SRT Motorsports - 24 Hours of Le Mans - Final Race Quotes

June 22, 2013 , LE MANS, France -  Ralph Gilles, President & CEO, SRT (Street and Racing Technology) Brand and Motorsports
“What an unbelievable race. To get both cars back in one piece shows that everyone over-performed in my book. We were hoping for a strong finish and we got that. No one on the team ever got frazzled or lost focus even with all the challenges we faced over the 24 hours. Most of the pit stops we saw looked to me like we’ve been doing them together for 10 years. The entire team stepped it up and everybody feels so proud of the effort. Le Mans is amazing – and the 24 hours feels like an entire race season squeezed into one day. To have both cars finish the race makes me feel extremely proud and also shows the future promise of this team.

“The reception that our SRT (Street and Racing Technology) Motorsports team received here in France over the last month has been phenomenal and I think people believe that we belong on this world stage of sports car racing.”

Russ Ruedisueli – Head of Engineering, SRT Brand and Motorsports
“Our big goal for this race was to finish. You know some people took that for granted. We respect this place and the high level of competition. So to finish both cars is fantastic. We worked through a lot of issues. The guys never gave up; I think that’s a testament to what this team is all about. It’s a very young team. A lot of these folks have never been to this place before let alone done a 24-hour race. Just a really, really big day for us. I’m really proud of the whole team.”

HOW BIG OF AN ENGINEERING ACCOMPLISHMENT IS IT FOR BOTH CARS TO FINISH THIS RACE? “We always think that we’ve done all our homework and we’ve got everything ready but this place is the ultimate test. We did a bunch of 24-hour dyno testing on the motors, we’ve got lots of reliability data on the frames and the bodies and the subsystems. But this is a real test so to come out of here with two cars in one piece is a really, really good deal.”

Beth Paretta – Director of Marketing and Operations, SRT Brand and Motorsports
"This is an international platform that puts SRT on display in front of the entire world. SRT is the best that Chrysler LLC has to offer and to compete on such a global stage is important to showcase the brand and its products. To survive Le Mans for 24 hours in our first trip here as a brand is almost near impossible. I think we showed the world our world-class race team and world-class race cars."

Matt Bejnarowicz – Lead Engineer, SRT Motorsports
"I'm speechless. It's very emotional. To be a part of this race has been a life-long dream of mine and to share it with this race team is very special. It has been such a team effort. We have had to overcome a lot of odds to even get to Le Mans. This team took on a great challenge and did everything we needed to make this possible. Coming to compete at Le Mans for the first time as a team is no easy feat. I'm proud of every person who set finger on any part of this program. What an honor to come to Le Mans and compete with two SRT Viper GTS-Rs."

Gary Johnson – SRT Motorsports Racing Manager
“It’s a great team effort. The guys all worked so hard to get here. We had a great show. For both cars to finish, especially with all the conditions, shows how strong the drivers and the team designing the cars were and how great the crew was servicing ‘em. Overall, a great experience.

“I think just knowing we can get here and do this is going to be a great feather in our cap. I think the ALMS program is going to be all that much more to us; I think we’ll have a good chance of doing really well there. We’ve got a race in 13 days so we’ve got to get back home and get the cars back together. It should be a great season.”

Bill Riley, VP and Chief Engineer, Riley Technologies
WHAT A GREAT JOURNEY FOR YOUR COMPANY AND THE SRT TEAM. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO COME TO LE MANS AND COMPETE THE WAY THAT YOUR TEAM DID? "It's very special. It's such tough competition. To compete and finish with both cars in our first race at Le Mans is very special. I wish there would have been a better result but I'm not going to focus too much on that right now. Everybody worked hard and worked together as a team. We learned a lot this week and the weeks leading up to the 24 (Hours of Le Mans). This experience is going to make us stronger and will be a great stepping stone for everyone associated with the SRT program.

“It’s a pretty good day. It’s a big day for the team. I think the team is going to grow a lot from this. I think it’s going to get stronger; I think we’re going to have a pretty strong effort moving forward because of this. I wished we would have had a better day but I didn’t want to be greedy.”

