The Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT not so kind to the Vipers

Today marked the first two practice sessions along with the
qualifying run for the American LeMans Series Baltimore Sports Car Challenge
presented by SRT but in the early going – the event sponsored by the brand
behind the new SRT Viper GTS-R race teams has not been so kind to the two Viper
teams.

During the first run of practice, the #93 SRT Viper GTS-R
sponsored by Pennzoil Ultra and driven by the duo of Marc Goossens and Tommy Kendall
ranked 13^th (last) in the GT Class and 27^th overall on
the 2 mile city course with a best lap of 1:35.072.  Things were not much better for the #91 Forza
Motorsport Viper GTS-R driven by Kumo Wittmer and Dominic Farnbacher, which
turned in a best lap of 1:34.227
– placing them 11^th in the GT class and 24^th overall. For
comparison, the quickest car in the first practice session from the ALMS GT
class with the Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 driven by Gavin and Milner with a lap
of 1:30.580.

As the
field took the field for the second practice session of the day, the hotter
weather slowed the field as a whole but the session was unfortunately shortened
when Dominic Farnbacher slammed the #91 Viper GTS-R into the wall in turn
#9.  The accident caused a red flag
situation and the rest of the practice session was officially canceled.  Things were only slightly better for the #93
Viper GTS-R but with the field as a whole being slower in round 2, the #93
Viper’s time of 1:35.072 moved them up to the 25^th place overall –
even though they were still the slowest car in the class.

There was
some good news and some bad news for the Viper teams come qualifying.  The bad news was that the crash by Farnbacher
prevented the #91 Viper from entering qualifying and there has been no word
thus far whether the car will be ready to race tomorrow.  However, the good news is that during
qualifying, the #93 Viper GTS-R driven by Marc Goossens turned in their best
lap of the weekend with a pass of 1:33.526.  This places the Pennzoil Ultra Viper in the 9^th
place in the GT class for Saturday’s race and the 22^nd spot overall –
both of which are significant improvements compared to the practice sessions.

The 2 hour long Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by
SRT is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 4:30pm EST and you can catch the action
live by watching on the ESPN3 app on your Xbox360 or on the ALMS website.  Those who don’t have an Xbox360 (or a good
internet connection to watch streaming video) can catch the action on ABC on
Sunday, September 2^nd at noon EST. 
There will also be an encore presentation at 4am on Wednesday September
5^th on ESPN2 for you night owls.

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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