Chassis No. C20

Using the word dominant to describe the Chrysler Viper GTS-R's run in the late 1990s FIA GT Championship might be an understatement. In both the 1997 and 1998 seasons, the two-car ORECA-run Chrysler Viper GTS-Rs were classed in GT2 and regularly outperformed the ageing 911 GT2s run by top teams like Roock Racing, Freisinger, and Konrad Motorsport, running away with the championship both years. In 1999 the FIA banned the GT1 class, revitalizing the series by putting true GT-class cars back at the front of the grid. As in years before, Chrysler Viper Team ORECA would field two cars. As a result of their prior GT2 Championship, the team was honored with start number 1 for Olivier Beretta and Karl Wendlinger and number 2 for Jean-Philippe Belloc and a rotating roster that most often included David Donohue.

The 1999 specification Viper GTS-R was build from scratch at Roush and featured a mix of space/tubeframe center section to comply with FIA regulations with redesigned front box tube extensions and an integral roll cage. The track was increased four inches in front and three inches in the rear, and covering the significantly wider Viper was Reynard-designed carbon fiber bodywork. Of course, powering the two cars was an 8.0-liter aluminum-block V10 that produced a ground-pounding 600 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque delivering, depending on circuit tailored aerodynamics, a 200 mile-per-hour top speed.

Due to copious testing in the offseason-an Autosport article quotes Beretta having "vivid memories of ORECA boss Hughes de Chaunac organizing tests of 30 hours or more every month, from January to April"-the season started well for the two ex-Formula One drivers in the number 1 car taking overall wins at both Monza and Silverstone. At round 3, the Hockenheim 500 Kms, the ORECA team rolled out a new chassis, C20, the car offered here by Broad Arrow Auctions, as the new number 2 car. It was clearly something special. Chassis C20 immediately vaulted Jean-Philippe Belloc and his teammate Dominique Dupuy to a weekend hat trick with pole position, fastest lap, and overall win. For the fourth race, the FIA GT Championship visited the Hungaroring for the Budapest 500 Kms. While Wendlinger and Beretta were on pole, it was again Belloc and Dupuy who took the victory with both Vipers lapping the entire field composed of other GTS-Rs and 911 GT2s! Clearly the 1999 season would be a battle between the two Chrysler Viper Team ORECA cars.

At Zolder, chassis number C20 would suffer an unfortunate gearbox failure after 29 laps. A bounce-back second place at Oschersleben for Belloc and Belgian Marc Duez was impressive return to form before a clutch issue left the duo 32 laps adrift at the end of the Donington 500 Kms. A trip to the United States for rounds 8 and 9, both 3-hour races at Homestead Miami and Watkins Glen, saw David Donohue join Belloc for the first time since rounds 1 and 2 at Monza and Silverstone. The Homestead race was an anomaly with Paul Belmondo Racing's Viper GTS-R taking the win, the only time a non-ORECA car took an overall victory that season. After a series of two relatively disappointing races, the Watkins Glen 3-hour race proved to be chassis C20's finest hour.

In the hands of start number 2 regular Jean-Philippe Belloc and American David Donohue, the duo would again capture the weekend hat trick of pole position, fastest race lap, and the overall win. Belloc recounts the former Formula One venue as a "fast and dangerous track" and his victory with "an American driver (Donohue), in an American car was something special." As the season was drawing to a close, it was clear the Viper GTS-R was simply unbeatable and at "The Glen" it was a patriotic all-American victory for both car and driver.

The season ended with GTS-R C20, Belloc, and his co-drivers finishing in second place to their teammates Beretta and Wendlinger at the Zhuhai 500 Kms. Yet, this is not the end of the story for chassis C20. The next year one of its former drivers, Dominique Dupuy, acquired the car and entered it in the Championnat de France FFSA GT Championship under his own Dominique Dupuy Organisation (DDO) with ORECA support. The choice of car was simple for Dupuy, "I made up my mind for C20, this car was like a bike and it was to date the best handling Viper I had ever driven."

Established in 1997 by Patrick Peter as a successor to the international BPR Global GT Series, the FFSA GT series was perhaps the perfect landing place for the very successful Viper. The 2000 FFSA season featured seven events, often with two races per weekend. Of the 15 races that year, chassis C20, with Dupuy and François Fiat sharing driving duties, captured six wins, 12 podiums, and the season championship. 2001 was a very similar story for the professional team with four overall wins, 12 podiums, and a second consecutive series championship! DDO continued to campaign the car in 2002 and 2003, and although it was built to an earlier set of regulations and outpaced by a new generation of competitors, the C20 still delivered impressive results-scoring four more wins and 11 podiums. In 2004 Viper GTS-R C20 was acquired by Lease Plan and continued to race in the FFSA GT Championship fielded by the highly regarded Autovitesse team. Upon acquisition in late-2003 Autovitesse sent the chassis to ORECA for upgrades. These included a revised suspension, a Hollinger gearbox, wider track and bodywork, carbon fiber brakes, a larger rear wing, and a high-downforce splitter and rear diffuser. The chassis and body were also repainted orange. The car continued to perform strongly in the French FFSA GT Championship for the next three years. Despite fierce competition, the C20 secured four additional victories. Anthony Beltoise, son of former Grand Prix driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise, delivered the standout performances, often outperforming rival Vipers and taking pole at Dijon in 2004 by nearly a full second.

After an extremely successful eight-year international racing career with three top-level teams and a roster of Grand Prix drivers, including pilots who would go on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona, Viper GTS-R chassis C20 was sold to its first collector owner in 2007. It was quickly decided to return the car to its 1999 FIA GT Championship configuration-specifically that of Belloc and Donohue's victorious weekend at Watkins Glen. Fortunately, most of the original parts removed by DDO and Autovitesse were retained, and as the car remained in excellent condition, it allowed for a rather tidy restoration.

Between 2008 and 2011 chassis C20 competed in prestigious events throughout Europe including the "GT90s Revival," organized by Stéphane Ratel (SRO). In 2011 the car traded hands, yet was stored and maintained by the previous owner for the new caretaker. Under their ownership, C20 appeared at the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona four times and the Sebring Classic 12 Hour in the United States. In Europe it competed at Le Mans Classic, Spa Classic, Silverstone Classic, Castellet 10,000 Tours, and numerous test days. It is an impressive schedule of historic races making it one of the most raced Vipers and reliable as well with its previous owner noting that "Of the 13 races, it never failed to finish and was always a faithful racing companion." Between 2019 and 2021, the car received a full restoration returning the car to "like new" condition with over €150,000 spent maintaining C20 to the highest mechanical standards. In 2023, the car, along with numerous other GT1 and GT2 racers from the same era, was brought to the 80th Goodwood Members Meeting with Mark Sumpter at the wheel that weekend. Clearly the car has not lost a step with Sumpter commenting that, "The C20 ORECA Viper has a flexible engine, massive torque and big horsepower, superb brakes and great vision. The car feels extremely well engineered and has a sense of durability." It is almost assured that if the car were raced in Europe it would be unbeatable against the 993-generation GT2s in the highly competitive Endurance Racing Legends by Peter Auto GT2 category.

An ex-ORECA Viper with victories at Hockenheim, Budapest, and Watkins Glen in 1999 and two French GT Championships, GTS-R C20 is offered with an elite pedigree and exacting restoration. Refinished in its iconic Watkins Glen-winning livery and meticulously maintained, C20 offers a passport to the world's top historic racing events-a proven machine, fully prepped to compete and dominate once more.