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Viper drivers revel in Detroit victory

Ben Keating has described yesterday’s GT Daytona-class victory for the Riley Motorsports-run #33 Dodge Viper in Detroit as a “huge deal” since it came in the car’s birthplace.

#33 Riley Motorsports SRT Viper GT3-R: Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen

#33 Riley Motorsports SRT Viper GT3-R: Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen

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GTD podium: winners Jeroen Bleekemolen, Ben Keating
#33 Riley Motorsports SRT Viper GT3-R: Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen
GTD podium: winner Jeroen Bleekemolen
#33 Riley Motorsports SRT Viper GT3-R: Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen
GTD podium: winners Jeroen Bleekemolen, Ben Keating, second place Patrick Lindsey, Jörg Bergmeister, third place Christina Nielsen, Alessandro Balzan
#33 Riley Motorsports SRT Viper GT3-R: Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen
#33 Riley Motorsports SRT Viper GT3-R: Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen

The Motown triumph for Jeroen Bleekemolen and Keating was the first victory for the Dodge Viper GT3-R since last September at Circuit of The Americas. The Pro-Am duo won two races last year and finished sixth in the GTD standings.

Texas-born Keating, who owns the car’s principal sponsor, ViperExchange.com, stated: “It’s a huge deal winning with the Viper in its hometown.

"I am Viper Exchange, the No. 1 volume Viper dealer in the nation and so I have a lot of great relationships with all the Viper people at the Conner Avenue plant where they are hand-built right here in Detroit.

“There are a lot of emotional people who take a lot of pride in the Vipers. Hopefully we win on Saturday and sell on Monday.”

During yesterday’s 100-minute race, Keating had climbed from sixth on the grid to fourth by the time the pit sequence commenced and he handed over to Bleekemolen at the 37th minute.

A very slick stop saw the Dutchman emerge from the pits in second which became the lead when the leading Turner Motorsport BMW M6 made its stop. Thereafter, Bleekemolen absorbed everything that was thrown at it by Jorg Bergmeister in the Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 and Alessandro Balzan in the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488. The Viper’s winning margin was 2.5sec.

 “This is a street circuit, so the smallest mistake can take you out of the race,” Bleekemolen said. “But at the same time you have to push right until the end.

“Ben did a lot of great laps at the end of his stint. I knew with Jorg behind me it wouldn’t be easy. He is famous for a lot of last-lap passes. It’s great what the team did with the pit stop. We knew it would be our chance so we took it and it worked out for us. It feels really great.”

 

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