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Photo by Jonathan Butel

RIP Roy Sjoberg March 30, 2025

Very sad news published by the Viper Owners Association with the passing of "Father Viper" Roy Sjoberg. Here he is pictured at left wearing the bomber jacket while receiving an update from Ken Nowak on the construction of GTS-R C1 in Auburn Hills in early 1996. Roy's long automotive career is well documented including serving as the Chief Engineer of Team Viper on the original RT/10 production car.

Though he wasn't as involved with the day to day minutiae on the racing side, he served at the executive level on the original GTS-R program during 1995-1996 prior to his retirement in 1997. Roy was part of the group which heard the first pitches from various professional teams that wished to get involved with the car's development and he selected Neil Hannemann to be the GTS-R Program Manager for Chrysler. When necessary Roy acted as the hammer ensuring that the various parties adhered to the top level decree that whenever possible production parts and/or production suppliers should be used on the race car.

I enjoyed getting to spend a little time with Roy at various events over the last few years. Once at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix he displayed his original GTS-R banner signed by many of the team members from 1996. I helped him identify signatures of those who I'd interviewed in the years since. It was a special treat to get a VRL victory at Indy with Roy in attendance in 2022. The second photo depicts us together just after the trophy presentation.

I know many were looking forward to seeing him again this summer at NVE. He will certainly be missed and remembered by Viper Nation. My condolences to his friends and family, may he rest in peace.

Photos: 1 -Courtesy of Ken Nowak, scanned/edited by VRH

2 - VRH

March 18, 2025

25 Year Sebring Sweep Anniversary

March 18, 2000: 1-2-3 Viper SWEEPS the podium at the 2000 Sebring 12 hours! Our next anniversary celebration is that of GTS-R’s second victory in their endurance racing triple crown triumph 25 years ago today. It's a shame that it might be overshadowed by what came before and after, but it was a truly dominant race for Viper Team ORECA highlighting the reliability of both team and car on Sebring’s notoriously brutal concrete. The closest Porsche in the GTS class finished 20 laps behind the winning Viper while the closest Corvette was a further 7 laps back.

This was only the second and final time that the original factory supported GTS-R program contested this race. The previous outing was the second ever race for the cars back in their debut season of 1996. I would imagine it was also one of the last great performances by a car with an H-pattern, production based gearbox in this particularly grueling race.

The crews and cars for the 2000 edition were as follows:

#91 C31, 1st in class, 7th overall driven by O. Beretta/K. Wendlinger/D. Dupuy

#92 C27, 2nd in class, 8th overall driven by D. Donohue/T. Archer/M. Duez

#93 C30, 3rd in class, 9th overall driven by JP. Belloc/A. Beltoise/N. Amorim

Thankfully all three cars survive today in excellent condition albeit wearing different liveries from that which they had on this day. I’ve had the good fortune to view each of them in their respective homes.

Check out their entire careers at www.ViperRacingHistory.com

Photos 1-2: Purchased from John Brooks

Photo 3: Hal Crocker - MPN

Photos 4-6: VRH

Swiss Viper Museum February 24-28, 2025

I had the pleasure of being invited to work at the Swiss Viper Museum last week. It was a joy to get back to the collection which I hadn't seen since 2018. Over that time owner Edwin Stucky had expanded the collection, part of which is the largest single ownership grouping of original Viper GTS-Rs in the world!

We went through the entire document archive which helped me fill in some gaps in the timelines for certain cars while opening up new questions for others. Work continues, but the output of these efforts has already resulted in updates to GTS-R chassis C17, C23, C30, C40, C42, C43, C44, C46, C49 and C52 as well as Comp Coupes C08 and C106.

The museum in undergoing some updates resulting from this trip, but I highly encourage you to make a visit if you can. Check out their website at https://www.swissvipermuseum.ch/en

A big THANK YOU to Edwin, Nicole, Urs, Ludo and Robin for this hospitality and great times all around!

February 5, 2025

25 Year Daytona Anniversary

Today marks the 25 year anniversary of Viper becoming the FIRST American production based GT car to win the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona overall on February 5-6, 2000. It also established the first pillar of their endurance racing triple crown victory that year – Daytona, Sebring, Le Mans. I’ve been trying for some time to secure permission from Historic Sportscar Racing to organize a reunion of GTS-R C21 along with original team members at Daytona during an event, but thus far have been unsuccessful. Maybe we’ll have better luck this special year.

I've written plenty about this prior so here are a few images, including some which have never before been published online, C21’s life through Daytona and beyond.

1: Photo purchased from one of my favorite photographers John Brooks depicting C21, lights ablaze through the bus stop chicane.

2: Scanned original from the personal collection of the lead mechanic on C21 Eric Delbart. The car is pictured at ORECA’s satellite facility in Georgia having just been prepped for Daytona.

3: Scanned original from Eric Delbart showing the car on pit lane prior to the race. Note the onboard cameras for ESPN have already been fitted.

4: Photo submitted by Roy Olivier who managed to quickly stick his camera through the fence in the tri-oval as C21 roared by before being chased away by security guards!

5: Photo purchased from John Brooks depicting the iconic scene of Viper Team ORECA and Chrysler personnel in victory lane.

6: Scanned original from Eric’s collection showing himself proudly standing next to the winning car on display post-race in the Daytona USA museum.

7: Photo shared by Carsport Holland mechanic Harold Bunskoeke who viewed C21 back at ORECA’s headquarters in France as it was being prepared for permanent display duty. Some low availability parts from the race were removed and retained for use on other cars during the 2000 season.

