Photo by: Art Fleischmann
SRT (Street and Racing Technology) Motorsports closed critical ground in the IMSA TUDOR United Sports Car GTLM championship by finishing ahead of the series points leader in fifth and sixth place with the team's Dodge Viper SRT GTS-Rs in the Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) on Sunday.
Jonathan Bomarito and Kuno Wittmer overcame a penalty and off-course run through the VIR grass for a fifth-place finish in the No. 93 Viper. Marc Goossens and Dominik Farnbacher each led in the first half of the race and eventually crossed the finish line one spot behind their teammates in sixth place in the No. 91 Viper.
The fifth-place run for the No. 93 - its fifth-consecutive top-five finish this summer - moved both the team and its drivers to within six points of the GTLM class championship leader, which finished seventh on Sunday. Bomarito, Wittmer and the No. 93 team came into the race in second place in the championship eight points back but erased 25 percent of the gap with just two races remaining this season.
The finish was particularly rewarding considering the No. 93 served a drive-through penalty after a questionable call for avoidable contact with a slower GTD-class entry during Wittmer's opening shift. Bomarito later skirted disaster early in his stint when he wheel-hopped off a curb and nose-dived through the grass. Quick work by the SRT Motorsports crew, and a timely caution period shortly thereafter, kept the No. 93 in the race and the championship hunt.
Bomarito by Goossens
Bomarito passed Goossens for fifth in the race's final hour and the No. 91 served as the No. 93's wingman to the finish. The track position of the Vipers was particularly key in a late-race restart with just six minutes remaining that saw both Goossens and Bomarito stay ahead of any late challenges by the series points leader, who finished seventh.
Farnbacher charged from third to first on the race's opening lap and joined teammate Goossens in leading a race-high 50 laps in the No. 91 Viper. However, the team mistimed a call to the pits during a full-course caution period, which dropped the No. 91 from the top spot. Despite the incident, the teammates continued to race in the lead pack throughout the race.
SRT Motorsports next competes at Texas' Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, Sept. 20 for the 10th and penultimate event of the 2014 season for the IMSA TUDOR's GTLM class. The race can be seen on FOX Sports 1 at 4:00 p.m. EDT.
The season-ending race will be the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 4.
SRT
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments