07.05.07 Vipers net impressive FIA GT debut Silverstone hosted the first round of the European FIA GT3 Championship this weekend and RPM turned out the only 3 Dodge vipers for the series. The trio of driving pairings were gonna be up against the ellite of the European GT racing and although the first test of the weekend on Friday was blighted with small techincal hitches as the team came to getting to grips with running in the high profile series the Vipers soon moved into a commanding position just outside the top 10 by the end of testing on Friday. With the cars and drivers having to learn to run on Michelin rubber after having a Avon rubber shod car in the British GT series, they didnt really use the new tyre runs to perfection and although the times were much better than in testing the driver pairing of Duqueine and Mortimer still only managed just to get inside the top 15 for qualification 1 and top 20 for qualification 2. Forsten and Wilson were on fire and qualified just outside the top10 after traffic borked their runs for race 1 and similar positions for race 2. Stanton and Morris were just trailing a little behind as some oversteer issues were ironed out of the V10 8.3 litre monster. With some setup changes completed over the afternoon on saturday the drivers headed out onto the grid for race 1 with some optimism for the race as they all knew there was time to find since the weekend had started. Mortimer and Duqueine were the first to find that speed, and with the crushing speed of the Viper, Duqueine charged through the field just outside the top 10 as the pitstop window started behind the safety car. Forsten had also brushed aside the surrounding cars and was flying into the top 10 with the third car sitting just inside the top 20. Though the pit stops were a mixed affair as the lead viper of Forsten entered the pits a problem with the seat belts meant they left the pits after the other two vipers and ended up way back in 23rd, the Mortimer/Duqueine Viper also had change over problems though came out inside the top 15. The Stanton/Morris change over though went swiftly and they jumped from 23rd to 8th inside one pit stop and were looking for a top 10 finish. As the safety car pulled in and racing resumed now with a new set of drivers the competition got fearce and Mortimer was holding no prisons as he regained a place in the top 10 and finished a specatular 8th place and gained the teams first point on debut. The second car home was that of the Stanton/Morris entry and Ed had done an a amazing job with a difficult car to drive to bring it home 11th. The afternoon was rounded off with a 15th place for Forsten/Wison, after a nightmare pitstop, Rob had brought the car nearly 10 places back putting all three cars into the top 15 and the only team to do it that weekend, especially on debut! The sunday race though proved to be a little harder as both the Mortimer/Duqueine and Morris/Stanton car suffered electrical problems in the first half of the race stopping the cars on circuit, and the Mortimer/Duqueine entry was in 7th at the time. The Forsten/Wislon pairing was still going strong, after having to avoid a first half sunt with a Lamborgini, Rob Wilson then made it back just outside the top 15 when the pit window opened. Forsten took over after a smooth pitstop and was agressivly on the pace and moving up the field into the top 15, the pairing was rewarded with a 12th place finish. The streets of Bucharest are the next venue for the FIA GT3 championship in just under a little two weeks, and with the first round and a learning curve out of the way the Vipers will be looking to prey on those top 3 positions! << back to news