Racing is so important to the legacy of the SRT (formerly Dodge) Viper that division head Ralph Gilles introduced the American Le Mans Series GT spec Viper GTS-R concurrently with the road-going Viper at April’s New York Auto Show. While you won’t be able to take delivery of a Viper until late 2012 or early 2013, SRT was clear that it was going racing during the 2012 season, so the only question was, “when?”
Development partner Riley Technologies has made great progress in building and testing the Viper GTS-R, and now comes word that the car will make its competition debut at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, scheduled for Saturday, August 4. Running in the ALMS GT class, it will be up against the seemingly-unbeatable Corvette C6.R, the BMW M3 GT, the Aston Martin Vantage, the Ferrari F458 Italia, the Lotus Evora and the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
Driving duties for the two team cars will be shared between Dominik Farnbacher, Marc Goossens and Kuni Wittmer, with IndyCar standout Ryan Hunter-Reay joining the team for endurance events. It’s not clear if the Viper GTS-R will run the four remaining ALMS races following Mid-Ohio, but SRT insists the cars will campaign a full season in 2013.
It will be good to see new Vipers back on the track, and we wish SRT and Riley Technologies all the best for the Viper GTS-R’s racing debut.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
