A rumbling V-10 could be heard blazing by the pits at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S. Carolina as the testing of the all new SRT Viper GT3-R recently took place. The Viper GT3-R touched pavement for the first time with veteran race car driver Ben Keating piloting her around the track. Keating is testing the Viper in preparation for the GT Daytona class in the 2014 TUDOR United Sports Car Championship.

For the 2014 season, Keating he has teamed with world class Endurance racer Jeroen Bleekemolen and will receive help from Riley Technologies owned by Bill Riley in Mooresville, North Carolina. Riley will help maintain the Viper through out the racing season. He is also receiving help from the SRT Racing program ran by Gary Johnson.

“When you take a racecar to the track for the first time, you look at some of the major components and systems on the car,” said Johnson. “For example, you want to make sure the car runs and shifts correctly when in motion. If all goes well, then you can focus on suspension set up and get into more details as the test progresses. Bill (Riley) and his guys have been great to work with. They have a lot of experience with Vipers now, and they know how things go together. We can really lean on them when we have questions.”

Adjustments being made on the Viper.

All attributes of the GT3-R where put through grueling tests on the road course. Every aspect of the car was tested; acceleration, hard braking, cornering and top speed. The car was tested in a variety of environments such as straightaways, tight corners, hilly terrain and hard braking areas. After each test session, Keating and company make adjustments to the suspension to see how it response to the different racing terrain.

Johnson had this to say about the Viper “We’ve been able to apply some of the suspension settings and techniques we learned on the SRT Viper GTS-R to the GT3-R. Also, the car looks absolutely fantastic. It is a beautiful piece of machinery.”

She sure is a beautiful piece of machinery, with her 680 HP V-10, Xtrac 6 Speed, and Independent front & rear wishbone suspension the SRT Viper GT3-R will give anything Europe has to offer a run for it’s money.