Viper Wins the 2015 Rolex 24

After the Chrysler Group announced the end of the factory-backed Dodge Viper racing program, many Mopar lovers were convinced that their days of watching the road racing Vipers were once again finished. Fortunately, the folks at Riley Technologies – the same shop that built the championship-winning GT LeMans Vipers in 2014 – fielded two teams for the 2015 Tudor United Sports Car Championship and those teams were in action this past weekend for the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.

As the first stop on the 2015 Tudor United Sports Car Championship schedule, the Rolex 24 gave the two Viper teams a chance to prove that they could compete without factory backing and from beginning to end – they did so in a big way.

While the factory-supported Viper GTR-S teams competed and won in the GT LeMans class in 2014, the 2015 Viper teams are both relying on GT3-R race cars to compete in the GT Daytona class. This class is much bigger than GTLM and the rules are slightly different from those in GTLM. The #33 Viper Exchange car driven by Ben Keating ran the GTD class last year and picked up a couple of wins while the new #93 Viper was making its first start in GTD. Handling the driving duties in the #33 cars were Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Marc Goossens, and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen while the #93 car was driven by Kuno Wittmer, Cameron Lawrence, Al Carter and Dominik Farnbacher.

During the early practice sessions, the #33 car was the quicker of the two Viper teams while the #93 crew worked to get a grip of the new class. This continued into qualifying, when the #33 Viper grabbed the second starting position, while the #93 Viper was forced to start at the back of the field due to a rule violation following qualifying.

When the 2015 Rolex 24 started, the #33 Viper spent a great deal of time at the front of the field while the #93 Viper slowly worked its way through the huge class. By the time the first six hour segment of the Rolex 24 had ended, the #93 Viper was in first place while the #33 Viper had dropped to 5^th. Over the course of the next 6 hours, both of the Viper teams spent lots of time leading the GTD field until the #33 car ran into mechanical issues that forced the team into the pits for repairs. This left the #93 Viper to contend for the lead without a partner, but it didn’t make much difference.

The #93 Viper was clearly the best car in the field by the time the 18 hour mark brought an end to the 3^rd six hour segment and through the final quarter of the race, there was simply no competition for the #93 car. The team of Carter, Wittmer, Farnbacher and Lawrence won the Rolex 24 with ease – without factory financial support.

Images: TI Automotive FB Page

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