The 2013 SRT Viper GTSR leads 17 laps at the Petit Le Mans – finishes 8th

This past weekend, the two 2013 SRT Viper GTS-R teams hit
the pavement of Road Atlanta for the American LeMans Series Petit Le Mans –
marking the end of the new Viper race program’s inaugural season.  Unfortunately, with finishes of 8^th
and 13^th in the GT Class of 13 cars, the Petit Le Mans didn’t end up
a whole lot better than the other races in which the new Viper GTS-R teams have
participated but there were some important bright spots at the teams prepare
for a full 2013 ALMS season.

During the week-long practice session and into qualifying, with
both the #93 Pennzoil Ultra 2013 SRT Viper GTS-R and the #91 Breast Cancer
Deadline 2020 Viper GTS-R running in the middle of the 13 car GT Class
field.  Once qualifying was completed, Marc
Goossens had put the #93 Viper in the 6^th starting spot while the
#91 Viper driven by Dominik Farnbacher qualified in the 10^th
position.  Unfortunately, due to the fact
that the #91 Viper GTS-R team did not meet the minimum required number of laps during
the final evening practice, they were in violation of the qualifying rules –
forcing the #91 to start at the back of the field.  Fortunately, the #02 Ferrari F458 Italia team
failed to past the post qualifying tech inspection so the #91 Viper got to
start in the 12^th place in class; 39^th overall in the 42
car field.  Due to the penalty handed to
the #02 Ferrari team, the #93 Viper actually started in the 5^th spot
in the class and the 23^rd overall position.

Early in the race, things were going well as both of the
2013 SRT Viper GTS-R race teams gradually worked their way towards the front of
the field.  In fact, on lap 66, the #91 Breast
Cancer Deadline 2020 driven by Dominik Farnbacher took the class lead and held
the position for 17 laps before he dove into the pits for gas, tires and a
driver change.  However, as time went on,
the #91 Viper wasn’t able to maintain his class lead, forcing the silver and
blue Viper to settle for an 8^th place GT Class finish and 20^th
overall.  Also, the #91 Viper was also
one of just 4 cars in the GT Class to post a lap time under the 80 second mark
as the charity-sponsored SRT race car finished a total of 369 laps…6 laps
behind class-winning Ferrari #01.

Things didn’t go quite so well for the #93 SRT Viper GTS-R
as transmission problems put the faster of the two qualifying Vipers in and out
of the pits all day.  The Viper driven by
Tommy Kendall, Marc Goossens and Jason Bomarito completed just 170 laps along
with being on the track for only 7 hours and 50 minutes (the other Viper was on
the track for 9 hours and 38 minutes). 
The result was a disappointing last place finish in the GT Class and an
overall spot of 39^th in the 42 car field.

The good news is that the 2013 SRT Viper GTS-R teams showed
that they were competitive so as both teams prepare to run a full schedule with
the American LeMans Series in 2013 – the teams and the drivers gained a great
deal of experience for next season.

Click here to head into the DodgeForum.com racing section to discuss the final race of the ALMS season!

Patrick Rall

"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.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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