HOW DOES COMPETING AT LE MAN THIS SEASON HELP FOR NEXT YEAR? “It’s huge. I’ve been here before, guys on the team had been here before, but now we’ve got a real solid place to go from.”

HOW SPECIAL WAS TODAY FOR BILL RILEY? “It’s big. I don’t think it will be the biggest racing day of my life until I win it but it’s big. It’s definitely up there.”

Dominik Farnbacher – No. 53 SRT Viper GTS-R
TALK ABOUT THE PERFORMANCES OF THIS SRT TEAM AT THE 24 HOUR OF LE MANS THIS WEEKEND? "The Viper ran great. No big problems. The car ran great without any incidences. I could go exactly the same speed as the Corvette, even a bit quicker. During my last stint I caught the car ahead of me and I tried to get the rivalry on TV (laughs) but my stint was too short. My Michelin tires were fantastic all week. Thanks to all of our partners who helped make this program work. I think for our first 24 hour race with a new car, it's a great accomplishment."

HOW WAS THE RACING? "It was very tough, very difficult situations all race. It was dropping rain in some corners and in other corners it was dry. It was very hard mentally because you never knew what the next corner was going to be like. Would it be quicker? Would it be slower? Is there rain? You only see a little bit of sprinkle on the windshield and then the next turn it’s dry. Very challenging racing conditions; it was always a gamble. Tire choice was key and our team did a great job giving us the right tire. We never went off course and the tire was great. It was one of the toughest races that I've ever competed in. The car was fantastic."

YOUR TEAM DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF ON-TRACK PRACTICE TIME THIS WEEK BUT MANAGED TO RUN ALL 24 HOURS WITHOUT A MAJOR INCIDENT: "For sure. Our team was fantastic all week. It was very difficult. My team colleagues Marc (Goossens) and Ryan (Dalziel) are just stunning race car drivers. They’re world-class racers. They never make mistakes and run with great pace. It was a difficult day for me personally and my teammates were there for me all day. My team, the engineers, everybody was there for me. I'm so proud to be a part of this SRT team."

Tommy Kendall – No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R
FOR A RACE TEAM THAT HAS ONLY SEVEN EVENTS UNDER ITS BELT, WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT THIS WEEK AT LE MANS: "Incredible. A year ago this team was put together and the car ran for the first time. It's a huge undertaking. For a new enterprise to accomplish competing the way that we have at Le Mans is amazing. This team has worked so hard to get to this race and be competitive. Everyone reacted to a new experience on the world's biggest endurance race stage and performed flawlessly. It's really encouraging."

WHAT DID RACING AT LE MANS THIS YEAR MEAN TO YOU? "To come here with this team and race the way that we did is just amazing. The changing conditions really made it difficult; I can't ever remember a race that was as challenging as Le Mans this year. Our team took on the challenge and performed great. To be able to run as long as we did and bring home a very respectful finish with such a young team is a major bucket list item checked off."

TALK ABOUT YOUR PERFORMANCE AT LE MANS? "I wasn't really happy with my first stint. In reflection, I think a major part of that was because we were on the mediums (tires) and they
weren't in the temperature range. I struggled. The next stint I had to run in the rain with slicks on and I just did everything I could to keep it pointed straight. I had a decent stint after that, but a scary moment when the tire went down. Finally this morning I got a solid stint, the right tires, clean track and was able to string a bunch of laps together. It's a nice final taste in my mouth."
 
TALK ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SRT VIPER GTS-R AND HOW IT WAS ABLE TO COME TO LE MANS AND COMPETE FOR 24 HOURS: "Incredible. There are a lot of things going on in these cars, a lot of systems. Everybody looks at that big V-10, but there are a lot of pieces moving around. The pace of this race - at all levels - is just so fast. We're 10-tense all the time. For a car to stand up to 24 hours here like the Viper did is really impressive."

4:00.00 In-Race Quotes #5

SRT Motorsports Racing Manager Gary Johnson and No. 93 SRT Viper GTS-R driver Jonathan Bomarito comment on the first 20 hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Gary Johnson – SRT Motorsports Racing Manager
“I think the team is doing really well. We’ve accomplished a lot by going this far. Pit stops have been really good and the drivers are putting in some great laps. We’ll go on from here and hopefully finish well in this race.”

