We re going to nurburgring

[ACRucrazy]

Friday Update:

Today is our last day at the track. WOW, talk about emotional highs and lows. Since Dom and Mario were racing this weekend, Luca was in one car and we had another. After some due diligence, we found one of the fastest Ring drivers, Lance Arnold, who joined us in the second car. We also found 5 hours of track time, with a group that was renting the track for their club day. Both Luca and Lance were on track and Luca failed to come around the track. He had a tire failure at a high speed (left front) on the final straight. We put some fresh rubber on his car and sent him back out. Unfortunately, the next thing that happened was our own fault. In changing the differential fluid, the drain plug was only finger tightened and mistake slipped through the cracks. Oil leaked out until there was too little left in the diff and it broke. We were now down to one car. Rain was predicted for 1PM and our solo track time was 2PM. I cut a deal with the track days owner to let us go out at noon and we’d give him our 30 minutes at 2PM. We re-prepped Lance's car, put fresh tires on it and waited. He went out at 12 noon. On his first lap he turned a (wait for it......) 7:01.3. We were elated. We couldn't wait to see the time for his second lap. It was then that we were informed that there was a problem. Apparently, his left front tire (like Luca's) had a sidewall failure at about 160 mph while he was in a corner. He ALMOST saved it but the car brushed the left guard rail ever so lightly. At that speed, anything that upsets the car is bad, so it slid across the track and contacted the right guard rail. While it definitely wasn't the worst incident in the world, Vipers with broken parts are never pretty. The airbag went off and all of that (that's what happens when you run production cars). Lance was fine but bummed out because he felt the car was ready to best the 6:57 mark. He did the 7:01.3 on his FIRST lap.
I want to point out that the cost of all of the damage now falls on Bernie and Ben at Viper Exchange, who own the car. This is why I found it odd that some folks were saying that Viper Exchange would profit on selling these cars when we were done with the record runs. Any possible profits will be used to repair the car that contacted the armco. The gofundme donations will pay 1) the track for repair to the rail and 2) the owner of the track-day because we took up 1.5 of his hours instead of 1 and he asked that we compensate him, which is fair.
So, there you have it. Our big adventure to the Nurburgring comes to an end. We have not had a driver who feels that the car is not a mid 6:50's car. I think that we asked a bit much of the tires on this particular track. There's a reason it’s called "The Green Hell." Viper Nation, we did the best we could with what we had to work with. It's hard not being supported by the factory in any way. We did it with YOUR gofundme contributions, tires and funds by Kumho, spare engines by Prefix (fortunately we didn't need them), 2 complete and free cars from Viper Exchange and BJ Motors, and other generous donations by members of the Viper community. So many donations, that the only way to list those who gave more than $250 is on the poster, which we will start working on. I will try to write a post-script from the plane, on the way back to the states.
We will post the video and data shortly. Our data guy is on vacation and we have to figure out how to get it off the drive. As soon as we do, we'll post it.
Again, thank you all and please know that the only thing that kept us apart from a 6:5x was time and money.

What a story! The whole thing from day 1 to now! Man.... Maurice needs to write a book on this with a collection of the pictures over the last several weeks..

[Snakebit10]

On the first try in a Viper he got a 7:01 hahahaha. Incredible. This car is an easy 6:5x in the right hands. Sadly didn't get to do it officially in under 7 mins but I think we all know it can. So many obstacles to overcome. I am relieved no one was injured. Thanks again for the effort to all involved.

FCA you disappoint me greatly. What a great story and effort by a passionate bunch. Too bad that passion does not exist in the upper echelons of FCA. Yes I know its a discontinued car but come on. Its your product in its last year and it could have gone out with a bigger bang if you just lifted a pinky finger to help.

[Fatboy 18]

Try this.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...4955311&type=3

Does not work for me, says you have to log into facebook and I don't have a facebook account.

