Viper boss POed about ZR1 win...
12-18-2012, 09:55 PM
#1
Race Director
Thread Starter
Viper boss POed about ZR1 win...
Well, it was only a matter of time...calls out Randy Probst.
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/12...zr1-in-mt.html
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/12...zr1-in-mt.html
The story, however, doesn’t end here. SRT boss Ralph Gilles took issue with Motor Trend’s results and vented out his frustration to the social media.
“We’ve tested both cars at several tracks and never seen a gap like that”, he tweeted, adding that “many drivers needlessly fear the Viper”, “there’s a lot more left in the car, Randy has always struggled with the Viper” and “raise your game and you’ll find the last 10 percent”.
In other words, he disputed the lap time and, practically, stopped one tweet short of calling Pobst, Lieberman and the rest not brave enough to drive the Viper as it is meant to be driven.
“We’ve tested both cars at several tracks and never seen a gap like that”, he tweeted, adding that “many drivers needlessly fear the Viper”, “there’s a lot more left in the car, Randy has always struggled with the Viper” and “raise your game and you’ll find the last 10 percent”.
In other words, he disputed the lap time and, practically, stopped one tweet short of calling Pobst, Lieberman and the rest not brave enough to drive the Viper as it is meant to be driven.
Last edited by BlueOx; 12-18-2012 at 10:00 PM.
12-18-2012, 09:59 PM
#2
Le Mans Master
He's taking up for his "baby" lol only good things can come from this. Maybe the Viper dies something more with the ACR and GM does unleash hell with a HiPo C7 
guess they didn't test it well enough. ZR1 FTW
12-18-2012, 10:13 PM
#5
Race Director
Thread Starter
12-18-2012, 10:19 PM
#6
Team Owner
Reading Randy's comments tells the story. What he basically said is that the Viper does not lend the confidence to drive it any faster (paraphrasing what he said). I can understand that SRT's test drivers that have put probably thousands of miles on the Viper on a race track have it dialed in to their liking and the track they have run the car on. Let's be honest, it would not have surprised any of us if the Viper had won, so it should also not surprise any of us that on any given day, and a given track and a different driver the results could be reversed.
However, Randy is a skilled enough driver that you simply cannot discount or try to discredit him. I've seen enough articles that he effectively co-authored and I know enough about his background to believe that he ran both of the cars to the max and that he and Motor Trend were objective in their findings.
The ref's ran an instant replay and the call on the field stands!
However, Randy is a skilled enough driver that you simply cannot discount or try to discredit him. I've seen enough articles that he effectively co-authored and I know enough about his background to believe that he ran both of the cars to the max and that he and Motor Trend were objective in their findings.
The ref's ran an instant replay and the call on the field stands!
12-18-2012, 10:23 PM
#8
Le Mans Master
12-18-2012, 10:28 PM
#9
12-18-2012, 10:29 PM
#10
12-18-2012, 10:32 PM
#11
Race Director
Thread Starter
I mean, what does anyone expect this guy to say? If he was to have the PR folks at Fiat/Ferrari talk to him they would have told him to just keep his mouth shut about it. Then, they could have simply released their best times at whatever track they did best at and make the ZR1 go to that track to do a better time.
Like I said earlier in another thread on this contest, it really didn't matter if the ZR1 won or lost, the Viper couldn't win the PR battle in this contest.
Like I said earlier in another thread on this contest, it really didn't matter if the ZR1 won or lost, the Viper couldn't win the PR battle in this contest.
12-18-2012, 10:37 PM
#12
Safety Car
I'm not sure why people are making the fuss they are over this one. The ZR stands on the shoulders of giants and is the pinnacle of a multi model year development on what in it's fundamentals is a car every bit as modern as one designed yesterday to be released tomorrow. Calling it the "old" car is misleading and does not give a true perspective as to what it really is, one of the best performance cars that will ever be built.
The Viper tested is their base car and has none of the benefits of a nine model years worth of development and the almost certain improvements that will bring to nearly every facet of its performance. I'm a Corvette guy and very happy to see the ZR1 prove itself in no uncertain terms. It is truly a stellar car and kudos to its designers for doing what many would have thought impossible not very many years ago. However, I for one give a shout out to Viper, it came out swinging and gave a good accounting of itself. This one isn't over yet, these two are going to duke it out for some years to come and the thought of that makes me very happy indeed.
The Viper tested is their base car and has none of the benefits of a nine model years worth of development and the almost certain improvements that will bring to nearly every facet of its performance. I'm a Corvette guy and very happy to see the ZR1 prove itself in no uncertain terms. It is truly a stellar car and kudos to its designers for doing what many would have thought impossible not very many years ago. However, I for one give a shout out to Viper, it came out swinging and gave a good accounting of itself. This one isn't over yet, these two are going to duke it out for some years to come and the thought of that makes me very happy indeed.
Last edited by crabman; 12-18-2012 at 10:41 PM.
12-18-2012, 10:42 PM
#13
12-18-2012, 10:45 PM
#15
Burning Brakes
Well if their machine scared a two-time Daytona 24-winning professional, it probably would be faster in the hands of the typical buyer. You know, to say nothing of the gigantic two-second gap or that an equally life-threatening drive from Gilles' secret Evil Knievel Stig driver could wring even more out of the Vette.
Way to go Team Vette!
Way to go Team Vette!
12-18-2012, 10:55 PM
#18
12-18-2012, 11:04 PM
#19
Race Director
"Raise your game and you'll find the last 10 percent"
Did Gilles really say that.....about a 2 time Daytona 24 hour winner?????
Maybe Ralph needs to speak to the chassis engineers.
Jimmy
Did Gilles really say that.....about a 2 time Daytona 24 hour winner?????
Maybe Ralph needs to speak to the chassis engineers.
Jimmy
12-18-2012, 11:11 PM
#20
Safety Car
Well a win is a win. If the Viper lost by 1 second or 1 minute its still a loss. If the Viper was unstable and caused the driver to crash the time would have been much worse.