Jonathan Bomarito – No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R
HOW WAS YOUR FIRST RACE AT LE MANS? “It’s been awesome. It’s been a tough year for Le Mans with everything that happened this morning. But you set all that aside and my driving experience has been good. It’s an amazing place with a lot of history. It’s a dream come true to be a part of it and get to compete here.”

WHAT IS THE MAIN THING THAT YOU LEARNED THIS YEAR THAT WILL HELP YOU HERE IN THE FUTURE? “Just comfort. Getting some extended stints, what it takes with a three-driver routine. This is the first 24-hour I’ve done with three drivers. Driving at night here and in the rain, we got the whole gamut of it. I feel pretty confident that I’ve kind of seen everything this place has to offer so I’ll come back with a lot more confidence.”

HOW FRUSTRATING TO YOU ARE THE CAUTIONS AND DELAYS? “It’s hard to get in a rhythm, especially with those long guardrail fixes, the rain and switching tires back and forth. It’s just hard to get in a rhythm but you have to keep marching on; Mother Nature you can’t control.

“I think everybody would like to have finished a little higher up but the race isn’t over yet though. We still have four more hours. Everybody at SRT has worked incredibly hard and I want to thank everyone. It takes an incredible effort to get the cars here and do the job that they’ve done.”

8:00.00 In-Race Quotes #4

SRT Motorsports Racing Manager Gary Johnson and No. 93 SRT Viper GTS-R driver Tommy Kendall comment on the first 16 hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Gary Johnson – SRT Motorsports Racing Manager
“The 53 car came in for a quick stop since the last time we talked and everything went fine with
that; they’re back out on the track. The 93 had problems with a tire going down and getting stuck in the gravel trap, then coming back and having to get it cleaned up and have the bodywork repaired. He had a long way to get back because he was under pretty slow power because he had the tire down. He made it back and we patched it up. We should be good to go; we’ll continue on.”

Tommy Kendall – No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra Viper GTS-R
“Wow that was wild. I got in the car and the yellow came out right away and there was a long, long yellow. Then it started to rain. The reason for the lengthy yellow was they had to fix the guardrail again. Pretty soon the whole track was wet and everybody peeled in; I was the only car behind my pace car. We don’t have any intermediate tires so they said if you can stay out, stay out; just be really careful.

“When it went green, it was treacherous. I said I can keep it on the road but we I’ll have to be careful. Most of that stint, it was wet or with cold tires. The track finally started to dry when I came in and fueled up. From that point on it was pretty good. I actually had fun. The soft tires were the right tires. I now realize part of why I struggled so bad in the first stint was being on the mediums when it got cold.

“We had about four or five laps to go and then, going into Mulsanne, I had a left-rear go down on me right as I hit the brakes – which got my attention – and did a tank-slapper but kept it pointed straight. I almost got it slowed down but I didn’t and it ended up in the gravel. They pulled me out really quickly and then limping back at 20 miles an hour when those guys are sailing by you. I know the radios are telling ‘em they do a great job flagging but it’s just a little bit nerve-racking.

“But we got it back. Not quite sure why the tire went down. It must have been a puncture. There was no warning whatsoever. That was our first real glitch of the day.”

12:00.00 In-Race Quotes #3

SRT Motorsports Racing Manager Gary Johnson and No. 93 SRT Viper GTS-R driver Kuno Wittmer comment on the first 12 hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At the midway point of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the No. 93 SRT Viper GTS-R is P10 and the No. 53 SRT Viper GTS-R is P11 in LM GTE Pro Class.

Gary Johnson – SRT Motorsports Racing Manager
“Well we’re doing great so far tonight. The weather has gotten a little cooler and the cars are really moving well. We’re triple-stinting some of the tires and the drivers so we’re making up time that way, too. We have to watch certain things, especially the engine temperature, make sure it isn’t too cool so we’ve been taping up some of the grills to take care of that.”

