SRT Motorsports - 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day Quotes - Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson – SRT Motorsports Racing Manager

“The practice day consisted of two four-hour sessions, one in the morning and the second in the afternoon.

“Since Le Mans has a rule that says if a driver hasn't driven the track before or hasn't driven the track in the last five years, they must complete 10 laps today. While this may seem fairly simple, SRT® Motorsports had three drivers in this situation and each driver stint would take at least 40 minutes. We wanted to run one or two extra laps as a security measure so add another 10 minutes. Now, if it rained, it could take another 10-15% longer to complete the driver qualifying. 

“Well, we had rain alright - and it was heavy at times in the morning. Any red flag condition for crashes on the course doesn't stop the clock so we were under the gun. Plus, in order to have a back-up car in case of an accident by any of the drivers, we focused on running just one car until TK (Tommy Kendall), Kuno (Wittmer) and Jonathan (Bomarito) were qualified. Tommy started, and I know it was pretty nerve-racking for him since he knew he had to bring it home for Kuno and Jonathan. He did a fantastic job, as did Kuno, and before you knew it Jonathan completed his 10 compulsory laps and that part of the story was over. A collective sigh of relief came from the team and they did it all within the morning session.

“The weather was still rough in the afternoon with hit and miss showers for the second half of the test day. But now we had all six drivers eligible for running the race in two weeks and we could focus on the car and driver fine tuning. We had excellent reliability with both cars. The Michelin tires and service were so good, the weather wasn’t an issue.” 

“The only times we stayed in the pit area was due to unfortunate competitor accidents which brought out the red flag. The time really flew in the afternoon. The crew did a stellar job with practice pit stops nearly every hour, with very competitive times all day. While we were somewhat worried about the range of the SRT Viper GTS-R, we found that we could make 13 laps around the course which was our goal. We have another practice in 10 days. We'll work until then to make any last minute updates that will help us for our next race - The 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“The team is really excited about the race – we’ve got a fantastic combination of car, drivers, and crew. While we know that we’re up against some really strong competitors, we have high hopes. We are honored to have been invited back to Le Mans and we want to represent the Viper community and fans with a finish we can all be proud of.”