8: SRT photo - Overall winners were invited back to Daytona in 2012 for the race's 50th anniversary. SRT CEO Ralph Gilles drove C21 in the demo.

9: VRH photo from 2022 depicting one of many examples of C21 on display during retirement.

November 25, 2024

This weekend I spent some time revisiting the chassis records of Chamberlain Motorsport, particularly during the period of 2000-2001. I noticed inconsistencies with information I had been told previously and what was published in official sources. 2000 was particularly interesting as the late, great Hugh Chamberlain and company managed to compete in at least six different major championship series across the globe once their previous two GTS-Rs (C16 and C19) were joined by one of Viper Team ORECA's 1999 factory entries (C23).

With the help of former Chamberlain team members Steve Hay and Michael Webb I believe it's all well sorted now. Imagine taking a Viper and in a single season competing at the 24 Hours of Daytona (Grand Am), 24 Hours of Le Mans (ACO), FIA GT Championship, FFSA GT Championship, British GT Championship and the American Le Mans Series as a privateer!

All updates have been published on the GTS-R registry page.

Images by Greg Denton

Major GTS-R Chassis Discovery

In May 2024 I was speaking with Jacky Morel, founder of GTI Magazine and original owner of Viper GTS-R C18 in partnership with Paul Belmondo Racing (PBR). Jacky proudly reflected on his car being the only customer Viper to ever defeat the factory when Paul Belmondo and Emmanuel Clerico drove to the FIA GT victory at Homestead, Florida. His pride turned to frustration as he recounted a suspicion that the car he ended up with at the conclusion of the program was not in fact his original C18. How could this be? Jacky had noticed and thankfully photographed discrepancies in the car as it moved through its competition career. He had an idea of what may have happened, and it was enough that he lost his passion for the car and sold it. More than 20 years later he asked if I would be willing to investigate what became of his original car. I thought it might not be too difficult given the car was now owned by a good friend of mine and coincidentally was the first GTS-R I had the pleasure of driving so I had hundreds of photos. I was wrong.

The subtle changes Jacky noticed are under the bodywork and/or inside the cockpit and result from the nature of these being hand built race cars – each one is unique. Furthermore, the cars are modified over time and receive various markings from the race meetings they participate in. The challenge being that from the outside you can’t often see any difference rendering most of the photographs taken of the cars on track useless for identification. After reviewing Jacky’s photographs and comparing them to those in my archive it became obvious that chassis identification tags were moved across multiple cars during the period of 1999-2003. In addition, race numbers on a given event weekend may be different from those which the same chassis carried at the previous event. This would substantially impact the known racing records of a car as a series technical inspector would simply read and record whatever chassis tag he or she saw on the car. They wouldn’t know in that period if it had been moved from another car.

Therefore, a race by race review of each car had to be conducted utilizing photos which offered a glimpse inside the cockpit or under the hood. Such photos are obviously not immediately available for each event even amongst the most renowned photographers. The best effort was made to link together a series of identifiers for each chassis and to update the racing records accordingly combining all available resources. Modern photo editing technology permits us the ability to lighten original photographs bring forward details which were previously in shadow. None of this work would have been possible without Jacky’s original photographs and documents as well as the support of the cars’ current owners – none of which were aware that this had occurred.

This is certainly nowhere near the first time this has happened with race cars and not even the first time with Viper. Race cars are tools for a job and often teams don’t worry themselves with such details after taking delivery of a car and entering battle with it. After a great many hours of work, it is my opinion that at some point during their racing careers GTS-Rs C09, C18 and C25 had their chassis identification tags swapped thereby impacting their racing histories. During the process of this review, it became obvious that the racing record of C34 was also impacted, but I don’t believe it was involved in the identification tag carousel. As it turns out, Jacky’s original C18 is now most likely wearing the identification of C09 and car that made my GTS-R driving dream come true was the original C09.

You can see all the updates for each car over on the GTS-R registry page.

GTS-R P3 Visited

A GTS-R "time capsule" from 1996/1999. After finally viewing GTS-R P3, I would have to agree with this summation by drivers/custodians Bret Parker and Kevin Allen.

NP Racing barely modified the car after taking delivery from Canaska-Southwind Motorsport. They ran it at the 1999 Rolex 24 at Daytona and then the FIA GT race at Homestead, Florida. Today the car remains as it came out of the trailer following this race in 1999.

The FIA tech inspection tags remain in place complete with inlet restrictors. There are date coded parts from 1999 and even 1996 from its time with CS. The rare (today) Pi4 dash and data acquisition system are present and functional. There is no doubt that this is one of the most original GTS-Rs in existence.

It was a pleasure to see and a joy to know that this unique configuration, early GTS-R preserves the early history of the program.

Jump over to the GTS-R page to see more about its racing life.

ACR-X 32 For Sale

FOR SALE: 2010 ACR-X 32+ 21’ Trailex Enclosed Trailer

Original owner ACR-X, 32 of 50 produced, 8,922 miles.

Only ACR-X built in this livery still in its original bright blue paint with dual silver stripes.

This ACR-X has never been used in competition, but instead for HPDE events. The car retains its factory 8.4L V10 engine and Tremec 6 speed transmission. Chassis dyno measured 589 whp/560 ft-lbs torque. A passenger seat has been fitted. Complete Performance Motorsports spherical bearing suspension, alignment slug/stud kit with upgraded hardware on the factory KW spring/damper package. CPM maintenance also included fuel system service, bladder replacement, auxiliary fuel filter kit and service to the brake calipers and sway bar end links. An aftermarket splitter has been installed.

