Deja vu … At the end of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Chrysler ended its NASCAR program, even though Brad Keselowski won the championship.
Two days after Kuno Wittmer and the SRT team won he GT Le Mans driver and team championship in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, they are pulling the plug again.
Chrysler Group LLC announced today that it is discontinuing the factory-backed SRT (Street and Racing Technology) Motorsports racing program in IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) with the conclusion of the 2014 season. This decision affects participation in the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with the Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R GTLM-class team. The Dodge brand will redirect its focus and efforts on the brand’s product lineup.
Chrysler comments
“Our company has made a business decision to discontinue the SRT Motorsports Dodge Viper GTS-R racing program,” said Ralph Gilles, Senior Vice President of Product Design, Chrysler Group LLC. “We are very proud of the amazing achievements our fantastic teams, drivers and partners have achieved on track the last few seasons. We thank them for their hard work, effort and commitment to SRT Motorsports. It’s been an honor to be a part of the inaugural IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season and we wish them every success in the future.”
IMSA comments
Statement from International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) President and COO Scott Atherton on Chrysler Group, LLC’s decision to discontinue its factory-backed SRT Motorsports racing program and its two-car TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans (GTLM) team.
“Since returning to a factory-backed sports car program midseason in 2012, the Chrysler Group was an ardent supporter of IMSA with a two-car team that competed most recently in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans category alongside a robust off-track marketing program. They have made a business decision to redirect focus to other areas of their core business.
“On behalf of IMSA, I’d like to congratulate the SRT Motorsports team and drivers – including 2014 GTLM champion Kuno Wittmer – and everybody involved with building a winning Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R program. We look forward to celebrating their accomplishments together next Monday at our TUDOR Night of Champions in New York. Our door always will remain open should they wish to return to top-level sports car racing in the future.”
Going out on top
The Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R 2014 racing season concluded Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Petit Le Mans. The two-car SRT Motorsports team won the team and driver (Kuno Wittmer) titles in the inaugural IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GTLM-class. SRT Motorsports won two-of-three championships contested in the class and finished second in the GTLM manufacturer championship in just its second full year of the program.
As the company announced May 6th, the SRT brand will continue to be aligned with the Dodge brand, delivering SRT ultimate performance vehicles to complement the Dodge brand’s mainstream performance vehicles.
Chrysler celebrates USCC Championship win by axing Viper programme
