No LeMans this year for SRT

[XSnake]

:(

http://www.motorsport.com/lemans/news/srt-motorsports-withdraws-its-vipers-from-le-mans/

[RedTanRT/10]

Sorry to hear this!

[ACRucrazy]

I've heard a few mentions about not making it. This is the first official.
I can't understand why so I won't speculate. I'm sure there are reasons and it's for the better.

[Ohiotj]

It sucks as I record the whole race and watch it over the next few days. I liked being able to follow the vipers. However I hope they stay active in racing in the states. This means more to me then Le Mans. If the budget would have got blown all at one race vs running the season in Tudor then I am all for it.

[TowDawg]

The way that IMSA is going, I would pull out of it and run as many other races as I could (including LeMans). It seems everyone in that organization either has their head completely up each others asses, or are just dumber than bricks.

[Solid Red 98]

http://sportscar365.com/lemans/lemans24/srt-vipers-set-for-withdrawl-from-le-mans/

Poor sales are packing a wallop. :-(

[mnc2886]

This is way worse than I thought....

[Policy Limits]

U kidding? Lots of folks are happy. I'm just not one of 'em

[daytonprowler]

The way that IMSA is going, I would pull out of it and run as many other races as I could (including LeMans). It seems everyone in that organization either has their head completely up each others asses, or are just dumber than bricks.

+ 1

[Propsail]

Really bad/sad news

[Solid Red 98]

I know it is extremely expensive to send a works team to LeMans, but they really need to bite the bullet and send them anyway. It is far too early to concede on such a high profile race so early. I'm getting the same sick feeling in my stomach that came regarding the ME412 and Daimler. The Viper just has too much spanking potential to share the track spotlight with Ferrari. How many halo cars can a company get behind? I hate to see Chrysler/Dodge be the doormat for another foreign mark.

[VRYALT3R3D]

Here is a better, more credible source:


Details remain sketchy as to exactly why SRT Motorsports elected to cancel its Le Mans outing. One rumored reason is that the extra endurance races scheduled for this season because of the combination of the Grand-Am and American Le Mans Series -- which meant adding races such as the Rolex 24 at Daytona to the Vipers’ schedule -- has caused the company to concentrate its spending on the American market, where sales of the new Viper road car have been disappointing. It is also possible that the company may be concentrating more on the sales of its privateer Viper GT3-R package eligible for the GT-Daytona class of the United SportsCar Championship through team principal Bill Riley and his company.

When asked Monday evening by Autoweek if skipping Le Mans is a result of low Viper road-car sales and the recent shutdown at Detroit’s Conner Ave. Plant where the cars are built, an SRT source said, “No, motorsports and product strategy are two separate business functions.”


http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140324/UNITEDSPORTSCAR/140329918

[mnc2886]

Here is a better, more credible source:


http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140324/UNITEDSPORTSCAR/140329918

Much better to hear I guess. I really don't want the Gen V to go away. I would really like to see it evolve.

[slitherv10]

Well look back at one of my earliest posts and I had stated that bringing out a race division with a low budget and a new car will only hurt them and the Viper. Well here it is folks.

I always said that putting the money towards the street version and doing more internal testing and marketing was the key to survival and sales. Unfortunately they went the different route and put millions of the 120 million they may have had towards the racing division and cut short the street car. Many said, not enough money to make the car go faster, others said it was the best they could do with such a small budget. Well it would have been a bigger budget had they implemented most of that money towards better marketing and a more powerful mean son of a you know who, in your face, brute monster that all were awaiting from SRT.

Maybe they are retooling for the ACR version and surprise everyone in a few months with the 2015 ACR.....keep your fingers crossed, I think its coming.

[2010.Blue.White.ACR]

Very sad indeed

[V10LEE]

If it's not because of financial reasons. Then FIAT want's their Ferraris on top. After all it is their Halo Car..

