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116-657: The Chrysler Viper GTS-R (also known as the Dodge Viper GTS-R when raced in North America) was a successful racing variant of the Dodge Viper developed in conjunction with Chrysler of North America, Oreca of France and Reynard Motorsport of the United Kingdom. Officially unveiled at the 1995 Pebble Beach Concours , it has won numerous championships and famous events in its history. In

232-406: A transformative shift, echoing past pivots. The industry, much like the cars it champions , has had to navigate through a global pandemic and a persistent chip shortage, each threatening to derail production schedules . At the same time, a new course is being charted towards an electric future, a dramatic change in direction that is challenging the old guard of gasoline engines. There is also

348-631: A "manufacturer's" logo and "vehicle name", yet use components produced by another automobile manufacturer. There are also other stock car governing bodies, most notably the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). In the UK, British Stock car racing is also referred to as "Short Circuit Racing". UK Stock car racing started in the 1950s and grew rapidly through the 1960s and 1970s. Events take place on shale or tarmac tracks – usually around 1/4 mile long. There are around 35 tracks in

464-677: A GTS-R in the Italian round of the FIA GT Championship, but the car did not finish the race. In 2007, a Viper GTS-R was first raced during a historic event at Magny-Cours by Florent Moulin. The then-new GT90s Revival series accepts former FIA GT racers from 1990 to 2000. The car was chassis C23, the FIA GT Championship-winning car from 1999, as driven by Karl Wendlinger and Olivier Beretta, completely restored into original 1999 Oreca specifications. The same car

580-579: A coupe bodystyle would have. However, following the sales success of the first generation Viper, Dodge began redesigning the car in 1995, upgrading the roadster while at the same time adding a new coupe, known as the Viper GTS. Although the first generation Vipers had sold well, Dodge wished to showcase the potential capabilities of the new car, mostly in the realm of handling. At the same time, Dodge also hoped to increase sales in Europe where importation of

696-549: A different type of racing endeavor. Unlike before, there would be no factory team. These racing vehicles, known as Dodge Viper Competition Coupes, would be sold to those customers who wanted a ready-made track car. Because they complied with the FIA GT3 regulations, these vehicles were prevented from exhibiting the same level of extreme performance characteristic of the earlier Viper GTS-Rs which ran in GT1. In this instance, Oreca ran

812-471: A displacement versus minimum weight formula. Turbochargers were taken into account as well as rotary power, fuel injection, and many other engine features. As a result, the new premier class known as GTX (Grand Touring Experimental, which was based on FIA 's Group 5 ), brought on the absolute dominance of the Porsche 935 . The 935 became the most successful car in the series. The most successful driver of

928-410: A distance of 8 mi (13 km). It was won by the carriage of Isaac Watt Boulton . Internal combustion auto racing events began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline -fueled automobiles. The first organized contest was on April 28, 1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède , Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Neuilly Bridge to

1044-734: A growing number of events for electric racing cars, such as the Formula E , the Eco Grand Prix or the Electric GT Championship . In single-seater ( open-wheel ) racing, the wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front and rear to produce downforce and enhance adhesion to the track. The most popular varieties of open-wheel road racing are Formula One (F1), the IndyCar Series and Super Formula . In Europe and Asia, open-wheeled racing

1160-707: A lap at 388 km/h (241 mph). The series' biggest race is the Indianapolis 500 , which is commonly referred to as "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" due to being the longest continuously run race in the series and having the largest crowd for a single-day sporting event (350,000+). The other major international single-seater racing series is Formula 2 (formerly known as Formula 3000 and GP2 Series ). Regional series include Super Formula and Formula V6 Asia (specifically in Asia), Formula Renault 3.5 (also known as

1276-607: A limited schedule beginning with the 24 Hours of Le Mans . Both teams appeared at the Le Mans with two entries each. Three of those four cars managed to finish with Canaska Southwind earning the best result in tenth place. The two teams returned to their respective series afterwards. Viper Team Oreca concluded the year with three races in the BPR Global GT Series earning eighth place at Brands Hatch , ninth at Spa , and sixth at Nogaro . Canaska Southwind concluded

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1392-482: A much easier time following and passing than in open-wheel racing . It often features full-contact racing with subtle bumping and nudging due to the small speed differentials and large grids. The major touring car championships conducted worldwide are the Supercars Championship (Australia), British Touring Car Championship , Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), World Touring Car Championship and

1508-588: A popular competitor to the more international ALMS, attracting some pro drivers and teams, featuring large fields, and producing close competition. Much like the split from 1996 to 2008 between Champ Car and the IRL , critics say this split was detrimental to the sport as a whole. Grand AM and ALMS merged in 2014 under IMSA sanction and France family ownership to create the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship . The WeatherTech Championship

1624-450: A practical mode of transport, but soon became an important way for automobile makers to demonstrate their machines. By the 1930s, specialist racing cars had developed. There are now numerous different categories, each with different rules and regulations. The first prearranged match race of two self-powered road vehicles over a prescribed route occurred at 4:30 A.M. on August 30, 1867, between Ashton-under-Lyne and Old Trafford , England,

1740-532: A rectangular IMSA GT decal, which incorporated its logo on the left, followed by a large GT tag, as well as a Joe Camel decal. Starting fields of 30 or more competitors were not unusual during this era. One of the premiere race events was the Paul Revere 250, which started at midnight of the Fourth of July. The race was conducted entirely at night. In 1975 a new category, All American Grand Touring (AAGT),