Spares package includes street tires (4), slicks (4), cool shirt (XL), (2) 15 gallon fuel jugs with pump/cart, (2) 5 gallon fuel jugs and more. 21’ Trailex enclosed trailer outfitted to transport the car with winch, in floor storage, ramps, tie down straps, aluminum tool box, tire rack.

Price: $140,000

Contact: glsland@goverolandservices.net

September 2024

It was a quick turnaround, but after another 9+ hour drive I was back in Michigan this weekend for additional research and an extremely rare opportunity. I'd say it was absolutely worth it:

GTS-R P1

GTS-R Homologation update car

For years I’ve hoped for the chance to inspect these two. We were fortunate to be granted a short window to peak under the skin and record what was found for the history project. Some doubt existed amongst the original constructors that the car which had been displayed at the former Walter P. Chrysler Museum was in fact P1. I’m happy to confirm that numerous chassis elements unique to P1 remain in place today. The dead giveaways are those which were fabricated by J&P Motorsports during the car’s repair after the program’s debut race at Daytona in 1996. This is the car that started it all and is likely that which went through more mechanical configurations than any other GTS-R as new parts were developed each year.

The Homologation car is not that which was originally used to authorize GTS-R for competition, but rather built to legalize updated components which were developed across the first few years of competition. At one point it’s said to have been partially dismantled for use on other engineering projects only to be hastily rebuilt as the ACO requested another inspection as class rules evolved. A look inside helped fill in gaps in the car’s construction timeline as factory paperwork has yet to be located and team memories fade with time. As far as my research shows, no production series Viper ever had more GTS-R components installed by the factory than this car. It’s truly one of one.

I hope to share the photos we gathered in the future book. You can express your interest in receiving updates on the project on the Book Project tab.

There will be numerous updates to various cars on the registry pages following this weekend's research.

August 2024

There have been some interesting projects going on over the summer, but unfortunately I cannot yet share the results publicly. In the meantime please enjoy this look back at just one piece of an incredible trip back in 2020!

Memorabilia Memories – One of my favorite pieces of VRH that I’ve come across to date originated from one of the first and best interviews I conducted for the book project. At that 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona I was interviewing the late Canaska/Southwind Motorsport manager Charlie Cook. At the time he was a senior member with the IMSA technical department. It was quite an experience interviewing Charlie inside the IMSA tech hauler as the cars roared through the tri-oval in the background. During the course of our conversation Charlie mentioned he still had a GTS-R engine back at his original shop and wondered if I might be able to find a home for it. While I would have loved to be the next caretaker of this Holy Grail level piece, the costs of running my own cars meant I wouldn’t be able to give Mr. Cook a fair value. Fortunately one of my closest friends and top VRH supporter appreciates the history as much as I do. By the time I reached the bottom of the hauler stairs I was already dialing his number.

Flash forward to February 2020 and we made an eventful 14 hour drive to Birmingham, Alabama. Arriving at a forlorn, graffiti covered building it was impossible to imagine that this had at one time been a competitive race shop. It quickly became a scene like that in Indiana Jones. Charlie led us inside and amongst the piles of stuff was a red crate covered in French shipping labels. Sure enough inside was engine S/N: 2013 which had been in GTS-R chassis P5 during the pre-qualification weekend at Le Mans. It hadn’t moved from this location since returning from France in 1996! I’m happy to say it will continue to be appreciated in what I believe to be the top Viper racing memorabilia collection. This is just one piece of what was an incredible trip through time. May Charlie rest in peace.

Passing of Team Taisan Founder

June 10, 2024

I am sorry to hear of the death of Team Taisan founder Yasutsune "Ricky" Chiba at the age of 79. He is pictured here at Chrysler's Chelsea Proving Grounds in 1997 taking delivery of the first customer GTS-R, chassis 8. Though they were famous for racing a variety of cars over multiple decades, he and his team fought an uphill battle campaigning this car each year there on into the 2003 season within the unique ruleset of the Japanese GT Championship. At times the engine was restricted to produce as little as 425 hp.

Early in 2003 Chiba-san worked behind the scenes to obtain a new GTS-R chassis (47/55) and his team adorned it with modified Competition Coupe bodywork. They carried on racing that car through 2004 in JGTC. In recent months I had attempted to reach him to further discuss the origins of the second GTS-R, but was unsuccessful. Unfortunately it has since been reported that he was dealing with an illness for quite some time.

May he now rest in peace.

Photo by VIPER Magazine - Joe Willsens

Competition Coupe C43

For Sale!

June 3, 2024

Can be viewed in person at Viper Rendezvous this weekend!

This car is ready to race and has a great history. First campaigned in SPEED World Challenge GT by Stan Wilson with Dodge Motorsports backing in 2004. It continued racing in World Challenge GT with Lux Performance with Scotty B White at the controls. It was updated with the WC aero package and later raced in NARRA GT1 driven by Nathan Stokey.

Today C43 is powered by an Nth Moto built engine that produces 628 whp on 91 octane fuel. It's backed by a Hollinger sequential gearbox spinning a Quaife differential with a 3.33 ring and pinion. The seller notes the fuel cell bladder is also fresh. Moton three way adjustable dampers are also onboard.

Seller contact: Mbccenter1@aol.com

Competition Coupe C72 gets Art Car treatment

April 29, 2024

Thank you to Comp Coupe C72 owner Michael Bietenholz for sending in these photos of his Viper's "art car" livery! James Francis Gill of Texas created the Marilyn Monroe themed design. Very few factory Viper race cars have received the unique treatment. Others than come to mind are Ben Keating's ACR-X 006 (albeit briefly thanks to an objection from BMW) and Team ART's GTS-R C26 which remains in its original ART livery in present day. Bravo Michael!

Photo by Limited-Legends.de

Competition Coupe P4 Back on Track!

April 22, 2024

After a multi-year restoration by Complete Performance Motorsports in Sebring, Ohio VCC P4 returned to the track last weekend at Virginia International Raceway. The car looks resplendent in its original PVO livery! Prefix overhauled the engine returning it to the original specification. Congratulations to the car's gracious owner Mark who was thrilled to be behind the wheel again. P4 was originally constructed by Dodge Motorsports to validate the build process for follow on customer cars. It would then embark on an extensive test program over the years of the VCC program. You can see more about its history over on the Comp Coupe page.

If PVO is not familiar to you it stands for Performance Vehicle Operations. This was the group within Chrysler that preceded the now famous SRT outfit.

4/4/2024 - Bungee Jumping GTS-R

A bungee jumping Viper GTS-R? Since beginning the chassis registry in 2017, this might be the strangest thing I've come across. Thanks to Alejandro Palomo I think we may have solved the mystery of what happened to show car chassis 24. That is if we can even call it C24....

Alejandro recently came across this attraction in Spain and did some homework after contacting me. He found that The Fungroup has been operating this ride since 2007 and it has appeared at events and TV shows across Europe! I made contact with them and was thrilled to receive photos when they acquired it in 2007. They showed a car which looked nearly identical to C24 when it was sold to an automotive marketing firm back in 2004. It was built using a mix of parts from both early and late in the factory program and was powered by a lightly modified production engine which is similar to other GTS-R show/demonstration cars.

However, in another twist, the chassis tag reads "MT 001". This nomenclature does not match any GTS-R documented previously, nor can it be explained by members of the original engineering team at Chrysler thus far. Unfortunately there isn't anyone at The Fungroup who was present when the purchase was made to explain the background. The car appears to have been at a Chrysler dealership.

So there is still work to be done, but circumstantial evidence suggests that this bungee jumping GTS-R is very likely the same which was known on paper as C24. You can take a ride yourself by visiting www.fungroup.be and booking the attraction.

Special thanks to Alejandro and Maarten for their assistance!

3/16/2024

I'm very sorry to share that we've lost another close friend in Denis Bochet who passed away on March 7 at the age of 57. Denis, the brother of our dear friend Stan Bochet, was as kind and jovial as they come. He often had the entire table laughing during meals when we visited France. Denis and Stan had years of motorsports fun together while drag racing as Big Brothers Racing Team with everything from wild bikes to Funny cars. Denis took great pride in giving me a tour of his shop which contained all sorts of treasures including a Soviet rocket! I'm certainly going to miss seeing him in the future and offer my deepest condolences to Stan and the entire Bochet family.

In lighter news, Competition Coupe C111 has debuted a new livery at the Adelaide Motorsports Festival and included Viper Racing History on the new wrap! The red, white and blue themed look is sharp and we wish Justin and GT Collective good luck and many thanks this weekend! The car is available for purchase so if you're interested please reach out to me at viperracinghistory@gmail.com and I can put you in contact with the owners.

2/29/2024

I'm sorry to share the news of two losses that have happened over the preceding weeks.

On February 8 we lost our friend Jean-Paul Hue of Germany. Jean-Paul was a close friend to the VRH family and was very kind and helpful during my first visit to Europe in 2018. He often assisted Stan Bochet in running GTS-R C18 and the two shared a wonderful friendship in motorsports that spanned decades of drag racing, hillclimbs and circuit racing. I'm certainly going to miss seeing him on future trips overseas and wish I could have made it there more often. Rest in peace Jean-Paul.

The British Racing Drivers' Club reported that Hugh Chamberlain passed away at the age of 82 on February 25. I'm sure fans remember that Hugh's Chamberlain Engineering team campaigned Vipers globally, primarily during the period of 1997-2003.

Though I had always wanted to interview Mr. Chamberlain for my book project, it just never worked out. Those who did work for or with him that I've spoken with shared many happy memories. Some at Chrysler recalled being envious of how his team went racing - when 5:00 rolled around, down came the garage door and it was off to the pub! VRH contributor Jon remembers fondly when Mr. Chamberlain went out of his way to ensure that Jon, just a kid in the crowd, got a team hat at Le Mans - an act of kindness that helped anchor his passion for motorsports for years to come.

A few highlights of Chamberlain Engineering's time with Viper include a class win at the 1999 Fuji 1000km supporting Team Goh, a GTS class podium finish at the 1999 24H of Le Mans and finishing second in the 1999 FIA GT Championship behind only Viper Team ORECA.

My condolences to his friends and family, may he rest in peace.

GTS-R C13 Tribute Livery

February 2024

There hasn't been much in the way of news during the winter months. I've been in the process of moving so the physical archive of Viper Racing History has been packed away for some time.

One highlight is that ORECA recently unveiled a tribute livery on GTS-R C13. They had reacquired the car a few years ago for display in their new museum and have applied an homage to C21 - the 2000 Rolex 24 at Daytona overall race winner. Those sharp eyed fans will still be able to spot the differences between the two cars, aside from all the dirt and debris that remains on the original of course!

It's cool to see ORECA founder Hugues de Chaunac next to a Viper again along with other team members, some in their original Viper Team ORECA apparel.

Photo courtesy of The Ascott Collection

GTS-R C39 For Sale!