[mnc2886]

Well look back at one of my earliest posts and I had stated that bringing out a race division with a low budget and a new car will only hurt them and the Viper. Well here it is folks.

I always said that putting the money towards the street version and doing more internal testing and marketing was the key to survival and sales. Unfortunately they went the different route and put millions of the 120 million they may have had towards the racing division and cut short the street car. Many said, not enough money to make the car go faster, others said it was the best they could do with such a small budget. Well it would have been a bigger budget had they implemented most of that money towards better marketing and a more powerful mean son of a you know who, in your face, brute monster that all were awaiting from SRT.

Maybe they are retooling for the ACR version and surprise everyone in a few months with the 2015 ACR.....keep your fingers crossed, I think its coming.

If anything, the GTS-R was the test mule for the ACR. Ralph cited down force statistics that were what I was hearing for the GTS-R. I hope NYIAS has a surprise in store....

[100]

The Viper is way too Handicapped by the LeMans committee already (would you want to bowl against me with a 250 point handicap -- probably not. The racing is only good for Viper product development. As soon as the Viper has another win, the race officials will handicap it more. Staying out of europa sounds really good. SRT wants to focus, and that's cool. We need to show some support of Conner Avenue and the rest of the SRT team. As the Audi R8 puts Audi on the map, the Viper puts SRT on the map, which elevates Dodge. What car do you covet more than on orange TA? These folks are kicking ass, and its going to get better.:United_States:

The French are getting off dictating a castrated Viper (extra weight, restrictors, less fuel).

[Coloviper]

Confirmed replacements are two Ferraris. Pretty easy to see what just happened here. Either way, maybe it will direct the money to some of the production cars like the upcoming convertible. Not great news but not the end of the world either.

[SWEEN]

They might be two separate departments but if the viper had amazing sales they wouldn't withdrawal. Just like when they said sales are going as planned, they are obviously not going to say "Yeah sales are awful so were going to shut down the plant for a little bit".

Anyways very sad news. Hopefully 2015 will sell better!

[ViperSmith]

Personally I think the races are all bullshit because they handicap the Viper and C7R to the point they can't compete.

But sad.

[Schen]

Ok look, you guys are reading this WAY to deeply. This isn't the first time it's ever happened.

Let's look at this from a history standpoint of the GTS-R. The original car debuted in 96' with Oreca ran a limited schedule, concentrating on the Euro and Asian BPR Global GT series, the 24 at LeMans and the Canaska Southwind team ran in the GTS-1 class of IMSA (pre-ALMS). That team finished 29th at Daytona and 12th at Sebring. When Oreca debuted in BRP in April, it failed to finish. Four GTS-R's, two for each team showed up at LeMans and the best finish was 10th. Canaska had the best finish of the year at Mosport finishing 2nd in class.

That was the debut year. THAT was a learning curve.

Oreca could afford to go to LeMans without spending so much cause Oreca was (and still is) a French race team. The 2nd year of the GTS-R program never went to LeMans and Oreca only had one Viper at Daytona. The rest after that is history. When ALMS debuted, Team Viper was the first GTS class champions.

So...

SRT starts a two-car team with Riley Technologies. The current car debuted at Sebring, finishing 6th. It finish 2nd at Mosport and then a month later WON at Road America. There was no 24 hour race in the 2013 ALMS season, so why NOT go to LeMans? Despite how ugly that race ended up do to the loss of Allan, it was still the ultimate test all year for the cars and they finished the race. They gathered data and used that to the advantage at Daytona this year AND IT SHOWED. Viper finished 5th and 9th in the championship standings for 2013.

Right now, three mildly adequate races in, Viper is sitting 3rd in the standings, crawling it's way up the ladder. Just two points behind BMW and five behind the manufacture-that-shall-not-be-named. There shouldn't be any blaming or finger pointing as to why SRT isn't going there. Why race at LeMans? Honestly? Why waste the time this year to do one race that has no impact on the USCR schedule. Riley Tech knows they have a dominant car. Let them focus their efforts in USCR, it's working so far with or without added weights or restrictors.

