ALMS – The 2013 Viper GTS-R SRT rolled

The announcement of the Viper's return to competition caused a stir across the Atlantic. The car, in the hands of SRT Motorsports, will make its racing debut this season in American Le Mans Series. For these first tests, it was the Belgian Marc Goosens who was requisitioned. “The first test of the new Viper GTS-R went extremely well, underlines Beth Paretta, Marketing and Operations Director of SRT. Although the team worked very hard, it's still amazing to see how well things came together in the development process. We were even able to expand our program more than usual for a first test session. We are delighted, and can’t wait to get back on track to prepare for our arrival in the ALMS”.

Teachings that are laudatory to say the least, confirmed by Marc Goossens, whose experience in Endurance can only be beneficial for the development of the car. “It’s a moment we’ve all been waiting for, explains the Belgian pilot. Our ambition was not to log many kilometers. It was a shakedown, and everything went well. To go out on track and be able, at the end of the day, to start changing the suspensions and modifying the settings to see how the car reacts, it's a great performance for a first day with this car. This gave us indications on the points to work on in the near future, in order to make the car even more efficient and reliable.” And what did Goossens love? " The care of, he underlines. We all expect good engine power, we can feel it in a straight line. The car has a lot of potential whatever the conditions. But what surprised me was that everything worked well as far as the on-board electronics were concerned. I'm talking in particular about gear changes. The traction control worked correctly. These things, as I have experienced in the past, are not the easiest to get working on the first day. We haven't got the best out of the car yet, but we can see that the potential is there. We must now explore everything in greater depth, and go into more detail to see how to make it as efficient as possible, as quickly as possible..

After this first test, which was conclusive to say the least, the car will carry out a series of test sessions before coming to challenge the Corvette, BMW, Ferrari and other Porsche. “Several tests on various circuits are planned before the first race, explains Gary Johnson, Road Racing Manager of SRT Motorsports. The next step concerns the development of the car, in two distinct areas. One concerns performance, and the second concerns reliability. Over the next two months, we will explore different circuits and different environments to improve the car and find weaknesses and problems that could possibly arise.".