Oreca Vipers Return for 2007 in GT2!

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After a successful rout in FIA GT3, the Dodge Viper is heading back to the big show courtesy of Oreca, Team Racing Box, and Mopar. This is a new GT2 spec version of the SRT-10 Viper Coupe, and not an extension of the wildly successful Competition Coupe program. Look forward to that V10 venom coursing through the grid in 2007! More news to come soon....

Read the current story at LMSR.net
 
Ahhh Layla's Keeper, barer of very, very good news! I wonder what this means for the Oreca Saleen program... double edged sword perhaps.
 
!!!!!Just one word from me: YES!!!!! I hope they come back with the red with white stripes!
 
Yes! This is great news! Hopefully a couple will replace the Viper GTS's racing down here.
 
Whoa! Didn´t see that one coming! Fantastic! I really, really hope they will do good in the FIA GT2. A new competitor is badly needed there!
 
Is this for FIA GT only or does it include Le Mans Series GT2 category? And also what the hell is FIA GT3? They have a GT3 category? I thought it was like G1, G2, GT2, or something, I don't know, confusing categories.
 
Great news, Layla's Keeper 👍

MustangSVT
And also what the hell is FIA GT3? They have a GT3 category? I thought it was like G1, G2, GT2, or something, I don't know, confusing categories.
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AFAIK, they don't race with the GT1/GT2 guys. It's a separate series. I wish I could tell you more about the series, but that's about all I know about it.
 
dougiemeats
Great news, Layla's Keeper 👍



AFAIK, they don't race with the GT1/GT2 guys. It's a separate series. I wish I could tell you more about the series, but that's about all I know about it.
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Oohhh separate series? I've never seen coverage of FIA GT3. I barely get any FIA GT at all over here, didn't know they had another series.
 
Yeah, the GT3 Series is actually pretty much shown nowhere except the country it's in, and maybe a surrounding one.
 
I hope they come back with the original Oreca colours of white/red/blue... but that is just me.

FIA GT3 is an international "amateur" championship featuring closer to stock than GT1/GT2 race cars. Cars in the class include Aston Martin DBRS9 (which was launched with the DB9 but as I understand it is not built by ProDrive), Corvette Z06.R, a brother of the American C6 and Z06.R's running in Speed World Challenge, and Ferrari F430. They do run with the GT Championship on occasion where they are labeled as the Guest class with the exception of (and I may be wrong here) at the 24 Hours of Spa where they keep their GT3 name (I'll have to double check that one). I would assume the car will come to North America, however all the good Saleen efforts are running in Europe and one would assume exactly the same thing about the Oreca, Saleen SHOULD be running in America.

EDIT: I believe FIA GT3 are broadcast on Eurosport or something along those lines... but I'll double check that as well.
 
You made my eyes light up when you mentioned Team Oreca. If any group of racers can pilot a Dodge Viper GTS-R to victory, let it be Team Oreca. They've won at just about the four major endurances most of us Americans follow: 24h of Daytona (they won in 2000 when it was on ESPN of all channels), 12h of Sebring, Petit Le Mans, and of course... the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They've had some rounds in the prototype ranks, but this is old school (as in late 1990s) Oreca- pilot a Viper, race in class, kick some ass! You dig?

I too liked the rather plain red with white stripes setup. A few more people seem to like the white car with the red and blue accents like with the 1999(?) Dodge Viper GTS-R. Think about the Oreca Viper in GT2 as far as what I'm talking about. The first thing I was thinking when I first seen this was "it's time for Corvette to sweat." But this is going to be a GT2 effort. No offense, but I'd hate to imagine a V10-powered beast compete in a lower rank. I also think it's about time we see a racing variant of the latest Viper and not the convertible model.

I'm sorry. I've gotten all of this mixed up. I thought they were coming back to the ALMS or something. I deeply apologize. I just got overexcited in seeing Team Oreca race Vipers again. I still think it's pretty cool to see how Team Oreca has been in recent times.
 
JohnBM01
You made my eyes light up when you mentioned Team Oreca. If any group of racers can pilot a Dodge Viper GTS-R to victory, let it be Team Oreca. They've won at just about the four major endurances most of us Americans follow: 24h of Daytona (they won in 2000 when it was on ESPN of all channels), 12h of Sebring, Petit Le Mans, and of course... the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They've had some rounds in the prototype ranks, but this is old school (as in late 1990s) Oreca- pilot a Viper, race in class, kick some ass! You dig?

I too liked the rather plain red with white stripes setup. A few more people seem to like the white car with the red and blue accents like with the 1999(?) Dodge Viper GTS-R. Think about the Oreca Viper in GT2 as far as what I'm talking about. The first thing I was thinking when I first seen this was "it's time for Corvette to sweat." But this is going to be a GT2 effort. No offense, but I'd hate to imagine a V10-powered beast compete in a lower rank. I also think it's about time we see a racing variant of the latest Viper and not the convertible model.

