This past weekend, the endurance racing teams of the Tudor United Sports Car Championship arrived at Sebring International Raceway in Florida for the annual winter testing session and the SRT Viper GTS-R program sent the #93 car to Florida for this important test run. This is the final open testing session for all of the teams before the weekend-long event that is the 12 Hours of Sebring beginning on March 13th.
The Sebring winter test session consists of four rounds and both Jonathan Bomarito and Marc Goossens were on hand to take turns lapping Sebring in the #93 SRT Viper GTS-R. Goossens, who usually drives the #91 Viper GTS-R, was joining Bomarito in the #93 car so that the team didn’t have to take both cars but even with only one car involved in the testing process – it was a good day for the Viper team. Granted, things could have gone better as they only turned in the 3rd fastest lap in the GTLM class, but the Viper narrowly trailed only two Porsche 911 teams. Also, the Viper was quicker than both the #3 and #4 Corvette C7R teams so the SRT race cars could have an advantage heading into the 12 Hours of Sebring race next month. Fittingly, you can see one of the Corvettes way off in the distance behind the Viper in the image above.
The fastest lap turned in by the #93 SRT Viper GTS-R was timed to 2:00.496, just over a second slower than the #911 Porsche 911 which was the fastest car in the GTLM class throughout the entire testing session. This is particularly important to see the Viper towards the front of the field after IMSA recently handed out a “balance of performance adjustment” that added weight, reduced power and reduced fuel capacity for the Viper teams. The Viper was 3rd in the Rolex 24 after a handful of mechanical issues and even with the performance hindering changes handed down by IMSA – the Viper is still one of the quickest cars in the field.
The teams now have a couple weeks to prepare the #91 and #93 SRT Viper GTS-R race cars before the 12 Hours of Sebring race on March 15th.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