[Snakebit10]

/\/\ and when you log in it tells you the pic is not there.

[Russ Oasis]

Friday Update: Today is our last day at the track. WOW, talk about emotional highs and lows. Since Dom and Mario were racing this weekend, Luca was in one car and we had a spare. After some due diligence, we found one of the fastest Ring drivers, Lance Arnold, who joined us in the second car. We also found 5 hours of track time, with a group that was renting the track for their club day. Both Luca and Lance were on track and Luca failed to come around the track. He had a tire failure at a high speed (left front) on the final straight. We put some fresh rubber on his car and sent him back out. Unfortunately, the next thing that happened was our own fault. In changing the differential fluid, the drain plug was only finger tightened and that slipped through the cracks. Oil leaked out until there was too little left in the diff and it broke. We were now down to one car. Rain was predicted for 1PM and our solo track time was 2PM. I cut a deal with the track days owner to let us go out at noon and we’d give him our 30 minutes at 2PM. We re-prepped Lance's car, put fresh tires on it and waited. He went out at 12 noon. On his first lap he turned a (wait for it......) 7:01.3. We were elated. We couldn't wait to see the time for his second lap. It was then that we were informed that there was a problem. Apparently, his left front tire (like Luca's) had a sidewall failure at about 160 mph while he was in a corner. He ALMOST saved it but the car brushed the left guard rail ever so lightly. At that speed, anything that upsets the car is bad, so it slid across the track and contacted the right guard rail. While it definitely wasn't the worst incident in the world, Vipers with broken parts are never pretty. The airbag went off and all of that (that's what happens when you run production cars). Lance was fine but bummed out because he felt the car was ready to best the 6:57 mark. He did the 7:01.3 on his FIRST lap.
I want to point out that the cost of all of the damage now falls on Bernie and Ben, who own the car. This is why I found it odd that some folks were saying that Viper Exchange would profit on selling these cars when we were done with the record runs. Any possible profits will be used to repair the car that contacted the armco. The gofundme donations will pay 1) the track for repair to the rail and 2) the owner of the track-day because we took up 1.5 of his hours instead of 1 and he asked that we compensate him, which is fair.
So, there you have it. Our big adventure to the Nurburgring comes to an end. We have not had a driver who feels that the car is not a mid 6:50's car. I think that we asked a bit much of the tires on this particular track. There's a reason it’s called "The Green Hell." Viper Nation, we did the best we could with what we had to work with. It's hard not being supported by the factory in any way. We did it with YOUR gofundme contributions, tires and funds by Kumho, spare engines by Prefix (fortunately we didn't need them), 2 complete and free cars from Viper Exchange and BJ Motors, and other generous donations by members of the Viper community. So many donations, that the only way to list those who gave more than $250 is on the poster, which we will start working on. I will try to write a post-script from the plane, on the way back to the states.
Again, thank you all and please know that the only thing that kept us apart from a 6:5x was time and money.

[Fatboy 18]

So will there be an auction for garage wall art of the broken fenders / parts? Who forgot to do up the bloody diff plug?

[ACRucrazy]

Who forgot to do up the bloody diff plug?

Probably someone who has been working hard with little sleep.

[ACRucrazy]

For those not in FB

[Russ Oasis]

http://www.roadandtrack.com/motorspo...rburgring-lap/

[Fatboy 18]

Probably someone who has been working hard with little sleep.

Yea, fair enough....What a shame. But well done to all involved.

Thanks for making this happen.

[Pappy]

Great effort Russ! I hope down the road you can give us a good technical debrief/lessons learned - things like rear bearing torque, limits on differential cooling, tire pressures, etc. I am interested in the sidewall failures, since that is different than what most of us have experienced. It is obvious that the increased downforce at higher speeds is significant and is a real obstacle for the tire manufacturer. Again, thanks.

Pappy

[J TNT]

Congratulations to all who made this happen and seeing Team Viper Go out on a High Note without any factory backing , this just speaks volumes to how Strong a Platform we have !!!