And not for nothing, no offense to our friends in Europe but is the Viper even on sale there? Can it? Wasn't the gen III in Europe just called an SRT-10 because Viper was already some copyright over there? I know of at least one car in Dubai and one in Germany and there is a privateer team in Europe with a GT3-R. Does the 'race on Sunday, sell on Monday' method even work anymore? I'm pretty sure there are at least 10 different reasons for buying a Camry or SS in a customers mind other than that Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon drive them in NASCAR...and that's another thing. Sports car racing probably isn't nearly as popular here stateside as it is in other countries.

I could go on but I'll stop here. I'm grateful for the efforts of Riley Technologies and and the support for the Viper. I hope they score some sweet victories this year and the years to come. :)

--RS

[hemotox]

FYI

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140324/UNITEDSPORTSCAR/140329918?utm_source=Alert20140324&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_term=missedarticle1more&utm_content=20140324-SRT-Vipers-will-not-race-at-24-Hours-of-Le-Mans&utm_campaign=awAlert

[Ohiotj]

You really can't even blame the mistakes with being a new series. The mistakes were just simple human errors. It could happen to anyone. I promise they didnt make the wrong calls on purpose. It could have been handled better but any sport has some problems. I watched a cleveland indians game last year where the umpires watched video review of a home run ball. It was clear the other team hit a homer. However even after watching the tape the umpires still got it wrong. And the call was very obviouse. If IMSA had fundamental problems I would say jump ship. But I feel they are a sound series ho will only get better.

[Sybil TF]

Bummer.

[Thawk97]

That stinks - anyone know the real reasons why?

[ViperGTS]

(green) colored paper - it is the most famous (endurance) race every year...you get invited by the ACO and just say "NO". :stickmen_burningsti

It is no good for us enthusiasts having waited for years for the comeback.

[ACRucrazy]

There are a few threads about this already.

http://driveviper.com/forums/threads/2775-No-LeMans-this-year-for-SRT

http://driveviper.com/forums/threads/2776-Apparently-the-Rumors-are-True-This-is-not-happy-news

[V10LEE]

Confirmed replacements are two Ferraris. Pretty easy to see what just happened here. Either way, maybe it will direct the money to some of the production cars like the upcoming convertible. Not great news but not the end of the world either.

Link? Thanks..

[Viper Girl]

Merged threads

[Late Apex]

http://sportscar365.com/lemans/lemans24/srt-vipers-set-for-withdrawl-from-le-mans/

[ACRucrazy]

4th thread on this.

http://driveviper.com/forums/threads/2775-Apparently-the-Rumors-are-True-This-is-not-happy-news

[Fatboy 18]

Absolutely Gutted :(

Ferry tickets booked, Grandstand seats opposite the pits booked specially to watch the SRT Team, Campsite booked and Hotel for Sunday evening.

Viper Name featured on the Official 24Hr poster and now no bloody Vipers! Just can't tell you how upset I am :(

Back to supporting CORVETTE!

How many others out there have booked tickets to be disappointed?

[Late Apex]

4th thread on this.

http://driveviper.com/forums/threads/2775-Apparently-the-Rumors-are-True-This-is-not-happy-news BUT not where it belongs !!!!

[Late Apex]

FATBOY that really sucks. I would feel the same. Maybe Ralph will buy them back. LOL And thats why I am waiting to buy any future Tudor tickets until the last moment.

[ICPREY]

Seems like all the negative threads get reposted two or three times...

[FLATOUT]

Seems like all the negative threads get reposted two or three times...

They really do, we should just consolidate them all into one thread and into the proper forum.

[VIPER BAZ UK]

GUTTED!!!!!!!!!

Same as Mark , all booked and looking forward to supporting SRT and the Team for the second year of racing and third year at Le-Mans. ..
Spoilt last year by meeting the team at the pits and drinking with some of the SRT guys in the evening..

