With a pole and podium finish already chronicled in the first two races of the 2013 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron season, SRT® Motorsports has an eye on a bigger prize – a race win – at one of the most historic tracks in sports car racing – Laguna Seca.
SRT Motorsports will field two SRT Viper GTS-Rs in Saturday’s four-hour race at the 2.238-mile Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca road course. Viper looks to leverage its strong ALMS heritage, having won in the GTS Class at Laguna Seca in 1999 and 2000.
The driver lineup for Saturday’s race: Kuno Wittmer and Jonathan Bomarito in the No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R; Marc Goossens and Dominik Farnbacher in the No. 91 Fast & Furious 6 SRT Viper GTS-R.
The No. 91 SRT Viper GTS-R opened the season with a fifth at Sebring, followed with a podium finish – third – at Long Beach and is currently third in class, only nine markers shy of first. The No. 93 SRT Viper GTS-R has two top-10 finishes – 10th at Sebring and eighth at Long Beach.
“I think we have good momentum for the season and also for the next race,” said Dominik Farnbacher (No. 91 Fast & Furious 6 SRT Viper GTS-R). “We’ll go there with our heads raised. We know we can make it to another podium if we just work hard. We have the right recipe for it. We just need to put it together, have the right strategy and no problems.”
Laguna Seca’s beauty can mask her ferocious teeth, as drivers will be forced to deal with the narrow track surface that becomes temperamental with the ever-changing track conditions. Teams look to find the ultimate grip and consistency as the mid-day sun transitions to late-afternoon cooler temperatures, challenging drivers and race engineers to find the delicate balance in setup.
“The biggest issue you have at Laguna Seca is it’s a fairly tight track that you have to muscle around,” said Bill Riley, VP and Chief Engineer, Riley Technologies. “You often end up with some damage to the car because every now and then you have to rub on people to get by ‘em. The corners are also an issue – they fall away from you, which creates a bit of an understeer or a push. You have to prepare the car to compensate for that. As far as load on the car, it’s not too bad.”
SRT driver Jonathon Bomarito (No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R) is well versed in the tricky elevation and famous esses that make the road course unique. Bomarito has an ace up his sleeve having grown up in Monterey, Calif., and previously served as an instructor for the Skip Barber Racing School at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
“Laguna Seca probably presents one of the biggest elevation changes of any race track that we go to, if not the biggest. You have the famous Corkscrew to deal with – you’re climbing and climbing up the hill to reach it and then it just falls away once you get to the top. It’s a world famous corner. You’re dealing with a lot of natural elevation with the racetrack, which makes it a lot of fun. It’s really nestled into this valley and these hills. It’s a beautiful place, good for the spectators. They can see a large portion of the track.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised with the results we’ve had in the first two races,” said SRT Motorsports Road Racing Manager Gary Johnson. “I’m very happy. We have a great team involved, from the people designing the cars to everyone working on them back in the shop between races. I also have to give a lot of credit to our drivers who have done a spectacular job. It’s been a good start.”
Source : SRT Motorsports