Vipers finish fifth and last in ALMS at Laguna Seca

The 2013 American LeMans Series held it’s third race this past weekend and for the third time this season, the #91 SRT Viper GTS-R piloted by Dominic Farnbacher and Marc Goossens grabbed a top five spot in the GT class finishing 5th in class and 13th overall. Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well for the #93 Viper team as mechanical issues forced the duo of Kumo Wittmer and Jonathon Bomarito to settle for the last overall spot in the 36 car field.

Both teams troubles began during qualifying where the #91 Viper was only able to climb to the 8th starting spot while the #93 Viper was technically the slowest GT-class car to qualify (although one car not making a qualifying run allowed the #93 car to start in the 10th spot rather than 11th). Once the green flag dropped, Dominic Farnbacher gradually worked his way up through the GT field, running as high as third during his two hour stint in the #91 Viper while being within a few seconds of the class leader throughout his portion of the race. Once Marc Goossens took over to close out the race, he continued the front running trend with the help of some lightning quick pit stops and as the race drew to a close – Goossens sat in the 4th position (in class). Unfortunately, a caution late in the race lined the cars up for a one lap race to the checkered flag and the 5th place Ferrari 458 was able to get a big jump on the #91 Viper on the restart to take away the 4th spot.

The Laguna Seca race is likely one that the #93 SRT Viper GTS-R team will want to forget about as quickly as possible with a long season ahead. After posting the worst qualifying time in the class, Kumo Wittmer was forced to take his car behind the wall just a few minutes into the race to address a gearbox issue. After 45 minutes in the garage area, the #93 Viper hit the track once again but it wasn’t long before the gearbox once again failed. On the day, the #93 car only completed 12 laps (the 5th place Viper completed 142 laps) which forced that half of the Viper team to finish last in the GT class and overall.

This strong start has put Farnbacher and Goossens in a tie for third place in driver’s points both just 5 points out of 1st and just 2 points behind Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin who pilot the #4 Chevrolet Corvette. The #91 Viper driven by Farnbacher and Goossens finished 5th in class and 19th overall at the 12 Hours of Sebring while posting their season best finish of 3rd in class and 9th overall at the Long Beach event. Continued consistency like this perhaps coupled with a win could give the drivers of the #91 SRT Viper a very real chance of winning the 2013 American LeMans Series Driver’s Championship and with 7 races left – there is plenty of time for both teams to continue to shake out the bugs and build experience in the new Mopar supercar.

GT Class results from Laguna Seca:
1. #3 Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia)
2. #17 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Wolf Henzler, Bryan Sellers)
3. #56 BMW Z4 GTE (John Edwards, Dirk Muller)
4. #23 Ferrari F458 Italia (Bill Sweedler, Townsend Bell)
5. #91 SRT Viper GTS-R (Dominik Farnbacher, Marc Goossens)
6. #48 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Bryce Miller, Marco Holzer)
7. #06 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Tom Kimber-Smith, Patrick Long)
8. # 62 Ferrari F458 Italia (Olivier Beretta, Matteo Malucelli)
9. #4 Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (Tommy Milner, Oliver Gavin)
10. #55 BMW Z4 GTE (Bill Auberlen, Maxime Martin)
11. #93 SRT Viper GTS-R (Kuno Wittmer, Jonathan Bomarito)

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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