

After the first hour, Westbrook had driven the Corvette from 18th to 10th overall. Soon after he ran over some carbon fiber debris and punctured a tire which in turn did a lot of damage to the rear - the car had to be towed back to the paddock. The car returned to the track thirty laps down in 158th position. During the night a half shaft broke which required further repairs. By the 23rd hour #90 had moved up to 89th position overall, but ultimately it was not meant to be. With 20 minutes to go the car had a major mechanical failure and the team ended up finishing 120th overall out of 177 entries.

Let's move on to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with our own Corvette Racers.
Bring 'em on!

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They never gave up and it was FUN to watch, without a doubt!
--- DarkKnightC6 from Aiken, SC on 05.28.2012 at 1:27AM

May 18 2012 06:17:04 AM EST

Vette - Ernst Woehr

Thanks to VetteWeb.com we find this pic of the car making the 24hr run for Corvette Racing pilots - Jan Magnussen,Tommy Milner, and Richard Westbrook. They are joined by Daniel Keilwitz, only the 2010 FIA GT3 Drivers Champion.

VetteWeb reports that in practice a few weeks ago, this LS3 C6 Z06 lapped the 15.2-mile NBR24 course in 8:16. GM test driver, Jim Mero, lapped the 12.9-mile North Course in 7:19 in a ZR1. The racing Callaway covered the extra 2.3 miles of the F1 track addition in under a minute. Yeow!

2 Callaway Corvettes are entered in the 2012 race - Guttroff Racing in the SP8 category and this Haribo Racing Z06 in the top SP9 class.

First Qualifying has the 90 car P12.
The links to follow the action are in the earlier NBR24 post below.

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Bad News for #90. Retired after just 5 laps...

--- Zonker2 from Montreal on 05.19.2012 at 1:25AM

The Race is underway folks. So far the first group caught up to last group and boy this is crazy "nascar" traffic. The #90 vette is lagging because of poor qualifying position(18). Yellow out. The ZO6 best hope is war of attrition...

--- Zonker2 from Montreal on 05.19.2012 at 10:24AM

Oops! my mistake, #90 still alive 23 laps down or 3hrs 15 minutes behind the leader. Jan tweeted a right rear tire blowout ripped out the Battery LOL!. TanMan Managed get the car to the garage after road side miracles... I witnessed so many tire punctures and wheels coming off cars at the beginning of the race that I wondering WTF are the tires that crappy and or the track is littered with carbon fiber shards!!! I think the race slick are a bad choice with 170 cars pocking each other. DOT pilot sport cups whould have been a wiser choice... That #19 Z4 GT3 is so bloody fast compared to the rest of the field that merits A microscope up its **S after the race for post inspection....

--- Zonker2 from Montreal on 05.19.2012 at 6:52PM

Well they cracked the top 120. What a freakin joke.

--- C64ME from So Cal on 05.20.2012 at 3:40AM

90 still running, albeit a long way down. Just had some great onboard on the live stream at www.24h-rennen.de

--- imac from UK on 05.20.2012 at 3:48AM

Position 0100 Car#90 Haribo Racing Team SP 9 GT3 Westbrook, Milner, Magnussen, Keilwitz
Lap102 Time11:19.900Deficit37(LAPS) RundenFast.Lap91Fast.Time8:33.820 (Thanks Jan and your team) for pushing for a decent Racelap time with the LS9 minus supercharger...... If anything (knowledge) that can be brought to Lemans for the C6R is protect the #$%^@ Battery Box with Kelvar Bullit Proof BOX... Bring that #90 to the checkered flag and thanks BBV for representing in Green Hell.
BTW The Z4s cheated by putting a 4.0 L 480 hp V8 M3 race engine instead of what supposed to be a 3.0 Liter inline 6.... WTF!

--- Zonker2 from Montreal on 05.20.2012 at 7:59AM

For those interested in the summary of the race for #90, you will find the info at "corvettemotorsport" site, last new bullettin with one wild pic

--- Zonker2 from Montreal on 05.20.2012 at 6:14PM

Last comment:
For those interested in the summary of the race for #90, you will find the info at "corvettemotorsport" site, last new bullettin with one wild pic
--- Zonker2 from Montreal on 05.20.2012 at 6:14PM

May 15 2012 08:15:38 PM EST

Chris Draper - Corvette Info Center

Our man, Chris Draper, was at Laguna this past weekend. The following is his story --

Laguna Seca never has lack of action. This year's race was no exception. Friday's qualifying saw a bit of a shock when Aston Martin showed their true hand and posted a 1:22.229 for pole position. Tommy Milner in the #4 Corvette took 2nd at 1:22.661, and Jan Magnussen posted a 1:22.919 on his 8th lap, 4 more then the #4 car.

Race day was a test of will power. Aston Martin in the opening laps showed they had the speed and started pulling away from the rest of the GT pack until the first full coarse caution really shook things up. AMR had a fuel fill issue that shook them from 1st to 5th. Our badboys capitalized and the #4 Corvette took the lead.

Throughout the 6hr battle, there were 5 or more GT cars absolutely nose to tale lap after lap. It could have been anyone's race, but mistakes were seen from all teams. The #4 Corvette saw a fuel fill issue that took them from their healthy lead down to 5th. The BMWs experimented with some different tire compounds early on and guessed wrong and after a full stint nearly cost both cars a lap. The #45 Porsche had the pace, but penalties cost them the race.

Ultimately, it came down to Corvette vs BMW once again. Milner and Gavin fought back with the Take No Prisoners attitude and got back into the lead and made it count. The #3 Corvette got passed by the #56 BMW after a caution restart, but Magnussen fought back hard and made the move of the race.

During Magnussen's maneuver, he flat spotted the tires. With about 8 minutes left the BMW was biting back inch by inch each lap. The injured Michelins held in just long enough and on the final corner of the final lap the BMW got a little too hard on the gas, fishtaled out of the corner, and the cheers for the Corvette Racing camp could nearly be heard over the sound of the thundering V8s crossing the finish in a 1-2 style victory. Click HERE to watch the podium presentation.

Click HERE to relive the last 20 minutes of the race.

Our badboys truly took no prisoners. They didn't even leave a crumb on the table, and took home some hardware for a new centerpiece.

These smiles should last at least until Le Mans next month where hopefully they car pull off a duplicate result.

Chris has posted all of his pics over at Corvette Info Center for Friday and Saturday, including some post race pics from the Corvette Racing garage.
Great work Chris.

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coarse caution? lol. proof read much?
--- dave from usa on 06.02.2012 at 7:26PM

May 14 2012 04:58:10 PM EST

The 40th running of the Nurburgring 24hr is scheduled for May 17-20. The race will be streamed online via several different outlets.

Video stream can be found on the official website.

Radio stream can be found at Radio Le Mans.

Be sure to cheer on Tommy Milner, Jan Magnussen, and Richard Westbrook as they battle it out in a GT3 Corvette versus the likes of Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and more.

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Yes, I found it, and on time and watched the race - thanks
--- mikefeeser from unknown on 05.20.2012 at 1:40AM

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