12/27/2023

GTS-R C39 is available for sale via The Ascott Collection. This car scored numerous wins in the Belcar Championship and made an appearance at the 2002 Le Mans 24 Hours. You can see more about C39's history on the GTS-R registry or contact the seller about its availability here:

https://en.ascottcollection.com/viper-gts-r-c39

Have you seen this car?

12/17/2023

If you have any information please contact me at ViperRacingHistory@gmail.com

Photos by James Retych

New Photos

12/15/2013

Thank you to Aaron Hmel for submitting a number of photos to the archive from his time working for the North American Road Racing Association (NARRA). This organization took over Viper Racing League following founder Skip Thomas' retirement. Though I haven't been performing registry updates of late as I focus on the book project, I did add a few of the photos he submitted to the ACR-X and GTS-R2 page. Thanks Aaron!

Three GTS-Rs Attend Dubai GP Revival

12/11/2023

Chassis 37, 45 and 51 were on hand this past weekend for a relatively new vintage racing event presented by Gulf Historic, the Dubai GP Revival. Unfortunately only one took the green flag by the time racing began on Saturday.

JMB Classic prepared C37 for two incredibly accomplished pilots - Andre Lotterer and Jean-Éric Vergne. Between the two factory drivers are multiple Le Mans overall victories, ELMS Championships and even Formula E Championship wins. During the event live stream Mr. Lotterer said it was actually his first time driving a manual shift, h-pattern gearbox GT race car! Unsurprisingly he picked it up quickly and together with Mr. Vergne he finished second in class in Saturday race and won the GT class on Sunday's race. Congratulations to them both and JMB Classic!

What WAS surprising, given Viper's motorsports history, was the culprit that knocked out the other two cars in practice - engine trouble. In period the V10 was nearly bulletproof. Strange coincidence then to see not one, but two experience difficulty in a more relaxed competition environment.

Thankfully that didn't stop C51's owner from experiencing a lifelong dream. Florent Moulin (Art and Revs) was able to reunite four time Formula 1 World Champion Alain Prost and his multiple race winning son Nico with the Viper they shared in the 2005 FFSA GT Championship! Florent grew up in the same town as Mr. Prost, close enough to be neighbors in fact, and always idolized the legendary driver. Congratulations Florent!

Feedback on the event was extremely positive so perhaps consider making the trip to visit this one in the future and expect to each of these cars back on track in 2024.

To see their individual history jump over to the GTS-R registry tab.

Photo courtesy of Angus Fender

C113 SOLD!

12/3/2023

C113 is on the move from Great Britain to the Czech Republic! Hope to see it back on track in central Europe.

11/14/2023

Often assumed to have been a Competition Coupe, for obvious reasons, there is more to the 2003 Team Taisan JGTC GT300 class Viper than first meets the eye. I haven’t been working on registry updates for some time, but I was encouraged to look further into this car by good friend Florent Moulin (Art and Revs) who was offered this very car for sale circa 2007-2008. He knew back then something was strange about it and he was correct.

I was able to obtain correspondence from Team Taisan founder Ricky Chiba stating that in early 2003 he acquired a new GTS-R chassis directly from Mopar in Michigan. Next I spoke with members of the original GTS-R/Comp Coupe engineering staff at Chrysler who recall shipping new VCC bodywork to Chiba-san, but noting that it would not fit a GTS-R chassis without significant modification. As you can see in photos, Team Taisan did modify the body panels including flaring the fenders considerably to support the wider track width. The car wore a unique rear wing which is significantly larger than that of a GT-C Comp Coupe, but of similar chord. Taisan’s original GTS-R C8 appeared at the first round of the 2003 JGTC season, but then it was stripped of many of its racing parts which were mounted onto this new chassis. C8 was then fitted with production GTS parts and registered for road use.

Chiba-san referred to the new car as GTS-R chassis 55 “the final serial GTS-R”. This is troublesome given Chrysler/ORECA produced GTS-Rs into early 2005 with the final chassis being number 52. Multiple attempts to reach people in Japan with FIRST HAND knowledge on the construction of this car have thus far been unsuccessful. Based on the timeline of its construction I believe this could in fact have been chassis 47 and perhaps Taisan declared it C55 to match their car’s race number. Florent’s research into ORECA records notes that C47 had been delivered by Roush to Daimler-Chrysler in 2003, but previously we found nothing from either entity confirming that this had ever been built into a complete car.

The car was not included in the 2018 Team Taisan auction and hasn’t been seen since 2009. Do you know where it is today?

I will update the registry for this chassis and time permits and research continues. There are some unique technical details to cover and it did have some success in 2003 and even competed in America in 2004.

-Shawn

11/10/2023

This weekend I connected with the current owner of ACR-X 20, a car which I had lost track of since early 2020. As you can see, that summer it went through a wild development program with Verus Engineering in Indiana. The car received substantial aerodynamic updates as well as numberous mechanical changes and even some interior modifications. Head over to the ACR-X registry to read more about it.

Photos courtesy of Christopher Diasio of Putnam Park Road Course

11/6/2023

Competition Coupe GT3 C111 live at auction in Australia! Head over to the popular Aussie motorsports marketplace "my105" to bid on a VCC that has just received a mechanical overhaul. Chassis 111 originally landed in England with ABG Motorsport who had two cars set to compete in the British GT Championship, but instead the car would spend the bulk of its racing life in Australia where it remains today. Updates from its original GT3 specification include a MoTeC M800 ECU, a Hollinger sequential gearbox and a Drexler limited slip differential. The car has been fitted with a custom exhaust package and currently the ABS system has been removed.