I'm sorry. I've gotten all of this mixed up. I thought they were coming back to the ALMS or something. I deeply apologize. I just got overexcited in seeing Team Oreca race Vipers again. I still think it's pretty cool to see how Team Oreca has been in recent times.
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There has been no confirmation on where the car will be running. I would assume they would run in America, however... see my most recent post.

It won't be the convertable car. The SRT-10 Coupe is just that. A factory Coupe. I may have misunderstood what you said however, "I also think it's about time we see a racing variant of the latest Viper and not the convertible model." If I did, please excuse me.
 
ooooo god I can't wait. I got a bunch of the old Oreca Vipers in model form, and its about time they came back to dominate on the track!
 
Jonerz
I hope they come back with the original Oreca colours of white/red/blue... but that is just me.

FIA GT3 is an international "amateur" championship featuring closer to stock than GT1/GT2 race cars. Cars in the class include Aston Martin DBRS9 (which was launched with the DB9 but as I understand it is not built by ProDrive), Corvette Z06.R, a brother of the American C6 and Z06.R's running in Speed World Challenge, and Ferrari F430. They do run with the GT Championship on occasion where they are labeled as the Guest class with the exception of (and I may be wrong here) at the 24 Hours of Spa where they keep their GT3 name (I'll have to double check that one). I would assume the car will come to North America, however all the good Saleen efforts are running in Europe and one would assume exactly the same thing about the Oreca, Saleen SHOULD be running in America.

EDIT: I believe FIA GT3 are broadcast on Eurosport or something along those lines... but I'll double check that as well.
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Not on Eurosport...sadly. I think it´s aired on Motors TV or something like that. For more info on GT3, go here.

About the Oreca effort: I assume LMS and possibly ALMS will get a share of the action aswell. At least Sebring and probably Le Mans.

JohnBM01
You made my eyes light up when you mentioned Team Oreca. If any group of racers can pilot a Dodge Viper GTS-R to victory, let it be Team Oreca. They've won at just about the four major endurances most of us Americans follow: 24h of Daytona (they won in 2000 when it was on ESPN of all channels), 12h of Sebring, Petit Le Mans, and of course... the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They've had some rounds in the prototype ranks, but this is old school (as in late 1990s) Oreca- pilot a Viper, race in class, kick some ass! You dig?

I too liked the rather plain red with white stripes setup. A few more people seem to like the white car with the red and blue accents like with the 1999(?) Dodge Viper GTS-R. Think about the Oreca Viper in GT2 as far as what I'm talking about. The first thing I was thinking when I first seen this was "it's time for Corvette to sweat." But this is going to be a GT2 effort. No offense, but I'd hate to imagine a V10-powered beast compete in a lower rank. I also think it's about time we see a racing variant of the latest Viper and not the convertible model.
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They raced le Mans in an Audi R8 last year IIRC, and they have been running a Saleen S7R in the FIA GT1 this season, with modest results.
I think we can expect the white/blue/red livery on the Vipers, since that is what they have been using as of late.
 
You´re right! My bad! They didn´t even run in FIA GT! I mixed it up with the Zakspeed Saleens. I strongly remembered that Orecas Saleen had a white base on it, but it´s blue! I sure hope they won´t use the same livery for the Vipers, ´cos damn... that´s ugly! If they have to have some blu, go for the R8 colorcombination!
Team Oreca Saleen S7R
donington20060827055mj3.jpg

Audi R8 Team Oreca
lemans20050619004xw9.jpg
 
T666, you know there used to be a blue Playstation sponsored Oreca Viper. It didn't look all that bad, but the red livery they ran, along with the white/red/blue are seen to be the coolest.

The Chamberlain black/yellow was awesome!
 
Blue is beautiful... and that Team Oreca Saleen is as beautiful as blue can get. I'd love to see their Viper painted up like the Oreca Saleen in Post #20. Now to show you what I've been talking about in terms of Team Oreca paintschemes, have a look here at a little Team Oreca retrospect:

TEAM ORECA'S LE MANS RACING HISTORY SINCE 1996

--- 1996: Chrysler Viper GTS-R ---
#50: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1996/Le_Mans-1996-06-16-050.jpg
#51: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1996/Le_Mans-1996-06-16-051.jpg
* A #52 Oreca Viper did not show up according to racingsportscars.com.