Kuno Wittmer – No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R
“Definitely a good last three stints for the SRT team and the Viper. You know usually when you do three stints in any other car you get pretty wiped out but in a Viper you don’t. Luckily we have a good car, comfortable driving it and go fast in it. We didn’t quite have the start that we wanted to the race but I think it’s slowly changing into our direction and the car’s really favoring these temperatures and the tire selections and the chassis adjustments we’ve been doing. So we’re going to keep cracking off some laps, keep running fast, keep running hard and let’s see where it takes us at 3 p.m. on Sunday.”

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THIS RACE THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN COMING INTO IT BECAUSE YOU JUST DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH DATA? “We come back here again it’s going to be a different story, a totally different circus. It is so valuable to run here previously in a race and you learn so much: temperature change, rain, everything. Everything plays into the effect of a car and I think we’re lacking a little bit straight-line speed right now compared to the other competitors. But you know when I was running with the front runners, the top three cars before, I would catch them everywhere in the brakes and everywhere in the corners so we’re dominating them everywhere in the handling department and braking. It’s just that we need some straight line speed.”

16:00.00 In-Race Quotes #2

SRT Motorsports Racing Manager Gary Johnson, No. 93 SRT Viper GTS-R drivers Jonathan Bomarito and Tommy Kendall and No. 53 SRT Viper GTS-R driver Ryan Dalziel comment on the first nine hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Gary Johnson – SRT Motorsports Racing Manager
“We had a tough couple of hours right there, a couple of miscues and it put us down a couple of laps. But it’s a long race and we’ll keep plugging away. The 53 car went off into a gravel trap coming into the pit area. We came in, finished off the pit stop, went back out and realized that the alternator pulley belt was cut. A rock got between the pulley and the belt. We had to come back in and change the belt. The car was actually brought back into the garage. Then, we had a problem with the door not getting closed all the way, so we had to come in again.”

THE GOOD PART ABOUT A RACE OF THIS LENGTH IS THAT YOU CAN MAKE UP A GOOD BIT OF DISTANCE. “Well, it’s going to take a while. You don’t want to wish bad luck on anybody but things happen to other cars too. Hopefully, we’ll keep clean and make it to the end without any more incidents.”

Jonathan Bomarito – No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R
THIS WAS YOUR FIRST STINT EVER AT LE MANS. HOW WAS THE EXPERIENCE? “It was amazing and tough all at once. The first stint was hard. There was a constant little mist on the track but just in certain corners. That really messes with your head quite a bit. The car is good. The guys are doing a good job. We just need to keep our heads down and keep pounding away laps.”

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO MAKE THAT DECISION TO PUT THE WET TIRES ON? “I think it was right at the end of Kuno’s (Wittmer) stint when it started to get pretty wet and we went to wets (tires). But even when the track looks really wet, it can dry really fast. We went to wets, it dried really fast, we hurt the wet tires and lost too much time right there. That was a learning lesson for Le Mans and this track. We won’t make that mistake again.”
 
HOW WAS THE CAR ONCE THE TRACK DRIED AND YOU PUT DRY TIRES BACK ON? “The car is good, has a good balance. We just did a triple-stint on a set of tires and it stayed pretty quick the whole time. I’m pretty happy with the car. It’s just a long, long race. We’re just a little over five hours or so into this.”

Tommy Kendall – No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R
HOW WAS YOUR STINT? “It was alright. It got off to a hurky-jerky start with a couple yellows right in a row and it was tough for me. I struggled getting a rhythm in terms of traffic.

“Traffic affected me a fair amount, so I wasn’t happy with my speed. I just kept telling myself gas and tires, gas and tires; that’s the only reason we want to come into the box. It’s a long way to go to the end. I’m going to get some fluids, food, a rub-down and some sleep.”

Ryan Dalziel – No. 53 SRT Viper GTS-R
“It went pretty well. We’re sticking to our own plan trying to get the two cars to the finish, trying to keep them on pace and see where we end up. The 53 car has just been involved in a couple of different little incidents but we’re going to keep plucking away. To get to the end in these things, you have to fight. We’ve got a group of fighters here at SRT Motorsports. We’ll keep plugging away; a long way to go, obviously. A lot of cars in front and lot of cars behind us so I think we’re pretty proud of the job we’ve done so far.

