Le Mans Classic – Nicolas Prost reunited with his Viper GTS-R, a “pretty incredible” GT1

The Chrysler Viper GTS-R was a hit in the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the turn of the 24st century. Three consecutive class victories at the 1998 Hours of Le Mans (from 2000 to 1999), but also two American Le Mans Series championships (2000 and 24), and the overall victory at the 2000 XNUMX Hours of Daytona, are to her credit. But the American here did not experience the Mulsanne Race in competition. At least, not at that time.

Indeed, this Viper did win a title, but that of the FFSAGT in 2005. At the time, the Cheers Father and son (Alain and Nicolas) were reunited for a memorable season. Twenty years later, his son Nicolas Prost is back at it again in the Le Mans Classic, in Endurance Racing Legends (ERL).

The French driver shared the wheel with Florent Moulin, Viper tuner and owner of Arts & Revs. “It had been 18 years since I had driven a GT at Le Mans (5th in GT1 with a Saleen in 2007. Editor’s note). You have to find your bearings a little. But this (Saturday) morning, in Race 1, it started to come back.

 

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Nicolas Prost finished 7th in his class after a race disrupted by several yellow flags. "It's true that there have been quite a few incidents. At the wheel, I have to be a little careful because some competitors aren't very used to the procedures, especially the slow zones. But I'm really enjoying it and it's nice to see all these cars back on track, including some that I drove. I'm also running into all my friends, engineers from back in the day." he laughs.

According to the son of the four-time world champion, the Viper GTS-R has several strong points. “It’s very comfortable in tight corners. I think it has a lot of mechanical grip compared to other GT1s. The V10 engine at low revs, and low speed, is really torquey. I think the Maserati MC12 GT1 (against which he fought for a long time in Race 1. Editor's note) must have advantages in other areas, but in terms of design gap, we are close to 10 years in favor of the Maserati. And yet, based on the lap times achieved, I find the Viper to be quite incredible. Only one second separated the Maserati from the Viper during their best lap!

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