(continued from above)
"Racing has been a significant part of the illustrious history of Viper not
only with wins on the track, but also in the continued development of the street
cars - and our new 2013 SRT Viper models are proof of those lessons learned,"
said Ralph Gilles, President and CEO - Street and Racing Technology Brand and
Motorsports, Chrysler Group LLC. "Now with our new team and the launch of the
GTS-R, we're excited and proud to begin writing more chapters in the racing
history of the Viper later this summer."
SRT Motorsports has partnered with Riley Technologies, based in Mooresville,
N.C., on the design-and-build process of the new SRT Viper GTS-R.
Two identical SRT Viper GTS-Rs will compete in the production-based GT class in
the series. Four drivers currently are signed to drive including Dominik
Farnbacher, from Ansbach, Germany; Marc Goossens from Geel, Belgium; Ryan
Hunter-Reay from Dallas and Kuno Wittmer from Montreal. Additional driver and
team announcements will be forthcoming.
Both Viper GTS-Rs will race on the proven Michelin GT tires extending the
successful technical partnership.
Scott Atherton, President and CEO of the American Le Mans Series, hails the SRT
Viper's return to the Series as one of 2012's top announcements.
"I don't think it's possible to overstate the significance of the SRT Viper
returning to the top level of professional sports car racing," Atherton said.
"The Chrysler Group has a long, storied and very successful history of competing
with the American Le Mans Series. The fact that they're coming back concurrently
with the introduction of the new production car and doing it simultaneously, we
would be hard-pressed to come up with a better-case scenario. What a great way
for SRT Viper to come back to racing."
All ALMS teams compete in the prestigious MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge. Entering
its fourth season, the program objectively ranks the competing cars in terms of
their environmental footprint, their energy efficiency and speed on the
racetrack. A separate, season-long award is given by the U.S. Department of
Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and SAE International,
acknowledging the vehicle manufacturer and its technology contribution to
improving efficiency and reducing environmental impacts of racing. The scoring
system for the program was developed by series officials and the U.S. Department
of Energy, and it is based on a combination of on-track performance and energy
consumption. The LMP and GT teams that win MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge
championship will earn an entry to the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"We often say it's clean, fast and efficient," Bob Larsen, president of Obotech
and a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy, said. "There's a lot of
science that goes into the actual scoring, a very thorough and technically
rigorous way to factor in the environmental footprint. We look at each car's
average speed and the distance that they travel and we adjust their amount of
fuel that they would have had to burn in order to go as fast and as far as the
leader, and that gives us an equitable basis for comparing the performance of
the vehicles."
Dodge SRT Viper GTS-R Race Car: Review (2/2)
