Second Riley Viper GT3-R Announced for Rolex 24

The No. 93 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GT3-R that won this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona will be back to defend the GT Daytona class win, albeit with an altered driver lineup.

Ben Keating and Gar Robinson, the latter of whom won the Trans Am TA2 class championship this year, are the first two drivers confirmed in the No. 93 car this year.

Keating will pull double duty between the Nos. 33 and 93 ViperExchange.com entries for the second consecutive year.

“Ben Keating wanted to have two cars at the Rolex 24 again and, with the help of Viper Exchange, we are able to have two strong cars,” said team principal Bill Riley. “Now we are filling up the 93 with a strong group of drivers and it should be a contender just like it was last year.

“We are aiming for the Roar, Gar is hopefully coming to the shop before New Year’s to get fitted, and then we will just go straight to the Roar,” Riley added.

“We did have a good test at Daytona in November and made the car very comfortable for Ben, Jeroen and Marc Miller, so that should transfer over to the 93 for a pretty nice car to drive right off the bat.”

Keating said having two proven cars up against a field of mostly new FIA GT3-spec cars in GTD should pay dividends.

“I feel good about having two completely sorted cars competing in a 24 hours race against brand new cars,” Keating said. “That doesn’t mean that any car can’t have problems, but I feel like it controls at least a little bit of the risk. We have reliable, fast cars that are easy to drive and that is all you can ask for in the Rolex 24.”

Robinson, meanwhile, the son of sports car veteran George Robinson, will make his first laps at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 and is the second straight TA2 champion (Cameron Lawrence) to join the No. 93 car’s lineup.

“When my dad told me I would be racing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona it almost didn’t register,” Robinson said. “I am so excited to be able to compete in the race that I’ve been wanting to run since I was old enough to walk.

“I’m hoping my Trans Am experience will allow me to be able to hang with the big boys in IMSA. The Rolex 24 for me and the Robinson family is the equivalent of what the Indy 500 means to Adam Andretti and the Andretti family.”