1856-495: A row from 1980 through 1987. The car went on to win more IMSA races in its class than any other model of automobile, with its one hundredth victory on September 2, 1990. In 1981, purpose-built GTP cars (Grand Touring Prototypes) appeared in the championship, and were similar to the new FIA Group C cars which would be introduced to the World Endurance Championship from 1982. The main difference between

1972-749: A single entry at the Spa 24 Hours, finishing 12th, while Italian GT would see only three teams competing and unable to score any victories. French GT became the only series in which Vipers were competitive, which lured former Formula One champion Alain Prost to run Viper GTS-R chassis #C50 in the series as part of his 50th birthday, eventually winning one race as part of the Vipers nine victories that season. In 2006, Viper GTS-Rs continue in French GT and Italian GT, although their victories continued to diminish. By 2007,

2088-426: A small, low-cost machine on small tracks. Many of the current top drivers began their careers in karts. Formula Ford represents the most popular first open-wheel category for up-and-coming drivers stepping up from karts. The series is still the preferred option, as it has introduced an aero package and slicks, allowing the junior drivers to gain experience in a race car with dynamics closer to F1. The Star Mazda Series

2204-660: A white O on black. All others had standard IMSA GT decals. One significant change to the rules during the 1980s was the 2.5 liter limit being increased to 3.0 liters, with the maximum 6.0 liter limit still in place. 3.0L cars were required to weigh 1,900 lb (860 kg), whereas 6.0L cars had to weigh no less than 2,700 lb (1,200 kg). In an effort to equalize the competition, two-valve turbocharged cars were required to weigh 15% more, and four-valve turbocharged cars 20% more. Electronic fuel injection became common, while ground effects were still prohibited. Steering, braking, transmission, and suspension were left up to

2320-823: Is NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing). NASCAR's premier series is the NASCAR Cup Series , its most famous races being the Daytona 500 , the Southern 500 , the Coca-Cola 600 , and the Brickyard 400 . NASCAR also runs several feeder series, including the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series (a pickup truck racing series). The series conduct races across the entire continental United States . NASCAR also sanctions series outside of

2436-448: Is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non-racing disciplines. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various types were organized, with the first recorded as early as 1867. Many of the earliest events were effectively reliability trials , aimed at proving these new machines were

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2552-719: Is a worldwide series that runs only street circuit and race tracks . These cars are heavily based on technology and their aerodynamics. The speed record was set in 2005 by Juan Pablo Montoya hitting 373 km/h (232 mph). Some of the most prominent races are the Monaco Grand Prix, the Italian Grand Prix , and the British Grand Prix . The season ends with the crowning of the World Championship for drivers and constructors. In

2668-650: Is another entry-level series. Indy Lights represent the last step on the Road to Indy , being less powerful and lighter than an IndyCar racer. Students at colleges and universities can also take part in single-seater racing through the Formula SAE competition, which involves designing and building a single-seater car in a multidisciplinary team and racing it at the competition. This also develops other soft skills, such as teamwork, while promoting motorsport and engineering. The world's first all-female Formula racing team

2784-615: Is commonly referred to as 'Formula', with appropriate hierarchical suffixes. In North America, the 'Formula' terminology is not followed (with the exception of F1). The sport is usually arranged to follow an international format (such as F1), a regional format (such as the Formula 3 Euro Series), and/or a domestic, or country-specific, format (such as the German Formula 3 championship, or the British Formula Ford). F1

2900-923: Is the FIA World Endurance Championship . The main series for GT car racing is the GT World Challenge Europe , divided into two separate championships: the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup . This series has formed after the folding of the various FIA GT championships. The prevailing classes of GT cars are GT3 , GT4 and GT2 class cars. GT2 cars have powerful engines, often exceeding 600 horsepower. However, they have less downforce than GT3 cars and also have less driver aids. GT3 cars are far and away

3016-522: Is undergoing a period of transition, but is still the longest-running road racing series in the U.S. The National Auto Sport Association also provides a venue for amateurs to compete in home-built factory-derived vehicles on various local circuits. In sports car racing, production-derived versions of two-seat sports cars , also known as grand tourers (GTs), and purpose-built sports prototype cars compete within their respective classes on closed circuits. The premier championship series of sports car racing

3132-680: The 24 Hours of Le Mans , begun in 1923. It is run by the Automobile Club of the West (ACO). Team Ferrari won the race in 2023. With auto construction and racing dominated by France, the French automobile club ACF staged a number of major international races, usually from or to Paris, connecting with another major city, in France or elsewhere in Europe. Aspendale Racecourse , in Australia,

3248-634: The 24 Hours of Le Mans , the Rolex 24 at Daytona , 24 Hours of Spa -Franchorchamps, the 12 Hours of Sebring , the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen , and the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta . There is also the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring on the famed Nordschleife track and the Dubai 24 Hour , which is aimed at GT3 and below cars with a mixture of professional and pro-am drivers. Production-car racing, otherwise known as "showroom stock" in

3364-678: The Chevrolet Beretta (in the Trans-Am series) and the Mazda MX-6 (in IMSA GTU). The Celica was one of just a few cars that had broken away from its production GT derivatives of the earlier years. With a full spaceframe chassis, they became serious race cars. By 1987, the category became dominated by factory teams, with testing sessions becoming common, and rules tailored to welcome them in rather than turn them away. Otherwise,