At least I managed a painting all signed by the drivers and a rim of the yellow car..

Absolutely gutted doesn't come close .....

Baz

[Fatboy 18]

I can tell you all this......

This is a MASSIVE LET DOWN for us European fans. It was awesome seeing Viper return to Le mans last year and many of us made it to Le mans to add extra support. This year we have members attending Le mans to support SRT but learned today that no Vipers will be running. Very sad news indeed.

Is this the beginning of the end?

[Newport Viper]

Is this the beginning of the end?

Hopefully not. With the factory shut down, it's just not the right thing to do. (at least I would have spun it that way....SRT)

[VIPER BAZ UK]

Gutted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Fatboy 18]

Have to say, the words I actually want to use would only be readable on the Alley! Very, Very, Very unhappy!

[VRYALT3R3D]

Ralph Gilles ‏@RalphGilles 16h
@rsg8371 with the longer schedule we had to shift resources to the US program. LeMans is matter of pride but a non points race ultimately.

[ViperGTS]

It is just another marketing doodad we ordinary people cant understand!
:web_driver:

[ViperGTS]

Le Mans is not only a "matter of pride" - Le Mans is a legend.

Racing and may be ending up on the podium in Le Mans is priceless!

[XSnake]

As much as the cars are restricted in the Tudor series the ACO is even worse with restrictions. They have no realistic chance at being competitive. It would honestly be a waste of a ton of $$$, time, and resources. Kudos to SRT for telling the French thanks but no thanks.

[ACR Steve]

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/03/25/srt-pulling-vipers-out-le-mans/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000588

[ACR Steve]

Viper sales finally open in Europe and now pulling out of the world biggest sports car race hmmmmmmmm cant bet a positive thing

[Vypr Phil]

From Autoextremist http://www.autoextremist.com/on-the-table1/:

The Viper. Editor-in-Chief's Note: First it was the news that the production of the Viper was being put on hold due to lackluster sales. (Okay, sales have more accurately ground to a halt.) Now the news, as first reported by Steven Cole Smith, is that the SRT Viper GTLM racing team will not be making the trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, even though they were officially invited by the organizers (which is a big deal if you know anything about how the ACO comes up with its list of invitees to the French endurance classic). None of this bodes well for the SRT Viper program, to say the least. But none of this is really a surprise, either. Whether it's the fact that the "new" Viper turned out to be too much of a rehash of the previous generation car to begin with, or the fact that the new Corvette is so damn good that it just hammered any chance the Viper had of succeeding, the reality is that the Viper - as a program - is on the ropes. - PMD

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

I was always wondering How-In-Hell that SRTs small team and drivers could participate competitively in LeMans, and still remain championship-devoted to the Tudor series, (racing 1 week AFTER LeMans.)

Would I LOVE IT of we could brag of a podium (AGAIN) at LeMans? HELL YES!

And accepting the invite in the first place was certainly glorious and proud. But as the date neared, some heads had to be scratching, and sleep being lost over logistics and monetary [and NON-MONETARY] 'costs' of a month in France had to pencil out as risky to Tudor.

One sad note is that SOME spectators, especially our Owners in UK and Euro, just got a HUGE disappointment. Sorry Guys . If you had your Lemans hospitality booked, SRT should consider offering you a FREEBEE ticket at a US race.

[VIPER BAZ UK]

Still gutted and can't really understand it...
As Jon B said just real released in Europe but pull out of Le-Mans. ..

Still gutted .....

[Ohiotj]

I am upset they are not racing at mid ohio both last year and this year. I loved this race and now it seems the brickyard is the closes race I have. If my memory serves me right Mid-Ohio was the first track viper returned to. That was very cool to see. I feel bad for LeMans but worse for me.

[gfviperman]

About as sad a Viper Day as it can get ...

