SRT Motorsports - Tommy Kendall Joins SRT Viper GTS-R Team for ALMS Competition

July 14, 2012 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - 

 
TOMMY KENDALL JOINS SRT VIPER GTS-R TEAM FOR ALMS COMPETITION

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (Sunday, July 15, 2012) – Tommy Kendall is the latest addition to the SRT Viper GTS-R team that will compete in the American Le Mans Series.  The first on-track appearance will be Aug. 4 at the Mid-Ohio (Lexington, Ohio) Sports Car Course. 

Kendall made the announcement Sunday night on SPEED’s Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.  “I got a call out of the blue about six weeks ago inviting me to a driver shootout,” he said.  “I said what the heck, let’s do it although I haven’t driven anything competitively in six years.  I didn’t have any idea how it was going to turn out, but fortunately the stopwatch doesn’t know how old you are. Obviously, it went well enough and I got the nod.  I’m going to be campaigning for SRT Motorsports and their Viper program in ALMS.”

Kendall joins three other full-time drivers previously announced including Dominik Farnbacher, from Ansbach, Germany; Marc Goossens from Geel, Belgium; and Kuno Wittmer from Montreal.  Ryan Hunter-Reay from Dallas will join the team for the longer endurance races.

“Tommy Kendall is an excellent addition to our team,” said Beth Paretta, Director of Marketing and Operations – SRT Brand and Motorsports.  “It’s fitting that Tommy makes his return to competition as the SRT Viper GTS-R returns to ALMS.  He competed in the SRT Viper Cup Series recently at Virginia International Raceway and drove from the back to the front of the field in impressive fashion before a fuel problem relegated him to a third-place finish.  His experience as a road racer makes him a strong addition to our team.”  

SRT Motorsports has partnered with Riley Technologies, based in Mooresville, N.C., on the design-and-build process of the new SRT Viper GTS-R race cars. The team will compete in the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, a three-hour American Le Mans Series (ALMS) endurance race presented by Tequila Patron.

Two identical SRT Viper GTS-R cars will compete in the production-based GT class in the series. The GT class consists of production-based, moderately modified two-wheel-drive race cars.  The SRT Viper GTS-R cars will be competing against the Aston Martin Vantage, BMW M3 GT, Corvette C6.R, Ferrari F458 Italia, Lotus Evora and Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.  The GT class cars share many styling similarities to their showroom brands and by series’ rules must have a minimum weight of 2,745 pounds. The cars produce between 450-500 horsepower with top speeds of up to 180 mph. 

Following the limited schedule this season, the SRT Motorsports team will compete full time in the series in 2013.

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