3480-639: The Eagle Mk III , a car so dominant that it has been blamed for the demise of the class. Along with the GTP cars, the Camel Lights cars, a smaller capacity, non-turbocharged, lower powered prototype category was introduced in 1985. Argo Racing Cars was the first 'Lights' Champions, followed by Spice Engineering. Other well known participants were the Tiga , Royale , Alba , Fabcar, and Kudzu. Starting with

3596-571: The Miami Grand Prix with the sole entry of Brent O'Neill. The car finished last among the cars that were still running. After skipping the 12 Hours of Sebring , the category would compete for the remainder of the season in non-Championship rounds, with no more than four cars entering each race. In 1994 Camel was replaced by Exxon as the title sponsor. However, as the WSC cars took over as the leading category, their reliability would be tested at

Chrysler Viper GTS-R - Misplaced Pages Continue

3712-896: The SRT Motorsports banner in the American Le Mans Series with the SRT Viper GTS-R race car. After winning the GTLM Class of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship in 2014 , factory support was again terminated. Nevertheless, private racing teams can still compete with the 2013 release of the Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R which is FIA GT3 homologated as GT3-036. Race car Auto racing (also known as car racing , motor racing , or automobile racing )

3828-690: The Trans Am Series . Trans Am would quickly become a support series for IMSA GT. The first champions were Peter H. Gregg and Hurley Haywood , in a Porsche 914-6 GTU. Common winners in these early years of IMSA were the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR , and the Chevrolet Corvette . Camel became the title sponsor during the second season, with the series becoming known as the Camel GT Challenge Series. The sponsor's corporate decal had to be displayed and clearly visible on

3944-770: The Viper GTS-R name appearing on the side of the bonnet. With the FIA GT2 Team and Driver championship wins in October 1997, Team Viper set forth with the creation of a unique Viper called the GT2 Champion Edition. There would be 100 cars offered through the top Dodge Viper dealers, featuring the same white with blue stripes paint scheme as the race cars, as well as a large rear wing, front dive planes and splitter, side sills, BBS rims and GTS-R badging. The GT2 also features an Oreca 5-point racing harness, and

4060-463: The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starting in 2014. These races are often conducted over long distances, at least 1,000 km (621 mi), and cars are driven by teams of two or more drivers, switching every few hours. Due to the performance difference between production-based sports cars and purpose-built sports prototypes, one race usually involves several racing classes, each fighting for its own championship. Famous sports car races include

4176-653: The World Touring Car Cup . The European Touring Car Cup is a one-day event open to Super 2000 specification touring cars from Europe's many national championships. While Super GT traces its lineage to the now-defunct JGTC , the cars are much more similar to GT3 race cars than proper touring cars, and also have much more aggressive aerodynamics. The Sports Car Club of America 's SPEED World Challenge Touring Car and GT championships are dominant in North America. America's historic Trans-Am Series

4292-409: The 1970s was Peter Gregg, who won championships in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979. Twin turbos were outlawed at the end of the 1982 season after John Paul Sr. and John Paul Jr. dominated in a modified 935. In 1984, all GT cars were required to display a large square decal to identify which category the car competed in. A GTU car, for instance, would have a black U on white, and a GTO car,

4408-472: The 1980s and 1990s all over the United States. In North America, stock car racing is the most popular form of auto racing. Primarily raced on oval tracks , stock cars vaguely resemble production cars, but are in fact purpose-built racing machines that are built to tight specifications and, together with touring cars, also called Silhouette racing cars . The largest stock car racing governing body

4524-482: The 1986 season, the GTP category had their own decal, which was similar to the IMSA GT side decal, with a P being added to denote their category. Camel Lights cars also used the same decal There were many other manufacturers in the GTP class, such as URD Rennsport, Spice, Intrepid or Gebhardt , and in the early 1990s, Mazda. Following a successful heart surgery in 1987, Bishop began to rethink his priorities. He

4640-462: The 24 hours of Le Mans (held annually since 1923) and in the (European) Le Mans series , Asian Le Mans Series and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship . These cars are referred to as LMP (Le Mans prototype) cars with LMH and LMDh cars being run mainly by manufacturers and the slightly less powerful LMP2 cars run by privateer teams. All three Le Mans Series run GT cars in addition to Le Mans Prototypes; these cars have different restrictions than

4756-825: The American Le Mans Series, the Star Mazda series, and the Panoz GT Pro series. The ALMS uses regulations based on those of the 24 Hours of Le Mans , but in 2005 the relationship between Panoz and the Le Mans organizers, ACO , became problematic. A breakaway series formed in 1998 involving the Sports Car Club of America , and was running under the name of the United States Road Racing Championship . It

Chrysler Viper GTS-R - Misplaced Pages Continue

4872-602: The BPR series. The team would switch to the less powerful GT2 class due to the strength of the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz teams which were entering GT1, while at the same time being joined by the customer Chamberlain Engineering team. Oreca began the season strong with a 1-2 finish in their class ahead of the Roock Racing Porsches, and would go on to take six more victories in the eleven race season and winning

4988-612: The Bois de Boulogne. On July 22, 1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the world's first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen. One hundred and two competitors paid a 10- franc entrance fee. The first American automobile race is generally considered to be the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times-Herald race of November 28, 1895. Press coverage of

