Dodge Vipers Win GTLM and GTD at COTA – Wittmer/Bomarito Claim GTLM Top Spot

This past weekend marked the second to the last race of the 2014 Tudor United SportsCar Championship and the three Dodge Viper race cars in the field were the leaders in their respective class – with the #93 Viper winning the GTLM class, the #91 Viper taking second in GTLM and the #33 Viper took the win in the GTD class. More importantly, the win for the #93 team allowed them to grab the top spot in the run for the team and driver’s championships while also pulling SRT into a tie for the manufacturer’s championship.

Kumo Wittmer and Jonathan Bomarito came into the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) race on a major hot streak and just a few points behind the #3 Chevrolet Corvette team. The #93 Viper finished on the GTLM podium in 4 of the 5 races coming into the COTA race and with the #3 Corvette team struggling in the past few events, the leading Viper had pulled into striking distance headed into Austin.

They came out charging, claiming the top spot in the GTLM qualifying runs by more than a second and while pit stops occasionally shuffled the #93 car back the field, Wittmer and Bomarito spent most of the day around the front of the class…if not at the front of the class. The #91 Viper also spent all day at the front of the field including leading some laps on and off throughout the race. Later in the race, the Vipers found themselves running in the second and third spot until the Porsche that was leading the race ran into mechanical issues. From there on out, it was all Vipers as they cruised to victory by a very comfortable margin.

Over in the GT Daytona class, Ben Keating drove his #33 Dodge Viper to victory for the second time this season. The sole Viper in GTD is too far back to make a real run at any of the 2014 titles, but that is a very different story in the quicker GTLM class.

After the win at COTA, the #93 Viper driven by Kumo Wittmer and Jonathan Bomarito now sits in the top spot in the team championship race with 300 points to just 293 points for the #3 Corvette. The #91 Viper sits in third place with 283 points. Wittmer and Bomarito both have 300 points in the driver’s championship as well, putting them both 7 points ahead of Corvette Racing driven Antonio Garcia. Dominik Farnbacher and Marc Goossens of the #91 Viper are tied with 283 points for the third spot.

This lead means that if the #93 Viper finishes in the top three at the Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta, the #3 Corvette cannot catch them for the two championships. Basically, the #3 Corvette has to win the race and the #93 Viper needs to end worse than 4^th for Antonio Garcia and his Corvette to win the title in GTLM.

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

Facebook   Twitter