Rich Wesorick
Enthusiast
Coming off a disappointing finish in the T1 National Championship race at the Valvoline Run-Offs in September, Bobby Archer, the 2001 SCCA Southwest Division T1 Champion, piloted his black No. 32 SuperClubs Resorts/Bobby Archer Motorsports/ViperSpeed Viper to three straight victories in the GT2 class of the Viper Days club racing series. In doing so, Archer won the Viper Days GT2 Championship, adding yet another jewel to his crown.
The weekend after the Run-Offs at Mid-Ohio, Archer took his T1 Viper to Sebring, Florida to compete in two Viper Days races that were part of the annual Sebring SpeedFest event. The other twenty Vipers that showed up for the Sebring races were full race-prepared GT1 machines, meaning these cars were built to approximately World Challenge GT specs. To their credit, several of the Viper Days club racers have competed in various professional racing series’, including Speedvision World Challenge, ALMS, and Grand-Am. Although Archer’s T1 Viper was a bit underprepared in comparison to the GT1 cars, he managed to hold his own, winning the GT2 class in both Sebring races and finishing as high as 5th overall in one of the two races.
A month later, Bobby Archer and the ViperSpeed team traveled to the Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Hallett, Oklahoma to participate the 2001 Championship Finale for the Viper Days Racing League. Archer had already raced at Hallett twice this year in T1 competition and knew his experience would allow him to be competitive with the lighter (by over 300 lbs.) and faster GT1 Vipers. Since his last visit to Hallett in July, improvements had been made to both the track surface and to Archer’s No. 32 Viper (e.g., ABS!). As a result, Archer was able to improve upon his existing T1 track record by over 5 seconds, qualifying his car in the 6th overall position for the race.
After a clean start to the race at Hallett, Archer was able to get by the 5th place GT1 car of Joe Bliss. A few laps later, Archer realized he was really using up his car and gave the spot back to Bliss. Midway through the race, Archer decided that since Bliss was not pulling away from him, he would take another shot at 5th place. After a few laps of stalking him, Archer passed Bliss and set his sights on the 4th place GT1 Viper of Dan Downs. Near the end of the race, Archer made a clean pass of Downs and found himself in 4th place overall (1st in GT2), which is where he finished. The points Archer gained from his wins in the GT2 class in the Sebring races and in the Hallett race gave him just enough points to claim the GT2 Championship in the Viper Days Racing League.
After the winter break, Archer plans to race in both SCCA T1 and Viper Days GT2 classes next year. More information on Bobby Archer and the ViperSpeed team can be found at www.bobbyarchermotorsports.com and www.viperspeed.com.
The weekend after the Run-Offs at Mid-Ohio, Archer took his T1 Viper to Sebring, Florida to compete in two Viper Days races that were part of the annual Sebring SpeedFest event. The other twenty Vipers that showed up for the Sebring races were full race-prepared GT1 machines, meaning these cars were built to approximately World Challenge GT specs. To their credit, several of the Viper Days club racers have competed in various professional racing series’, including Speedvision World Challenge, ALMS, and Grand-Am. Although Archer’s T1 Viper was a bit underprepared in comparison to the GT1 cars, he managed to hold his own, winning the GT2 class in both Sebring races and finishing as high as 5th overall in one of the two races.
A month later, Bobby Archer and the ViperSpeed team traveled to the Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Hallett, Oklahoma to participate the 2001 Championship Finale for the Viper Days Racing League. Archer had already raced at Hallett twice this year in T1 competition and knew his experience would allow him to be competitive with the lighter (by over 300 lbs.) and faster GT1 Vipers. Since his last visit to Hallett in July, improvements had been made to both the track surface and to Archer’s No. 32 Viper (e.g., ABS!). As a result, Archer was able to improve upon his existing T1 track record by over 5 seconds, qualifying his car in the 6th overall position for the race.
After a clean start to the race at Hallett, Archer was able to get by the 5th place GT1 car of Joe Bliss. A few laps later, Archer realized he was really using up his car and gave the spot back to Bliss. Midway through the race, Archer decided that since Bliss was not pulling away from him, he would take another shot at 5th place. After a few laps of stalking him, Archer passed Bliss and set his sights on the 4th place GT1 Viper of Dan Downs. Near the end of the race, Archer made a clean pass of Downs and found himself in 4th place overall (1st in GT2), which is where he finished. The points Archer gained from his wins in the GT2 class in the Sebring races and in the Hallett race gave him just enough points to claim the GT2 Championship in the Viper Days Racing League.
After the winter break, Archer plans to race in both SCCA T1 and Viper Days GT2 classes next year. More information on Bobby Archer and the ViperSpeed team can be found at www.bobbyarchermotorsports.com and www.viperspeed.com.