5104-507: The DDO team would win five French GT events, and Zakspeed would manage to win the 24 Hours Nürburgring for the second time. Le Mans however would not see the Vipers repeat their past success, as the factory Corvette squad won the class and only a lone Viper finished. Larbre was able to defend their FIA GT championship in 2002, but were only able to win one race in the process. Carsport Holland and Paul Belmondo also managed single victories, while

5220-409: The FIA GT cars. Another prototype and GT racing championship exists in the United States; the Grand-Am , which began in 2000, sanctions its own endurance series, the Rolex Sports Car Series , which consists of slower and lower-cost Daytona Prototype race cars compared to LMP and FIA GT cars. The Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series announced a merger between the two series forming

5336-502: The GT series was known commonly as the "IMSA series", as it was the sanctioning body. For legal reasons, both the 1999-2013 ALMS and the current WeatherTech SportsCar Championship are regarded as a continuation of the original IMSA GT Championship. The 1971 season was the first racing season, and lasted six races. The early years of the series featured GT cars, similar to the European Group 2 and Group 4 classes, divided into four groups: In essence, these groups had been absorbed from

5452-423: The GT2 championship. The team also returned to Le Mans with three cars, although they would only finish in 14th place, fifth in their class. Another customer Viper would also appear in the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship for Team Taisan , making two appearances with a best finish of eighth. The Oreca team would strengthen their dominance in FIA GT in 1998, as the team managed to win all but one event in

5568-435: The GTP class for sports prototypes . In 1989, Bishop sold off his organization. After a period of decline in the early 1990s, the Sports Racer Prototype category was introduced in 1993 to replace the top IMSA GTP category in 1994. In deference to the series deviating from the FIA's naming of the class to Sports Racers and Le Mans Prototypes by the French Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) in Europe for their then separate series,

5684-600: The UK and upwards of 7000 active drivers. The sport is split into three basic divisions – distinguished by the rules regarding car contact during racing. The most famous championship are the BriSCA F1 Stock Cars . Full-contact formulas include Bangers , Bombers, and Rookie Bangers – and racing features Demolition Derbies, Figure of Eight, and Oval Racing. Semi Contact Formulas include BriSCA F1, F2, and Superstox – where bumpers are used tactically. Non-contact formulas include National Hot Rods, Stock Rods, and Lightning Rods. IMSA GT Championship The series

5800-532: The UK, the major club series are the Monoposto Racing Club , BRSCC F3 (formerly ClubF3, formerly ARP F3), Formula Vee and Club Formula Ford. Each series caters to a section of the market, with some primarily providing low-cost racing, while others aim for an authentic experience using the same regulations as the professional series (BRSCC F3). The SCCA is also responsible for sanctioning single-seater racing in much of North America. There are other categories of single-seater racing, including kart racing , which employs

5916-401: The US, is an economical and rules-restricted version of touring-car racing, mainly used to restrict costs. Numerous production racing categories are based on particular makes of cars. Most series, with a few exceptions, follow the Group N regulation. There are several different series that are run all over the world, most notably, Japan's Super Taikyu and IMSA 's Firehawk Series, which ran in

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6032-409: The United States, including the NASCAR Canada Series , NASCAR Mexico Series , NASCAR Whelen Euro Series , and NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race . NASCAR also governs several smaller regional series, such as the Whelen Modified Tour . Modified cars are best described as open-wheel cars. Modified cars have no parts related to the stock vehicle for which they are named after. A number of modified cars display

6148-438: The United States, the most popular series is the IndyCar Series . The cars have traditionally been similar to, though less technologically sophisticated than, F1 cars , with more restrictions on technology aimed at controlling costs. While these cars are not as technologically advanced, they are faster, in part due to their lower downforce compared to F1 cars, and also because they compete on oval race tracks, being able to average

6264-466: The Viper Competition Coupe program, building the cars for Dodge. Attempts were made by Oreca as well as privateers Racing Box and Woodhouse Performance to modify Viper Competition Coupes to run in the faster GT2 class. Although this has not received official support from Dodge, they have expressed interest in exploring the idea. Coinciding with the release of the fifth generation Viper road car in 2012, Chrysler returned to motorsports competition under

6380-431: The Viper GTS-R has achieved many victories or class wins in competition, as well as many series championships. This is a list of some of the more notable victories by the Viper GTS-Rs. Following Dodge's official end of their factory-backed racing program in 2001, as well as the redesigning of the Viper in 2003, the first generation GTS-Rs have been retired. Nonetheless, Dodge persevered in motorsports competition by backing

6496-486: The Viper had struggled. Dodge's parent, Chrysler , therefore approved the development of a racing program centering on the Viper GTS which was still in development at the time. This co-development would allow for elements of the racing car to be adapted to the road car, and vice versa, for each car's mutual improvement. Chrysler believed that in order to adapt their car not only for North American but also European circuits, they would require outside assistance. An agreement

6612-554: The Viper's 7998.5 cc. Modifications were therefore light for the 356-T6 V10, with concentration on redesigned intakes for horsepower and reinforcements for endurance. In terms of design much of the bodywork of the Viper GTS was retained on the race car. Mandatory elements such as a rear wing, rear diffuser and front splitter were added for aerodynamics, while initial cars had their fog lights covered over before being put back for increased visibility at night. To aid in lighting, optional lights were able to be placed in square notches above

