Due to the withdrawal of one of the Two SARD-Morand Orecas, the #53 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GTS-R, first reserve car, has been admitted in the 2015 Le Mans entry list in the GTE-Am category. Bill Riley, Team Principal, has kindly agreed to answer a few questions for Endurance-Info :
What is the chassis number of the Le Mans car and what is the record of this chassis before Le Mans?
“We are going to use GTS-R-003. The car was used in the last 2 IMSA races in 2013 as car #91. It raced the complete year in the 2014 IMSA Championship as car #91. It finished 3rdat Daytona and Petit Le Mans in 2014. “
When will you come in France to prepare the Le Mans race and where will be your headquarters before Le Mans?
“The way the schedule is we will stay in the garages at the circuit from May 26th through the race. It works very well for us.”
Were you confident to have an entry for Le Mans? If you had not been given this entry, would it have been a big disappointment?
“We were confident. I had one of our engineers make a chart that showed when cars drop out. In the past 5 years at least one car fell out in April. We were pretty confident that we would get in. It was great to get the call though! We are very fortunate to have Ben Keating. He said GO back on February 5thso we have been planning all along as we would be getting in. It would be a heart breaker for me if we didn’t get in. Le Mans is very special.”
Have you been testing with the car since the off-season? When and where? Was it positive?
“We did a quick systems check on the car before we shipped it. The tracks here are so different from Le Mans.”
Could you say some words about Marc Miller? What do you think of the Le Mans line-up?
“I am really excited about our lineup. Jeroen is top and I enjoy working with him. He doesn’t leave anything on the table and is very easy on equipment. Ben Keating is really fast for a Silver and is getting better every time he gets in the car. It will be great to be with him at Le Mans. He is such a Viper nut. For him to be driving a Viper at Le Mans is going to be very special for him. I am just glad I can be a part of it. Marc Miller will be interesting. I worked with him several years ago in MX-5 and always thought he would be strong. I have tested him for programs over the years. It will be great to see how much he will fall in love with Le Mans. Ben has given him a great opportunity.”
What are your expectations for Le Mans? A podium, or maybe more?
“I would love to get a podium but Le Mans is not easy. Everyone has to be perfect. I would like to have a clean run with no errors. If that leads us to a podium I’ll take it!”
What does Le Mans represent for you?
“I have been involved in several wins in motorsport. The great thing is most if not all of them I have shared with my father. My father, Bob Riley, is still very active in the company and currently is working on the LMP3 design. I would like to win Le Mans with him. He was on the GT40 program at Ford when they won it 4 times in the 60’s. I feel it’s a big race we haven’t won together yet.”
What are your best Le Mans memories? The worst, if any?
“Finishing with both Vipers in 2013 was great. I also had a great time with Marc Goossens and Jim Matthews in 2003 when we ran LMP1. We had a pretty fast car for a privateer effort. In 2000 the Cadillac program was pretty rough on me. It wasn’t much fun.”
As some rumors are saying that the LMP2 category could have in 2017 only four manufacturers and that Riley Motorsports could be one of them, can you confirm this possibility? Would this LMP2 be different from the former LMP2 Coupé project? To your point, what do you think of this option of four manufacturers only? If you come to Le Mans, could Riley Motorsports enter the car by themselves; or would it be a customer race car?
“No comment about LMP2 at this time.”
Is the LMP3 project still underway?
“The LMP3 is coming along great. Tony Ave will build the cars. The design is over halfway done. The ACO really did a great job with the rules. I think it will be a strong car and class.”