LM24: Riley working on Le Mans Viper return

Chrysler may have axed its factory Dodge Viper GT racing program at the end of the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season, but if the man behind the assembly and running of the program has his way, the championship-winning coupes will be back in action later this year at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Following the factory’s first visit to La Sarthe with the barking V10-powered GTS-Rs in 2013, RACER has learned North Carolina-based Riley Technologies is currently working on returning to France with the ex-works Vipers – this time as a privateer effort.

“Yes, it’s true,” Bill Riley confirmed on Wednesday. “We're talking to some people about GTE Pro and GTE Am. Nothing is done, but with the Le Mans entry deadline closing in a few weeks, we need to get something going quick. We'd love to run the Vipers at Le Mans again, and these cars are too good to sit idle.”

The Riley-led Viper program appeared halfway through the 2012 American Le Mans season, earned its first ALMS win in 2013, in addition to overcoming a steep learning curve at Le Mans, and went on to win multiple races during the inaugural TUDOR Championship season in 2014 (ABOVE), where it claimed the GTLM Drivers’ and Teams’ championships.

Looking at how far the cars evolved from 2013 through 2014, Riley is confident the Vipers would be extremely competitive at the ACO’s signature event.

“With Le Mans, every driver and every manufacturer needs to have their first trip there, and it isn't always what you want it to be, but we did show reliability and did have some pace,” he explained. “Since then, we've worked hard on the cars, they're now strong front-running cars in the U.S., and we're working with the ACO on the BoP to make sure the cars are strong at Le Mans. They're super reliable and fast, and we’d expect to be right in the mix with the other cars.”

Provided the drivers and funding comes together, and their entries are accepted, Riley says they’ll head to Le Mans with the same personnel that ran the GTLM Vipers.

“On the team side, the whole team is the same team that ran the factory cars last year,” he noted. “We've been able to keep all those guys and everybody is still in place. You want that kind of consistency with any big undertaking.”

Pulling off a second run at Le Mans with the Vipers would be a major accomplishment for Riley, who he says he’s undaunted by the project’s scale.

“It's completely private; Chrysler's not involved, which means we have to find the right drivers – some guys that can help make it happen, and some sponsors who are interested in being part of the biggest endurance race there is,” he said.

“There’s nothing more I'd like to see us than us back at Le Mans, the Riley name on the entry list, and going hard with our Vipers which have been completely transformed since our first time there. It’s a pretty exciting program to put together, but we’re also getting close to the entry deadline. I’m hoping we can get everything together in time to make it happen.”