Sure, much of the country is snowed under. But engines are being fired up and suspensions adjusted at Daytona International Speedway as the SRT Motorsports team gets ready for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, which is just three weeks away.
Part of getting the team ready for the around-the-clock race, which opens the season for the new IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, is filling out the driver roster. This marks the first time the Viper race car has been in the Daytona 24-hour race since it claimed the overall win in 2000.
The core group of drivers for the SRT Viper GTS-R race cars is unchanged from last year — Dominik Farnbacher and Marc Goosens drive the No. 91 car, and Jonathan Bomarito and Kuno Wittmer drive the No. 93 car.
Each team needs a third driver for the endurance events, such as the 24-hour Daytona race and the 12-hour race at Sebring in March.
So SRT Motorsports welcomes back 2012 IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay (who drove the SRT Viper GTS-R when it returned to racing in 2012 in the American Le Mans Series). Hunter-Reay has a long history with Riley Technologies, which preps the racing Vipers. He also continues to drive a full season in IndyCar for the Andretti Autosport team. Hunter-Reay joins with Farnbacher and Goosens in the No. 91 car.
Joining Bomarito and Wittmer will be highly regarded British driver Rob Bell, who is a two-time European Le Mans Series champion and claimed second place in the GT class at the Daytona 24-hour race in 2012.
Ryan Dalziel, who joined the No. 91 car for endurance events in 2013, has a full-time ride in the race series’ Prototype class for the 2014 season. And racing veteran Tommy Kendall, who was the third driver for the No. 93 car, has taken on new duties for the SRT Motorsports team as brand ambassador.
Kendall is “amazing with our sponsors, amazing with our employees and with all of his knowledge … someone who can make the entire team better and groom our younger drivers in the sport and every other area. I think it’s a really good fit,” SRT marketing director Beth Paretta told Racer magazine.
The SRT Viper GTS-R was fast throughout the 2013 ALMS season, grabbing a race win at Road America and five podium finishes. SRT Motorsports has worked since the season-ending Petit Le Mans race in October to make the car better. This weekend’s Roar Before The Rolex 24 practice at Daytona aims to get Hunter-Reay and Bell as much seat time as possible to prep for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, which runs Jan. 25-26.
Keep up with the SRT Viper GTS-R race teams at drivesrt.com.