[Wagnut ACR]

Glad everyone is ok.

Thank you to everyone involved in this effort. I couldn't be prouder of my car or my fellow Viper owners and lovers.

[Bossing]

http://www.roadandtrack.com/motorspo...rburgring-lap/

Great job! Well Deserved Respect!

[timberwolf]

OMG this is seriously movie material! What a series of mixed emotions and what I will say is an honorable and impressive result. Hats off to these guys. That crashed Viper will get repaired and should end up in a collection somewhere! What an honor to be part of this even with just handing over cash.

Profound thank you guys.

Greg

[FLATOUT]

Probably someone who has been working hard with little sleep.

I had to leave early this week to get back to Houston due to the hurricane but I would say this is probably a very accurate statement. Many nights in the shop there until 3am and then to the track by 7am. The team would have been even smaller by todays attempt due to some of us having to get back to the states, which would have put even more weight on the shoulders of the guys still wrenching on the cars.

[FLATOUT]

OMG this is seriously movie material! What a series of mixed emotions and what I will say is an honorable and impressive result. Hats off to these guys. That crashed Viper will get repaired and should end up in a collection somewhere! What an honor to be part of this even with just handing over cash.

Profound that you guys.

Greg

Very nice of you to say Greg, and it feels good to hear that when I personally feel like we came up short

Andy

[Unlimtd]

Bravo and thank you Russ et.al. You did it your way and the memory of this quest will endure. 7:01 will never be beaten by another OEM 10 cylinder six speed manual coupe. The car that had the damage is the record holder. After it is repaired, it should be a highly desirable collector's item. Seems like something that either Jay Leno or the couple in Texas with the huge Viper collection might want.

[Granger73]

To hell with the car!!! I want the movie rights!! Any casting suggestions?

[Stealth]

Bravo Brave Team Viper!! Excellent and Heroic Job!

[timberwolf]

Very nice of you to say Greg, and it feels good to hear that when I personally feel like we came up short

Andy

That's the racer in you! That sour feeling in your gut that burns with no satisfaction in sight. But 7:01.3 is already in highly rarefied time, that lives in a vacuum surrounded by only a few cars, some I don't feel deserve to be there. Cough*lambo*cough..

Thank you for making the Viper ownership extraordinary!!

[ViperGeorge]

The team basically said the tires couldn't hold up to the Ring's 14.4 miles. But, what about those of us that run high speed tracks here in the states at very high speeds? Tracks like Daytona 24 come to mind. It is 3.56 miles long and if you run 4 laps in a row you are running 14.4 miles continuously. Speeds are also high and the banking loads up the right side front tire. I've run that track in my 09 ACR without any tire issues (Michelins). If I run it in my 17 ACR-E am I going to get killed when a Kumho blows out?

[Voice of Reason]

The team basically said the tires couldn't hold up to the Ring's 14.4 miles. But, what about those of us that run high speed tracks here in the states at very high speeds? Tracks like Daytona 24 come to mind. It is 3.56 miles long and if you run 4 laps in a row you are running 14.4 miles continuously. Speeds are also high and the banking loads up the right side front tire. I've run that track in my 09 ACR without any tire issues (Michelins). If I run it in my 17 ACR-E am I going to get killed when a Kumho blows out?

I applaud your confidence, but these drivers are driving at 12/10th to our best 9/10ths. I think we will be ok.

[TrackAire]

Congrats to all involved in this effort....it's been exciting following this record attempt.

Obviously the ACR is a 10 second car....every time it goes to the Ring for a lap record run it lowers its lap time by 10 seconds. Pretty damn impressive.

Safe travels back to the USA.

[Unlimtd]

To hell with the car!!! I want the movie rights!! Any casting suggestions?

Christian Bale for the driver. It is fitting in view of the roof driving scene in "Batman Begins".