Traditional ‘Scrutineering’ Launches Le Mans 24 Hours Week; SRT Motorsports’ SRT Viper GTS-Rs Approved for Competition

June 15, 2013 , Le Mans, France -  The first step in Viper’s return to competition in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans is almost complete. The two-day scrutineering process began Sunday to officially kick off Le Mans 24 Hours Week.

Scrutineering, a form of inspection, is a compulsory step required in order to compete in the race and conducted at the Place de la Republique in downtown Le Mans. At the same time, drivers are required to participate in an administrative process. For the drivers, it’s a check of license and equipment while the 56 race cars (71 applications) receiving an invitation from the Automobile Club de I’Ouest (ACO) go through a full technical inspection. The popular event draws a huge crowd to the downtown streets.

SRT Motorsports is partnered with Riley Technologies, based in Mooresville, N.C., on the design-and-build process of the SRT Viper GTS-Rs. The two cars are competing full-time in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). The drivers for the No. 53 SRT Viper GTS-R are Marc Goossens, Dominik Farnbacher and Ryan Dalziel while the No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R will be driven by Kuno Wittmer, Jonathan Bomarito and Tommy Kendall.

Both SRT Viper GTS-Rs completed the scrutineering process without incident Sunday and five of the six drivers are approved for competition. Dalziel was the only driver absent as he was competing at Mid-Ohio on Sunday. He is scheduled to arrive in Paris Monday morning and take a train to Le Mans to complete the administrative check in the afternoon.
The week-long schedule includes practice on Wednesday, qualifying on Thursday and a parade through downtown Le Mans on Friday to set the stage for the 24-hour event, which gets the green flag on Saturday at 9 a.m. (EDT). The first race was held in 1923.

Two identically prepared SRT Viper GTS-Rs will compete at Le Mans for the first time since finishing one-two in the GTS class three consecutive years – 1998-2000. The Viper’s racing heritage began in 1996 with its first racing entry, the original GTS-R.

Fans can follow the 24 Hours of Le Mans on SPEED with live coverage starting at 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Saturday with only two breaks for motorsports updates. The race concludes Sunday at 9 a.m. (EDT).