6728-490: The World Series by Renault, succession series of World Series by Nissan ), Formula Three , Formula Palmer Audi and Formula Atlantic . In 2009, the FIA Formula Two Championship brought about the revival of the F2 series. Domestic, or country-specific, series include Formula Three and Formula Renault, with the leading introductory series being Formula Ford . Single-seater racing is not limited merely to professional teams and drivers. There exist many amateur racing clubs. In

6844-410: The best finishing Viper in the championship, a distant seventh. Some victories were still scored by Vipers however, as Larbre took six wins in French GT and Force One Racing a further two. The Team Taisan Viper in JGTC would also manage its first class victory in an event at Fuji Speedway . Vipers would compete for the first time in Italian GT, winning all but three races during the season. However at

6960-476: The car was converted to rear wheel drive. One outstanding feature of the car was the 4T-GT E engine, from its Safari Rally -winning, Group B predecessor, producing around 475 hp (354 kW). Piloted by the likes of Chris Cord , Willy T. Ribbs , and Dennis Aase , the car was dominant in its class right up until the team's move to GTP. Utilizing the same engine, it became dominant once again. Other teams would follow this example, with notable cars such as

7076-406: The cars were required to closely resemble their showroom counterparts, though fenders could be widened, increasing the track up to 79 inches (2,000 mm). There were no restrictions on body materials, as most teams favored removable, easy to repair fiberglass (meaning one of the only remaining panels from a car's production counterpart was the steel roof structure). Another car that exploited

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7192-450: The center dash plaque with the vehicle's unique production number. Debuting in 1996, two racing teams separately developed the Chrysler Viper GTS-R coupe for competition. Canaska Southwind started in the North American IMSA GT Championship GTS-1 class at the 1996 24 Hours of Daytona , managing to finish in 29th place. However, the team would improve with a twelfth-place finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring . Viper Team Oreca would also run

7308-425: The championship, while GLPK Carsport would be the fourth Viper squad to compete. A similar story occurred in the ALMS, with Oreca winning six races and taking that championship as well. Oreca would also earn their second straight win at Le Mans , with various Vipers finishing in the top six positions in their class. The FFSA GT Championship would see the appearance of Belmondo's Vipers, earning two victories over

7424-429: The championship. In French GT, the DDO, ART, and MMI squads would combine for a total of eight Viper victories. The backing by Chrysler officially ended in 2001, as Chrysler and Oreca had begun work the previous year on developing a Le Mans Prototype , forcing Oreca to abandon their Viper teams. The American Viperacing squad would be the sole contender in the American Le Mans Series, scoring no victories and finishing

7540-401: The constructor. Bigger, more powerful engines were permitted under homologation rules. The number of valves, ports, and spark plugs were not allowed to be modified from the original configuration. The AAR Toyota team suddenly encountered a daunting problem with the rules when, with Toyota's introduction of the new, fourth generation, Celica for the US market, and the team's first entry into

7656-411: The drivers' championship. For 1999, Oreca's efforts were expanded further, as the team now operated in two championships: A two-car team in the new American Le Mans Series and the existing two car team already competing in FIA GT. FIA GT saw the Vipers once again sweep the series with nine wins for Oreca, and a lone win for the Paul Belmondo Viper. Chamberlain improved their team to finish second in

7772-469: The early 1980s would innovate race team hospitality, practices which were subsequently adopted by virtually every other team. For those that competed, GTP was recognized for its camaraderie among drivers, especially rivals. But Hans Stuck , commenting in the foreword of the book "Prototypes: The History of the IMSA GTP Series" , sarcastically compared the series' camaraderie to Formula One's lack of such. With rising costs and factory teams walking away from

7888-412: The early 1990s, first-generation Dodge Viper RT/10s had been modified by racing teams for use in GT racing in North America and Europe without much success. Although its V10 engine was powerful, the car was not adapted to racing and teams lacked the funding to build a car that could compete with factory efforts. One key issue was the fact that the Viper was a roadster, therefore lacking the rigidity that

8004-439: The eleventh lap due to engine failure. Ferrari would help the category score an overall win at the 12 Hours of Sebring , and would take the manufacturer's title. The Ferrari 333 SP and the R&S cars (Oldsmobile / Ford) were the dominant entries in the series from 1995 until the demise of IMSA at the end of 1998. In 1996, Slater sold the organization to Roberto Muller (ex-CEO of Reebok) and Wall Street financier Andy Evans, who

8120-400: The event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile. The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily , Italy near the island's capital of Palermo . Founded in 1906 , it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973. The oldest surviving sports car racing event is

8236-516: The existing Viper GTS-R fleet. Although the production cars have mostly been known as Dodge Vipers, the Dodge brand did not sell the Viper in Europe. Because the new cars, named GTS-R, were built in Europe, they were mostly known as Chrysler Viper GTS-R. However, cars racing in North America usually ran under the Dodge banner, making them Dodge Viper GTS-Rs. This naming difference therefore depends on location and region. The cars themselves actually carried no badging for either Chrysler or Dodge, with only

8352-456: The factory effort. Although Oreca would construct the cars, key elements would come from British engineering firm Reynard Motorsport . This would mainly consist of the construction of the car's basic chassis and other integral parts before they were shipped to Oreca for assembly. As for the Viper's engine, it was ideally suited for competition at the time due to limits of 8000 cc being just beyond

8468-437: The following year, John Bishop brought in sponsor R. J. Reynolds , and in 1975 introduced a new category: All American Grand Touring (AAGT). In 1977, the series went through a series of major changes. IMSA permitted turbocharged cars to compete for the first time, as well as introducing a new category: GTX, based on Group 5 rules. In 1981, after Bishop decided to not follow FIA's newly introduced Group C rules, he introduced