10/20/2023

Congratulations to our friend Lee Saunders on winning the 2023 Trans Am SGT Championship! Lee has had a dominant season with his KSR race prepared Gen IV Vipers running out of Florida. You can catch some behind the scenes from their season on the KSR Youtube channel here: https://youtu.be/tp849Y1m57o?si=rpN7u8emgSuytstL

Lee has a couple Comp Coupes in his stable as well which are documented on the VCC page.

10/18/2023

The Viper Racing League 2023 season finale was unfortunately dampened by wet conditions at Watkins Glen, NY last weekend. The event, which was saved by Robert Strickland and MassTuning after the initial host backed out weeks prior, included three Comp Coupes, two ACR-Xs and eight track prepared street Vipers across all generations. To help fill the fields after the schedule uncertainty a few Porsche race cars joined the entry list.

Friday provided cool, but dry conditions for drivers to practice and many enjoyed their first laps at Watkins Glen - a fast, but treacherous historic circuit. On Saturday the Time Trial competitors were up first and took to the track on dry weather tires under threatening skies. While navigating the pace lap the skies opened up and it became a challenge for those on slicks (including me) just to make it back to pit road safely. Heavy rain persisted throughout the day and it was decided both VRL races would be held on Sunday. A few brave Time Trial competitors who were equipped with wet weather tires attempted to set times in the wet, but conditions were diabolical at times with standing water across the track.

Returning on Sunday it appeared as though VRL drivers may get lucky and squeeze in the first session under dry conditions. However, with uncanny timing the rain returned at the drop of the green and would do so just before each VRL session for the entire day. Both races were cancelled and TT laps were set by few who dared albeit far off what would be normal pace. Though it was disappointing that the weather wouldn't cooperate, those who were in attendance were grateful that the event happened at all and friends could gather to close the season. Congratulations to the 2023 Champions who hailed from the camps of Complete Performance Motorsports, P1 Garage and Ellsworth Racing. VRL is set to return at Sebring in January 2024.

Photos by Tim Romig

That sky summed up the conditions for competiton Sat/Sun.

9/14/2023

Over the last year there have unfortunately been numerous instances where people have pulled original writing and research from this site and reposted it elsewhere without permission, at times for monetary gain. For the time being some of the content is therefore being moved behind a registration wall and reduced in detail. It will still be available for free, but you must first create a simple login using the registration button at the top of the page. Thank you!

9/9/2023

Lee Saunders continues Trans Am domination!

I visited Watkins Glen during the Trans Am/SVRA Vintage Grand Prix and saw Lee Saunders sweep the weekend taking the pole and the win in Trans Am's SGT class in his converted ACR street car. The win kept Lee out in front of the championship standings with a few events remaining including VIR, Gateway and COTA. Lee is the first to note that the series is hurting for cars on a consistent basis and it's really difficult for me to understand why. Still, it's wild to see what is clearly a former street car with an H-pattern gearbox out there passing dedicated race cars that are in higher classes and comfortably winning SGT. Good luck to Lee on capturing another Trans Am Championship!

8/21/2023

Kuno Wittmer Retires!

I was on the road last week and didn't get a chance to wish congratulations to Kuno Wittmer on a fantastic career! One which included success behind the wheel of four out of five factory Viper race platforms - Comp Coupe, ACR-X, GTS-R 2 and GT3-R.

I'm sure many Viper fans remember his 2014 GTLM Driver's Championship with SRT Motorsports which he followed up with a win at the 2015 Rolex 24 at Daytona in GTD with Riley Motorsports. But how about a look back at the first Viper he drove in competition?

In 2010 Kuno drove Comp Coupe C102 to a weekend sweep at the World Challenge GT event at Long Beach. Not only did he qualify on pole, but he also set the fastest lap of the race, led every lap and took the win for Dodge/Woodhouse Motorsports. It was his first win in the GT class.

Kuno was kind enough to grant me an interview a couple years ago for the future book and I look forward to sharing some of his thoughts there. Congratulations Kuno!

8/1/2023

Book interview, Comp Coupe registry updates and ACR-X 29 located!

Last weekend I was fortunate to interview Peter De Vries who acted as Team Manager for Team Trimite Brookspeed during their 2008 British GT Championship winning season! It was a great conversation hearing how Peter, just aged 12 at the time, visited ORECA with his father as the team purchased GTS-R C31, the 2000 Le Mans GTS class winner. He was old enough to take delivery of VCC C106 by the time the team was racing in British GT in 2007/2008 and with drivers Jon Barnes and James Gornall they won the 2008 GT3 championship. I hope to share some of his memories in the future book projects. Jump over to the Comp Coupe page to see more about their winning chassis C106.

While you're there take a look at chassis 40 which I updated while reseraching another car. This Comp Coupe was used by Japan's Team Taisan for drifiting demonstrations. I haven't seen it since selling at auction in 2018. Do you know where it went?

Special thanks to Bruce Hadfield for connecting with me with Bruce Delfino, owner of a very unique ACR-X! If you click on the ACR-X tab and scroll down to chassis 029 you'll see the only X which was delivered wearing the official show car livery, but with dual driver's stripes.

Photo scanned by Viper Racing history from original by Jeff Reece

7/27/2023

François Castaing (1945 - 2023)

Sad news this morning as François Castaing has passed away at the age of 78. Shown here speaking with ORECA's Hugues de Chaunac at Le Mans in 1997, Mr. Castaing was one of the founding fathers of the Viper production car in 1989. As Chrysler's Vice President of Engineering he was a key proponent of the creation of the GTS-R program and was thrilled to receive an award from the ACO for the "audacity" of the program at Le Mans in 1996. His career, which included time as technical director of Renault's Formula 1 team, was so accomplished that in 2010 François was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

May he rest in peace.