--- 1997: Chrysler Viper GTS-R ---
#61 (USA Entry): http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1997/Le_Mans-1997-06-15-061.jpg
#62 (USA Entry): http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1997/Le_Mans-1997-06-15-062.jpg
#63 (FRA Entry): http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1997/Le_Mans-1997-06-15-063.jpg


--- 1998: Chrysler Viper GTS-R (the more popular paintscheme) ---
#50: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1998/Le_Mans-1998-06-07-050.jpg
#51: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1998/Le_Mans-1998-06-07-051.jpg
#53: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1998/Le_Mans-1998-06-07-053.jpg (GT2 Winner)
* A #52 Oreca did not show up according to racingsportscars.com.


--- 1999: Chrysler Viper GTS-R (all except #50 feature the popular scheme) ---
#50: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1999/Le_Mans-1999-06-13-050.jpg
#51: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1999/Le_Mans-1999-06-13-051.jpg (GTS Winner)
#52: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1999/Le_Mans-1999-06-13-052.jpg
#53: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1999/Le_Mans-1999-06-13-053.jpg


--- 2000: Reynard 2KQ and Chrysler Viper GTS-R ---
#5: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/2000/Le_Mans-2000-06-18-005.jpg
#6: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/2000/Le_Mans-2000-06-18-006.jpg
#51: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/2000/Le_Mans-2000-06-18-051.jpg (GTS Winner)
#52: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/2000/Le_Mans-2000-06-18-052.jpg
#53: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/2000/Le_Mans-2000-06-18-053.jpg


--- 2001: Chrysler LMP ---
#14: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/2001/Le_Mans-2001-06-17-014.jpg
#15: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/2001/Le_Mans-2001-06-17-015.jpg
* One Chrysler LMP did not show up according to racingsportscars.com.


--- 2002: Dallara LMP ---
#14: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/2002/Le_Mans-2002-06-16-014.jpg
#15: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/2002/Le_Mans-2002-06-16-015.jpg


(did not race Le Mans in 2003)
(did not race Le Mans in 2004)


--- 2005: Audi R8 ---
#4: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/2005/Le_Mans-2005-06-19-004.jpg


(did not race Le Mans in 2006)



So they've been around the block before several times. I've highlighted the 1998 scheme since it's the style most people like best. Since you're such great people, I'm throwing in a few bonus Viper GTS-R shots. Check out these from Chamberlain Engineering:

#64 from 1997: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1997/Le_Mans-1997-06-15-064.jpg
#55 from 1998: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1998/Le_Mans-1998-06-07-055.jpg
#56 from 1998: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1998/Le_Mans-1998-06-07-056.jpg

So that's more Viper love than you can handle.
 
I've got to give props to our friend JohnBM for doing the "leg-work" and getting all of those pictures. I must say, though this is slightly biased as I have the model, the number 55 United Colors of Beneton is my prefered car of the Chamberlin bunch, but that is just me.
 
Okay, more news.

Marco Frezza, Alberto Cerrai, and Gabriele Sabatini will pilot the Team Racing Box GT2 Viper at the Barcelona GT Open this weekend in its competition debut. Also, Dodge Motorsport Europe has stated its full involvement in the project, and are investigating the potential for the GT3 to GT2 conversion (apparently, the cars begin as Viper Competition Coupes, and are then rebodied to more closely resemble the production coupe) to compete in series other than the FIA GT, including American series.

So..... LMS, JLMC, Grand Am, and ALMS all should be considered as possible destinations for this project as it's apparently a combination Oreca/factory project to develop the existing Competition Coupe into a homologated GT2 customer car.

Things just keep looking up, I think!
 
I hope it gets into ALMS and Grand Am. But my concern is, with all Grand Am leaning to their "Prep 2" GT rules wouldn't that, pardon the pun, rule out the Viper? Unless of course, they used the Viper body on one of the "Prep 2" chassis from Crawford or whoever. Sidenote, I am unclear on what "Prep 2" will do to the GA GT class for example are the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup cars going to be outlawed as we know it or do I have it all wrong, could someone explain?

Thanks,
 
Umm, Jonerz, where you've completely missed the point is on why the Prep 2 cars are called "Prep 2".

"Prep" is short for "Preparation", or in other words, the method of preparing the car for GT competition. There are also, in the Grand Am rulebook, "Prep 1" rules for production-modified race cars like the Porsche 911GT3 Cup car or the Ferrari 430 Challenge cars.

Grand Am is not leaning towards Prep 2, but instead Prep 2's chassis rules make for a less expensive, longer lived, more readily competitive machine than a Prep 1.

As evidenced by the 996's recent trouncing in ALMS competition, a "Prep 1" GT car is only as good as the road cars around it, and is easily overtaken by the introduction of a new car. In order to offset this and keep teams competing longer with existing equipment, "Prep 2" was created so that teams could continue on with the same chassis for a good long time.