“That’s the most running I’ve done this week, based on the weather, so it was nice to get a couple of stints under my belt. I’m going to feel much better getting my next stint now. But the car is actually really nice. I guess we’ve been scratching our heads a little bit on where we need to find our biggest gains; I think we have an idea of what we need to work on. The car is nice to drive right now so I don’t think you’re going to see too many mental mistakes from the drivers.”

HOW BIG OF AN ACCOMPLISHMENT IS IT TO SIMPLY FINISH THIS RACE? “Well, I think the first goal for anybody coming to this race is to finish. If we can finish both cars, that’s a double bonus. Anything position-wise is icing on the cake. This is a tough race. You know the weather, everything has kind of gone against us this week.

“But you know the beauty of this program is SRT is in it for the long haul, they’re in it to stay. Let’s hope we get two good results for the 93 and the 53 and we’ll move on to the next one.”

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE HERE AT LE MANS AT NIGHT? “Really, it’s always the Protypes. I’ve been on both ends of the grid here and it’s definitely much tougher when you’re a GT car having to deal with the kind of depth perception of the Audis coming up behind you. We’re not really battling for a podium position right now. We’re definitely going to be on cruise control a little bit just trying to make sure we take care of the equipment and take advantage of anybody else’s misfortune at this point.”

20:00.00 In-Race Quotes #1

SRT Motorsports Racing Manager Gary Johnson and SRT Viper GTS-R drivers Marc Goossens and Kuno Wittmer comment on the first four hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
 
Gary Johnson – SRT Motorsports Racing Manager
“We’ve been trying to predict the weather and it’s been difficult to do to say the least. We actually had the 93 car going with intermediate rains (tires) and that wasn’t the right choice so they came in and switched out. Right now it’s raining in Turns 1 and 2, so a lot of cars are going off there. But overall I think the cars have done really well. The 53 car showed that it could get past some of the other competitors. We are playing a little bit of a safe game here, not stretching the range more than we should; just want to get the laps in and whittling away on the other competitors.”

THE CHOICE OF TIRES WHEN SOME OF THE TRACK IS DRY AND OTHER PARTS ARE WET IS A VERY DIFFCULT DECISION. “It is and the drivers give us some feedback but they are not really aware of what’s coming with the next half-hour or hour of weather is going to be. Everybody takes a good guess and sometimes you make it and sometimes you don’t.”

OVERALL ARE YOU PLEASED WITH THE START OF THE RACE? “I am. The cars have shown good durability. We are right where we need to be on range and the drivers are doing a fantastic job so I’m real happy.”

Marc Goossens – No. 53 SRT Viper GTS-R
YOU WERE PASSING CARS FOR POSITION WHEN HALF THE TRACK WAS WET AND THE OTHER HALF WAS DRY. “I had a good run. That’s why I asked over the radio what are my lap times compared to somebody else because it feels like it’s that slow and they told me it was way faster than any GT car. But it’s good to have that communication because then you know you can pace yourself at the speed that you’re doing but man the conditions are changing so quickly. It rains a little bit over there and dry over there. I didn’t feel like I was taking any risks.

“I just got into a good flow, into a good rhythm. The car is pretty decent. We just have to look after our tires because we try to triple-stint them right now and you know we have to be cautious. If we get a triple-stint that’s completely dry and no safety car, we may not make it on one set of tires for three stints. It’s something else we’ll probably learn later on in the race because we didn’t have a chance to do that. These guys prepped the car so well it’s running right now like a Swiss clock. It’s not moving at all. Mechanically everything feels fine. So far I’m confident.”

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO MAKE THAT DECISION TO CHANGE TIRES UNDER THESE CONDITIONS? “Well there are a lot of things that come into play. I mean, I could see other people struggle as well. I didn’t feel like I was struggling as much at the time so our car seems to like that maybe a little better than the others but it’s so tough to make a decision. I guess experience comes into play at that point but I felt pretty comfortable on those slicks all the time.”

DO THE CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS EQUALIZE EVERYTHING AMONG THE COMPETITORS? “I think a lot of it is to do with the setup that you run. We know we’re a little slower down the straightaways because of the drag that we have but then we make up elsewhere. Hopefully we can keep making the right decisions during the race and throughout the race and just take it from there.”