7/17/2023

This past weekend was the Goodwood Festival of Speed and our friend Florent Moulin was in attendance to run up the hill in GTS-R C51. The weather wasn't cooperative for the attendees dropping rain on course on Friday and forcing event organizers to cancel Saturday's festivities all together due to high winds. As a casual onlooker the lack of practice appeared to impact a number of participants. Even though many use the run up the hill purely for demonstration rather than competition, there seemed to be a significant increase in the number of cars that went of track and sustained damage.

Fortunately that group did not include the Viper as Florent blasted up the tarmac to score a sixth place finish overall! He pointed out that the car should be able to climb the hill quite a bit quicker if the practice runs hadn't been eliminated. He and the Iconic Racing crew had changed the setup dramatically from that which was run just two weeks prior when we watched the car at Le Mans Classic. We're all left wondering what at its true potential in such a discipline. Still, the former Alain Prost piloted car produced a glorious soundtrack during its run. Take a listen to the video.

Video by Iconic Racing

Photo by Mike Earlywine

7/11/2023

If you're looking for a great deal on a factory Viper race car jump over to the For Sale tab and check out ACR-X 024! I competed against this car at Indy last year in Viper Racing League and know first hand it's quick and very well maintained. It has a recently rebuilt engine producing in excess of 700 horsepower and is supported by some nice upgrades to the suspension. For $84,500 I'm not sure how you could do much better!

7/2/2023

This past weekend I attended the 2023 Le Mans Classic along with contributors Kurt and Jon! This event was highly anticipated given 2023 was the Le Mans Centenary Celebration. Amongst the 850 cars racing this weekend were two Vipers with another for sale via the Artcurial auction.

Comp Coupe C76 crossed the block on Friday and was a no sale with a high bid of 90,000 Euro. This original GT3 spec car was one of the initial batch of customer efforts dispatched to constest the inaugural FIA GT3 Championship in 2006. In addition to the GT3 options that remained in place, a number of upgrades including traction control which were fitted later in its career were still present. Although the car was advertised as "ready to race", it was clear that it had been sitting idle for some time and would require some level of reconditioning prior to turning laps in anger. No doubt this impacted the eagerness of bidders on site.

There was great anticipation from educated Viper racing fans when it was announced that the 1992 RT/10 of Rent A Car Racing was set to race at the event. This is the very car which finished 12th overall and 3rd in GT1 during the 1994 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (stay tuned for a feature on this effort in the future book). Unfortunately a last minute engine issue prevented the car from attending. The Swiss Viper Museum instead brought GTS-R C44 for a second consecutive outing at LMC. The car ran without issue, though in challenging wet conditions at times during the two Endurance Racing Legends support races. Owner Edwin Stucky and professional driver Frédéric Yerly shared the controls in the GT2A class. The bodywork and livery from this car's time with Force One Racing in the FIA GT Championship remain and are a fan favorite.

Art and Revs of Luxembourg debuted their fresh restoration of GTS-R C51. Despite their usual high level of meticulous craftsmanship and preparation, the car provided them with challenges to overcome in the way of aerodynamics. Developed originally by Exagon Engineering to create massive downforce for the GT1 sprint races in the 2005 FFSA GT Championship, C51 had never raced on a track with sustained speeds as great as though experienced at Circuit de la Sarthe. While travelling down the Mulsanne at 306 kph with turbulence created by other cars the splitter fractured along with its support cables. The hood sustained damage and the team was left rushing to repair the car in order to participate in the weekend's second race. Together they crafted a solution and owner/driver Florent Moulin was moving through the field in GT1B when he ran out of fuel! Still the car put on an impressive display indicating its true performance potential as one of the most technologically advanced GTS-Rs created in period.

Follow the Viper Racing History social media channels for additional content from Le Mans Classic.

Photo by Visors Down Motorsports Photography

6/19/2023

Is it groundhog day? It seems like it given that Jerry Robinson/Bobby Archer and Lee Saunders yet again stood atop their respective podiums at Indy this past weekend.

In SVRA Group 12 competition Jerry Robinson and Bobby Archer piloted ACR-X 08 to three more victories, two in sprint format and one enduro, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The duo have been dominant in their class this season.

Meanwhile in Trans Am's SGT class Lee Saunders took yet another win in his converted Gen IV Viper. Lee is atop the SGT points standings at the time of this writing. Trans Am and SVRA often share a venue for the weekend making for a great opportunity to see Vipers competing in different series at the same time.

Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's

6/13/2023

It was a busy week in the land of Viper racing history!

Chrysler GTS-R C3 sold at the RM Sotheby's Le Mans auction for $675, 031 after auction fees. This unique car was constructed in 1996 and used to help develop the package for the 1997 season in GT2 competition.

Competition Coupe C76 will also be selling at Le Mans, but during Artcurial's auction which will be held during the Classic race weekend. You can find the link for the auction listing over on the "For Sale" page.

Viper race cars were being exercised thoroughly at simultaneous events at Road America, Wisconsin and Motorsports Park Hastings, Nebraska. Viper Racing League was running with PBOC at Road America which brought out a few Comp Coupes from the Complete Performance Motorsports stable. Meanwhile at Hastings there were Comp Coupes, ACR-Xs and even two of the seven GT3-Rs competing at Viper Rendezvous now in its 14th year as an event.

Le Mans Classic is only a couple weeks off now. I'll be on site again this year so reach out if you will be there too!

5/29/2023

Score another Trans Am SGT win for Lee Saunders! It was a sparse field for the Memorial Day classic at Lime Rock park, but you can only race who shows up. Lee managed to bring home another class win in his converted production Gen IV.

Meanwhile out at Road America, Jerry Robinson and Bobby Archer were collection class wins with ACR-X 008 in SVRA competition. It's been a succesfull season for the duo thus far regularly standing atop the Group 12 podium.

5/18/2023

Championship page added to the website!

Navigate to the Champions page to see a database of national and international championships won by factory Viper racing chassis competing against other marques worldwide. I believe this is the first time such a list has been gathered and associated with each winning chassis. A future addition may include a list of major endurance race victories though these are captured on individual chassis histories.

Video by Iconic Racing

Video by Gtrmaxvdb

5/17/2023

Thanks to Frank List for providing these photos from Spa Classic 2023!

In case you missed it there were two Viper GTS-Rs in attendance at one of the world's premier vintage racing events this past weekend in Belgium. Florent Moulin (Art and Revs) drove GTS-R C41 to a GT2A class second place followed by a win in race two while Christophe Van Riet (Gipimotor) piloted GTS-R C34 to fifth and third place finishes in GT1B respectively.

Onboard videos from both cars are linked below. The grid for the "Endurance Racing Legends" presented by Peter Auto continues to grow and many of us are looking forward to seeing more of these cars on track at Le Mans Classic this summer.

Photo by Autopassion Beverwijk

4/21/2023

Thanks to Arjen for the tip that a photo of GTS-R C14 appeared from Autopassion Beverwijk showing the car on display at the Technik Museen Sinsheim Speyer in Germany! The Viper remains under the car of Daniel Schrey Racing.

Photo by the Ascott Collection

4/11/2023

GTS-R C37 is back on the market! If you're looking for a car with proven speed and reliability in recent historic events then this might be the right Viper for you. It is currently wearing a tribute livery to the Viper Team ORECA American Le Mans Series entries from 1999-2000 which always draws attention, though this particular car wasn't part of that team in period. The later GT1 suspension and aero configuration combined with the legendary torque of the V10 are said to provide an approachable platform for the gentleman/gentlewoman driver. The Ascott Collection is representing the car and their contact information can be found on the for sale page.

Photo courtesy of Jerry Robinson

3/29/2023

The Trans Am series visited Road Atlanta last week and Viper Nation rose to the occasion to help a racer in need. Former SGT Championship winning Viper driver Lee Saunders experienced a mechanical failure in his Gen IV production car based racer and didn't want to lose his lead in the season standings. Jerry Robinson, SVRA Group 12 Champion stepped in and allowed Lee to borrow his ACR-X to at least get qualified for the race. Lee took chassis 08 and put it on the pole prior to jumping into a different car for the race since Jerry and Bobby Archer had their own races to run with SVRA. A hat tip to Jerry for his help and congrats on scoring three class victories across the weekend!

3/22/2023

ACR-X 25 appeared on MotorTrend TV's Texas Metal's Loud and Lifted! You can follow along as owner Mod Mafia Automotive works to upgrade and hopefully race this former Viper Cup championship winning car. The show can be seen on cable on the Velocity channel or streamed via MotorTrend Plus.

3/15/2023

ACR-X 27 is for sale! I’ve shared the paddock and track with this car and the owner is a very detail oriented individual having maintained the car to the highest standard. You can find it listed on Racing Junk here: https://www.racingjunk.com/trans-am-ta-ta2-ta3-ta4/184426212/2010-dodge-viper-.html

3/9/2023

Two former championship winning Comp Coupes are up for sale! Chassis 53 (top) scored a NARRA GT1 Championship win back in 2011 having previously raced in the SPEED World Challenge GT series with 3R Racing. Chassis 78 (bottom) won three consecutive CASC Ontario Region GT1 championships during 2006-2008 prior to taking on some World Challenge races with new ownership. Both are available through our friends Complete Performance Motorsports in Ohio. See the respective chassis page for more of their history and jump over to the for sale page for contact email to inquire about purchase.

3/3/2023

Thank you to Kim Cheney for helping to sort out the early history of Competition Coupe C07! This car appeared at California car shows during 2004-2006 and in ads for DC Performance. If anyone has any photos of it please reach out to viperracinghistory@gmail.com. Thanks!

3/2/2023

A minor update to Comp Coupe Chassis 33 was made with new photos from Tim Galyean's incredible archive!

Photo courtesy of Trans Am

2/26/2023

Lee Saunders took the season opening Trans Am victory in the SGT class at Sebring! Lee is a diehard Mopar racer and original owner of Comp Coupe C94, but this time he was driving one of his modified production Gen IV Viper coupes. He managed to outlast a relatively small SGT field in an otherwise chaotic mixed class grid to score the victory. Congrats Lee!

Photo courtesy of Jean Luc Fortunati

2/23/2023

Competition Coupe GT3 chassisis 69 available for sale! Additional information is provided on the For Sale page.

2/20/2023

With many thanks to Johan Stjernberg, GTS-R C16 located in Sweden! Check out the GTS-R page to see the updated history on this car. Photo by Stephane Cavoit.

2/15/2023

With the help of Brian Erdman (pictured), the history of Competition Coupes C18, C22, C57, and C60 were updated. Check out that page for more information on some of Ben Keating's first factory racing Vipers and thanks again Brian!

2/13/2023

Competition Coupe GT3 C81 is for sale! This is the only Comp Coupe to score at class victory at the 24 Hours of Spa. It's still with the original owner and in great condition. Jump to the For Sale page for more information.

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