The engine rules in Prep 2, though, are extremely restrictive so that the cars don't run away with the class. If the Viper were to come to Grand Am, it would be a Prep 1 car, undoubtedly running the same sealed Mopar-crate program V10 used by Speed World Challenge.
 
Interesting. Thank you for clearing that up. I'm going to look more into the GT regulations. At first I saw the GT class merely as a road car with the back seat taken out, decals thrown on the side, and a wing on the back.
 
Unfortunately, Jonerz, that's Showroom Stock club racing, lol.

GT cars are usually pretty radically modified. ACO/FIA GT2 cars have onboard air jacks, one way telemetry, centerlock wheels, multi-piston monoblock brake calipers, advanced remote resevoir coilover dampers, widened fenders with deeper air dams, and on and on down the list.

These are cars like the F430GTC, 911GT3RSR, and the TVR Tuscan T400R, highly modified from their production counterparts, to the point that the factory unibody is the only remaining stock component.

GARRA (Grand American Road Racing Association) took one look at the rapid advancement of the GT2 cars and backpedaled the rulebook. 911's are limited to the GT3Cup cars in engine, chassis, and body spec, even going so far as to demand they keep five lug wheels. This is all in the interest of a cheaper, safer race car with a longer shelf life.
 
So, with "Prep 2" the cars will or will not be using stock body work? Reading the rules confused me. At one point I started getting the impression the "Prep 2" cars would be similar to Trans Am cars in that they have chassis completely different from their road going counter parts and silhouette bodies that are only supposed to keep certain shapes/similarities to their road going counter parts.

That, compared to "Prep 1" who seem to be essentially N-GT, GTC, or GT3 type cars. It would appear though, as I understand it now, with the "Prep 1" cars given-team is fairly limited. The rules appear to stipulate you get the car and can put your decals on it, put in a custom fitted driver seat and you're off (except for the possibility of ballast weight being added.) This being said, one would assume that this, if not illegal would been seen as a money pit by teams racing in GARRA and would slowly be killed off of the race track by there "Prep 2" contemporaries.

Were "Prep 2" cars being used last year? As I recall the examples that GARRA used to explain "Prep 2" were Nissan 350z, Infiniti G35, Ford Mustang, and Mazda RX-8. The last of which ran I believe the first half of last season.

Was that a "Prep 2" car, and am I getting the right impression? If so, is the "Prep 2" deal the wave of the future or will "Prep 1" cars always be legal?
Kind of like what happened with prototype racing in GA following the advent of the DP's.

If the SRT-10 Coupe is supposed to be a FIA/LM GT2 car wouldn't common sense say "why go through all the trouble of taking a Comp Coupe, making it an SRT-10 Coupe and then either a) making it "Prep 2" friendly or b) making it "Prep 1" friendly when they could just take the already successful Comp Coupe and make it GARRA "Prep 1" friendly?"

Common sense would dictate if Leighton Reese can run his 'Vette in GARRA GT than couldn't anyone run a Comp Coupe in GT? As I understand it Leighton's GT car is the exact same car as his World Challenge GT car with the exception of Tires and maybe a pound or two of ballast here and there.. but ballast would be the only variable.

(Sorry about making common knowledge seem like a real thinking body... that just helps me illustrate my point.)
 
Stock appearing body panels with a few GARRA-approved changes (airdam, wing, rear bumper) are mandated by Prep 2 rules. Also, a Prep 2 car runs an extremely limited engine package. The TRG/Krohn Pontiac GTO.R's, for instance, actually run a nearly stock LS2.

So far, there have been a few different Prep 2 cars competing in the Rolex series. The very first Prep 2 car was the Goldin Bros. RX8. This was followed by the Pratt & Miller prepared Pontiac GTO.R's.

Of which there are four, two campaigned by TRG/Krohn (championship winning cars, now) and two campaigned by Pacific Coast Motorsports. Also, there were several Prep2 Corvettes, a Pontiac Grand Am from Canada, and the Speedsource/Riley Mazda RX8, and the completely different GTO's of team Horizon.

This year, we're looking forward to the arrival of the HLM Crawford chassis Infiniti G35 whose car was at the Daytona test days this past week.

Prep 1 cars will always be legal, especially as one of GARRA's founding tenets is allowing privateers' equipment to stay competitive for years (hence why the DP's will get chassis/aerodynamic updates next year and Sabre will construct all new DP's, but all current DP's will remain legal until 2012).

As far as the Viper is concerned, the Competition Coupe's bodywork would be totally illegal in GARRA competition (the big tunnelback rear end is 100% dissimilar to the street SRT10 Coupe) and the Oreca GT2 conversion corrects this. In the simplest terms, a GARRA-spec version of the GT2 Viper would be a Prep 1 car, very similar under the skin to a Speed World Challenge VCC, but tuned to use Hoosier slicks instead of Toyo DOT's.
 

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