[XSnake]

I am upset they are not racing at mid ohio both last year and this year. I loved this race and now it seems the brickyard is the closes race I have. If my memory serves me right Mid-Ohio was the first track viper returned to. That was very cool to see. I feel bad for LeMans but worse for me.

The series chose not to go back to Mid Ohio, not SRT

[Shooter]

Ok look, you guys are reading this WAY to deeply. This isn't the first time it's ever happened.

Let's look at this from a history standpoint of the GTS-R. The original car debuted in 96' with Oreca ran a limited schedule, concentrating on the Euro and Asian BPR Global GT series, the 24 at LeMans and the Canaska Southwind team ran in the GTS-1 class of IMSA (pre-ALMS). That team finished 29th at Daytona and 12th at Sebring. When Oreca debuted in BRP in April, it failed to finish. Four GTS-R's, two for each team showed up at LeMans and the best finish was 10th. Canaska had the best finish of the year at Mosport finishing 2nd in class.

That was the debut year. THAT was a learning curve.

Oreca could afford to go to LeMans without spending so much cause Oreca was (and still is) a French race team. The 2nd year of the GTS-R program never went to LeMans and Oreca only had one Viper at Daytona. The rest after that is history. When ALMS debuted, Team Viper was the first GTS class champions.

So...

SRT starts a two-car team with Riley Technologies. The current car debuted at Sebring, finishing 6th. It finish 2nd at Mosport and then a month later WON at Road America. There was no 24 hour race in the 2013 ALMS season, so why NOT go to LeMans? Despite how ugly that race ended up do to the loss of Allan, it was still the ultimate test all year for the cars and they finished the race. They gathered data and used that to the advantage at Daytona this year AND IT SHOWED. Viper finished 5th and 9th in the championship standings for 2013.

Right now, three mildly adequate races in, Viper is sitting 3rd in the standings, crawling it's way up the ladder. Just two points behind BMW and five behind the manufacture-that-shall-not-be-named. There shouldn't be any blaming or finger pointing as to why SRT isn't going there. Why race at LeMans? Honestly? Why waste the time this year to do one race that has no impact on the USCR schedule. Riley Tech knows they have a dominant car. Let them focus their efforts in USCR, it's working so far with or without added weights or restrictors.

And not for nothing, no offense to our friends in Europe but is the Viper even on sale there? Can it? Wasn't the gen III in Europe just called an SRT-10 because Viper was already some copyright over there? I know of at least one car in Dubai and one in Germany and there is a privateer team in Europe with a GT3-R. Does the 'race on Sunday, sell on Monday' method even work anymore? I'm pretty sure there are at least 10 different reasons for buying a Camry or SS in a customers mind other than that Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon drive them in NASCAR...and that's another thing. Sports car racing probably isn't nearly as popular here stateside as it is in other countries.

I could go on but I'll stop here. I'm grateful for the efforts of Riley Technologies and and the support for the Viper. I hope they score some sweet victories this year and the years to come. :)

--RS

Bang on post Schen. :t1236:

[Fatboy 18]

Fair post, but its still disappointing for us European fans :(

[ViperGTS]

There is plenty of arguments why racing in Le Mans is too expensive or does not fit the schedule of a certain team or or or... the same would be true for all other teams racing in Le Mans. :o

It's probably as simple as this: there is no more money in the bank for such an adventure! :confused:

[jrkermode]

Massively disappointed.

[I Bin Therbefor]

FWIS, if FIAT wants Ferrari to race in Europe and Viper in the US, that's OK by me. If Le Mans is on the future docket for Viper and a couple of US races is on the future docket for Ferrari, that too is OK by me. What's not OK is the Team Viper performance in races entered. I think Riley is a great engineering outfit. I'm not nearly so sure about their ability to race the cars. A separate race team might do better in addition to Riley as fabricators/engineers.

Further, I recall that the first year in racing was funded by the market budget. That raises questions as to how well the racing effort is funded. If Team Viper is to race, proper budget and organization is necessary. Is it there?:confused: