Rich Wesorick
Enthusiast
The track, the weather, and the competition could not have been any better than it was this past weekend at the Viper Days™ club event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Over 60 Vipers from all over the country descended upon arguably the finest permanent road course in North America for two days of timed track time. Instructors (mostly local PCA members) were present for those desiring assistance in learning the highly technical track and about high-speed driving techniques. On the other end of the spectrum, many of the Vipers that showed up were full race-prepared machines, and several of their drivers have competed in various professional racing series’ including Speedvision World Challenge, ALMS, and Grand-Am. These cars and drivers were there primarily for the wheel-to-wheel races that were held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
One of the professional racers that attended the Viper Days™ event was 1999 World Challenge GT Champion Bobby Archer of ViperSpeed Racing. Archer, who is now racing a 2000 Viper GTS in SCCA T1 competition, thought the event would be an excellent opportunity to test his T1 Viper in preparation for the SCCA Valvoline Run-Offs at Mid-Ohio in September. In addition, Archer genuinely enjoys being around other Viper owners at the track and sharing his unique insight into the car and how to get the most out of it on the race course.
On Saturday afternoon, qualifications were held for the 4pm race. The race group consisted of 25 cars in two classes: GT1 for the more fully prepared cars, and GT2 for the less prepared cars like Archer’s T1 Viper. All the Vipers were dynoed to ensure they had stock V-10 motors, and were also put on the scales to ensure they met minimum weight requirements. Bobby qualified second in the GT2 class in his No. 32 SuperClubs Resorts/Bobby Archer Motorsports/ViperSpeed T1 Viper, a half-second behalf behind the reigning T1 Champion Freddy Baker who has switched from a Porsche 911 to a Viper for T1 competition this year.
Saturday’s race was eventful to say the least, with the two leaders in GT1 spinning out with four laps to go. As a consequence of this mishap, Archer, who had steadily closed up on Baker’s T1 Viper, got by Baker between Thunder Valley and the Carousel. Then, as Archer and Baker entered the Carousel, they made contact and ended up in the grass outside the turn. Archer stayed in the throttle and was able to re-enter the track ahead of Baker. Once in front of Baker, Archer pulled away from him in the remaining laps and won the race in the GT2 class, six spots behind the overall and GT1 class winner Jim McCann. Reportedly, Baker was sanctioned by the Viper Days™ organizers for initiating the contact with Archer, and would not compete in Sunday’s race.
During Sunday morning practice, Archer was busy making suspension adjustments to his Viper to improve the set-up of his car for the SCCA Run-Offs in September. The changes helped as he turned a 1:37.4 during Sunday’s race, which was reported to be an unofficial track record for a T1 car at Mid-Ohio. With an improved-handling car and less competition (i.e., no Freddy Baker), Archer had no problem winning the longer race on Sunday afternoon. He started and finished first in the GT2 class, eight spots behind the overall and GT1 class winner Phil De Lao.
Overall, the weekend was a lot of fun for all of the Viper owners and drivers. The weekend was particularly good for Bobby Archer who won both races in his class and left knowing he has an excellent car and set-up for the upcoming SCCA Valvoline Run-Offs, where he will compete for the National Championship in the T1 class.
More information on Bobby Archer and the ViperSpeed team can be found at www.bobbyarchermotorsports.com and www.viperspeed.com.
One of the professional racers that attended the Viper Days™ event was 1999 World Challenge GT Champion Bobby Archer of ViperSpeed Racing. Archer, who is now racing a 2000 Viper GTS in SCCA T1 competition, thought the event would be an excellent opportunity to test his T1 Viper in preparation for the SCCA Valvoline Run-Offs at Mid-Ohio in September. In addition, Archer genuinely enjoys being around other Viper owners at the track and sharing his unique insight into the car and how to get the most out of it on the race course.
On Saturday afternoon, qualifications were held for the 4pm race. The race group consisted of 25 cars in two classes: GT1 for the more fully prepared cars, and GT2 for the less prepared cars like Archer’s T1 Viper. All the Vipers were dynoed to ensure they had stock V-10 motors, and were also put on the scales to ensure they met minimum weight requirements. Bobby qualified second in the GT2 class in his No. 32 SuperClubs Resorts/Bobby Archer Motorsports/ViperSpeed T1 Viper, a half-second behalf behind the reigning T1 Champion Freddy Baker who has switched from a Porsche 911 to a Viper for T1 competition this year.
Saturday’s race was eventful to say the least, with the two leaders in GT1 spinning out with four laps to go. As a consequence of this mishap, Archer, who had steadily closed up on Baker’s T1 Viper, got by Baker between Thunder Valley and the Carousel. Then, as Archer and Baker entered the Carousel, they made contact and ended up in the grass outside the turn. Archer stayed in the throttle and was able to re-enter the track ahead of Baker. Once in front of Baker, Archer pulled away from him in the remaining laps and won the race in the GT2 class, six spots behind the overall and GT1 class winner Jim McCann. Reportedly, Baker was sanctioned by the Viper Days™ organizers for initiating the contact with Archer, and would not compete in Sunday’s race.
During Sunday morning practice, Archer was busy making suspension adjustments to his Viper to improve the set-up of his car for the SCCA Run-Offs in September. The changes helped as he turned a 1:37.4 during Sunday’s race, which was reported to be an unofficial track record for a T1 car at Mid-Ohio. With an improved-handling car and less competition (i.e., no Freddy Baker), Archer had no problem winning the longer race on Sunday afternoon. He started and finished first in the GT2 class, eight spots behind the overall and GT1 class winner Phil De Lao.
Overall, the weekend was a lot of fun for all of the Viper owners and drivers. The weekend was particularly good for Bobby Archer who won both races in his class and left knowing he has an excellent car and set-up for the upcoming SCCA Valvoline Run-Offs, where he will compete for the National Championship in the T1 class.
More information on Bobby Archer and the ViperSpeed team can be found at www.bobbyarchermotorsports.com and www.viperspeed.com.