8584-474: The grill. The exhaust would also be routed out the side of the car, just under the doors, about halfway between the front and rear wheel wells. Side exhausts had been a feature of the first generation American-market RT/10s, but were no longer used on the GTS. Vents were also added to the hood for cooling the engine, while intakes were placed on the roof and rear fenders. In total, 57 Viper GTS-Rs would be built. After

8700-461: The ground due to Holbert's death in an aircraft accident later in the year. For some, much of the blame was on the organization for allowing the Japanese "works" teams to dominate the series. Under Bishop's original vision, privateers and "works teams" were able to race equally. Privateer teams walked away, while the Japanese economy started to go downhill. These factors led Nissan and Mazda to leave

8816-466: The homologation of the Viper GTS-Rs would come to an end as the Viper GTS bodystyle had been replaced nearly seven years prior. Few privateers entered Vipers in French and Italian GT, while Red Racing would enter a lone car in select rounds of the FIA GT Championship as part of the amateur Citation Cup but would be unable to even finish any of its events. In 2008 Italian team Lanza Motorsport entered

8932-489: The inaugural round for WSC cars at Road Atlanta , the new Ferrari 333 SP would make its debut amongst mass media fanfare, and win its debut race. The car brand regularly achieving podium finishes every round after that, Oldsmobile, won the manufacturer's title over Ferrari by four points. In 1995, a new rival for Ferrari appeared in the Riley & Scott Mk III. The car would make its debut at Daytona, but would retire after

9048-783: The last step up to premier GT-class racing. Other major GT championships include the GT World Challenge America , GT World Challenge Asia , Super GT , and the International GT Open . There are minor regional and national GT series using mainly GT4 and GT3 cars featuring both amateur and professional drivers. Sports prototypes, unlike GT cars, do not rely on road-legal cars as a base. They are closed-wheel and often closed-cockpit purpose-built race cars intended mainly for endurance racing. They have much lower weight, more horsepower and more downforce compared to GT cars, making them much faster. They are raced in

9164-454: The left and right sides of all racecars, and Camel's corporate logo patch was also required to be on the Nomex driver suit's breast area, featuring Joe Camel smiling and smoking a cigarette while driving a race car. Initially, all cars were identified with a category tag, stating which category they competed in, but from the middle of the 1975 season on, all cars within the series had to have

9280-461: The middle of the 1977 season. They were allowed following protests by Porsche's motorsport department, after inspecting Al Holbert 's AAGT winning Chevrolet Monza , which had won two titles. Prior to 1977, Porsche privateers struggled with obsolete 911 Carrera RSRs against the AAGT cars. Engine sizes were determined by IMSA officials, who had devised a set of rules to determine fair competition, using

9396-442: The most popular class of GT cars, with premier racing series such as the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA both using GT3 as their top class of GT car. GT3 cars have more significant aero than a GT2 car, but also have less horsepower, typically falling in between 500 and 550 horsepower. GT4 class cars have very little aerodynamics and less horsepower than GT3 machinery, typically around 450 horsepower. GT4 typically serves as

9512-584: The new Ferrari 550s showed their potential with four wins. The only other victories for Vipers that season came in French GT, with four earned by DDO, and a third victory at the Nürburgring for Zakspeed. An Oreca-backed entry at Le Mans would manage to finish on the class podium, although several laps behind the two factory Corvettes. In 2003, the dominance of the Prodrive -built Ferraris began. Vipers were unable to win any races in FIA GT, leaving Larbre as

9628-473: The new class was designated IMSA World Sports Car. After a period of multiple ownerships, the organization, by then owned by Don Panoz , was eventually renamed Professional Sports Car Racing (PSCR). In 1999, PSCR decided to affiliate with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and adopt the sanctioning body's rule book, renaming the series the American Le Mans Series . Despite having various official names,

9744-464: The oldest car racing series still active in the world. The first TC competition took place in 1931 with 12 races, each in a different province. Future Formula One star Juan Manuel Fangio (Chevrolet) won the 1940 and 1941 editions of the TC. It was during this time that the series' Chevrolet-Ford rivalry began, with Ford acquiring most of its historical victories. Over the last few years, auto racing has seen

9860-511: The oldest existing purpose-built and still in use automobile race course in the United States is the 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana . It is the largest capacity sports venue of any variety worldwide, with a top capacity of some 257,000+ seated spectators. NASCAR was founded by Bill France Sr. on February 21, 1948, with the help of several other drivers. The first NASCAR " Strictly Stock " race ever

9976-465: The opening round at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Two cars started on the front row, with eight WSC cars competing. Two cars finished the race, with the leading WSC car finishing ninth behind GT cars. A WSC car would score its first podium finish at Sebring with a second, and third place behind a Daytona winning GTS class Nissan 300ZX. That led to a rule change for the latter category, as they would be barred from using engines that were originally for GTP cars. At

10092-414: The production of an initial five prototypes for testing and early usage by Oreca and Canaska / Southwind, 52 more cars would be built. Oreca built a total of 18 chassis. Although some would be used by the factory teams, most would be sold directly to customers for use in whatever series would allow them. Viper GTS-Rs continued to be built into 2005, after which Oreca concentrated on maintaining and supporting

10208-579: The race in two different rounds, thereby costing them both the manufacturer's and driver's titles, Hans-Joachim Stuck driving. Another manufacturer to experience a run of wins was Mazda. After some success by the Mazda RX-2 and Mazda RX-3 , the Mazda RX-7 won its class in the IMSA 24 Hours of Daytona race an amazing ten years in a row, starting in 1982. It also won eight IMSA GTU championships in

10324-494: The reduction of the schedule from 56 to 34 races a year, established 1972 as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era". The IMSA GT Series evolved into the American Le Mans Series , which ran its first season in 1998. The European races eventually became the closely related European Le Mans Series , both of which mix prototypes and GTs. Turismo Carretera (TC) is a popular touring car racing series in Argentina, and one of

10440-593: The rules was the Audi 90 . With its advanced Quattro four-wheel-drive system, the car had the potential to dominate during the 1989 season. The car performed well, but faced heavy competitions from two factory teams; the Roush Racing Mercury Cougar XR7, and Clayton Cunningham Racing's Nissan 300ZX , which took seven wins out of fifteen. Audi stayed away from the early season endurance classics (Daytona and Sebring), and had two cars drop out of

10556-530: The sagging TV ratings. By 1992, there were a number of factors that led to the decline of the GTP category. Porsche concentrated on its IndyCar ( Porsche 2708 ) program when critics stated that the Zuffenhausen marque should have built a followup to its 962 . Back in 1988, Al Holbert realized that the 962 was beginning to feel dated. He proposed a follow-up open-top Porsche powered racer which would also be sold to customer teams. That project never got off

10672-479: The same time, Vipers would make their final appearance at Le Mans , with Larbre finishing fourth in their class. 2004 would see the Viper GTS-Rs begin to be phased out. Only Zwaan's Racing would be entered in the full FIA GT season, earning ninth in the championship. Vipers would remain dominant in FFSA GT and Italian GT, winning eleven and five races respectively. For 2005, the only Viper entry in FIA GT would be

10788-540: The season but once again securing the championship. Oreca would also outperform Corvette at Le Mans, winning their third straight class victory with a seventh-place finish. In FIA GT, the Paul Belmondo and new Carsport Holland teams would run strong and win a collective four races, but would not be able to overcome the five victories by the Lister Storm , forcing the two teams to settle for second and third in

10904-473: The season by finishing second in class at Mosport and sixth overall. The Canaska Southwind team would end their involvement in the Viper program in 1997. This meant Oreca would make the only appearance for a Viper in IMSA GT by submitting a lone entry at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, finishing in 12th place. After Daytona, the team returned to Europe to concentrate on the new FIA GT Championship which had replaced

11020-524: The season in third for the championship. FIA GT would however see a blossoming of teams, as eight different Viper squads competed over the season. Larbre Compétition would win three events (including the Spa 24 Hours ) and win the championship, while Carsport Holland won two races and finished second. Hayles Racing would win four races in British GT to win that championship by two points over Lister , while

11136-477: The season, and the 24 Hours Nürburgring would see Zakspeed claiming overall victory. For 2000, Oreca chose to concentrate on North America, leaving the FIA GT Championship to privateers. The team opened the season with one of their most notable victories, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona by a small margin over the new Chevrolet Corvette factory team. Oreca went on to win ten races in the American Le Mans Series, eventually falling to Corvette in two rounds late in

11252-418: The season; and Randy Lanier a year later with Chevrolet power. 1984 also saw the introduction of the Porsche 962 , which dominated the series from '85 to '87. Nissan then took control of the series in 1988, but faced challenges from Jaguar, Porsche, and Toyota throughout the next three years. Toyota was quickest in 1992 and 1993, at the end of the GTP era, as Dan Gurney 's All American Racers team campaigned

11368-579: The series named after its sub-brand of fuel. In 1995, in a bid to move closer to the European BPR Global GT Series , the GT category would undergo another major reformatting. GTS became known as GTS-1, and GTU became known as GTS-2. In 1997, there was another category addition: GTS-2 became GTS-3. The new GTS-2 category was introduced to allow for the existing GT2 cars. Under tremendous pressure from team owners and management, Evans sold

11484-412: The series to PST Holdings, Inc., a group led by Raymond Smith, formerly the chief financial officer of Sports Car. Other owners included Dough Robinson and Tom Milner. In 2001 Don Panoz purchased PSCR to solidify the sanction for Panoz's American Le Mans Series (ALMS) which had been sanctioned by PSCR since 1999. Panoz renamed the sanctioning organization IMSA, and it was the official sanctioning body of

11600-406: The series, which meant diminishing entries and diminishing profit, IMSA introduced a new prototype category for in 1993: World Sport Car (WSC). WSC replaced GTP and Camel Lights' closed-top cars for the following year. The WSC cars were open-top, flat-bottomed sports-prototypes with production engines, as opposed to racing versions of production engines from GTP cars. The WSC cars made their debut at

11716-435: The series. Critics predicted that the decreased variety of cars would disappoint race fans, and in fact, it did finally kill the series in 1993. GTP cars ran their last race on October 2, 1993, at Phoenix International Raceway . The GTP category was credited for many innovations in the U.S., including antilock brakes , traction control , and active suspension . Dave Cowart and Kemper Miller's Red Lobster sponsored team of

11832-759: The sport, former Formula 2 champion Jonathan Palmer reopened the F2 category again; most drivers have graduated from the Formula Palmer Audi series. The category is officially registered as the FIA Formula Two championship. Most rounds have two races and are support races to the FIA World Touring Car Championship . Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production-derived four-seat race cars. The lesser use of aerodynamics means following cars have

11948-611: The ten race schedule. Oreca would also take their first class victory at Le Mans with an eleventh place overall finish. Chamberlain continued as a privateer in FIA GT earning several points, as well as earning a 14th-place finish at Daytona. Meanwhile, the Oftedahl Motorsport would purchase a Viper GTS-R and go on to score six class wins in the British GT Championship , including an overall race win at Silverstone and earning Kurt Luby and Richard Dean

12064-420: The tenth anniversary 24 Hours of Daytona victory. One of the Viper GTS-Rs run by Oreca in the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans was purchased by Ken Finneran and entered in the 2007 24 Hours of Silverstone race organised by Britcar . It was entered by KTF Group and completed 142 laps before retiring. The drivers were Phil Bennett , Mark Dwyer, Finneran, Robert Huff and Adam Sharpe. Since its racing debut in 1996,

12180-406: The top-flight GTO category (despite not having won a single GTU title ), the team faced the distinct possibility that they would be required to race a front-wheel-drive car, until they managed to persuade IMSA to change the rules, thereby permitting cars to race with something other than their original drivetrain, and therefore with a redesigned chassis. To AAR's delight, IMSA did change the rules, and

12296-414: The two categories was that the former had no emphasis on fuel consumption which was highlighted by Derek Bell saying "Race fans do not come to races to watch an economy run." Brian Redman was the first GTP champion, driving a Lola T600 with a Chevrolet engine. March also fielded prototypes, with Al Holbert winning the 1983 championship with a Chevrolet powered car, changing to Porsche power later in

12412-529: Was also an IndyCar owner, and owner-driver of the Scandia WSC team. Evans and VP of marketing Kurtis Eide were responsible for the name change to Professional Sports Car Racing. In 1992, the long running category American Challenge stepped into the GT series. It became known as the GTO category when the former GTO category was renamed GTS (Grand Touring Supreme). The move was prompted by sponsor Exxon, who wanted

12528-502: Was approached by Mike Cone and Jeff Parker, owners of Tampa Race Circuit . In January 1989, Bishop and France sold the series to Cone and Parker. The new owners relocated the IMSA headquarters from Connecticut to Tampa Bay . Bishop would stand down as president in favor of Mark Raffauf, who was his deputy, and its representative on the ACCUS board. Cone and Parker sold it to businessman Charles Slater. Both lost millions attempting to revive

12644-463: Was created in 2006. The group was an assemblage of drivers from different racing disciplines and formed for an MTV reality pilot, which was shot at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca . In December 2005, the FIA gave approval to Superleague Formula racing, which debuted in 2008, whereby the racing teams are owned and run by prominent sports clubs such as A.C. Milan and Liverpool F.C. After 25 years away from

12760-468: Was founded in 1969 by John and Peggy Bishop, and Bill France, Sr. Racing began in 1971, and was originally aimed at two of FIA 's stock car categories, running two classes each; the GT ( Groups 3 and 4 ) and touring ( Group 1 and 2 ) classes. The first race was held at Virginia International Raceway ; it was an unexpected success, with both the drivers and the handful of spectators who attended. For

12876-574: Was headed by a group of competitors that wanted to keep the rules within the United States. After failing by 1999, a new U.S.-based series was started with the full support of NASCAR 's France family named the Grand American Road Racing Association , operating the headlining Rolex Sports Car Series . The series struggled early on, but after the introduction of the Daytona Prototype class, proved to be

12992-744: Was held on June 19, 1949, at Daytona Beach, Florida , U.S.. From 1962, sports cars temporarily took a back seat to GT cars , with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) replacing the World Championship for Sports Cars with the International Championship for GT Manufacturers. From 1962 through 2003, NASCAR's premier series was called the Winston Cup Series, sponsored by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company cigarette brand Winston . The changes that resulted from RJR's involvement, as well as

13108-528: Was introduced to counteract the Porsche dominance in GTO. In 1981, the Bob Sharp Racing team used a loophole in the rules to build a Datsun 280ZX inside the U.S. with a V8 engine from a Nissan President . The car was not a success, however, and it became obsolete when the new GTP category was created. TU would be phased out in 1976, TO the following year. Turbochargers were not permitted until

13224-610: Was invited to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2008 and driven by its period driver Justin Bell, in its Le Mans 1999 livery, when Justin drove this very car to second place in GTS. In November 2008 Florent Moulin entered it again in the GT90s Revival race at Paul Ricard , co-driven by another of its period drivers from Le Mans 1999, Marc Duez. In 2010, chassis 27 participated in the Goodwood Festival of Speed to celebrate

13340-511: Was made with the French racing and engineering firm Oreca, who had many years of experience in sports car racing as well as assistance in the Mazda 787B 's win in the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans . Oreca would construct and maintain the racing cars in their shops, as well as run Chrysler's official factory teams in Europe. For North America, Chrysler would recruit the Canaska / Southwind Team to operate

13456-578: Was the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit , opening in January 1906. The pear-shaped track was close to a mile in length, with slightly banked curves and a gravel surface of crushed cement. Brooklands , in Surrey, England, was the first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing venue, opening in June 1907. It featured a 4.43 km (2.75 mi) concrete track with high-speed banked corners. One of

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