When the SRT Vipers debuted at Mid-Ohio exactly 12 months ago the lead car was three seconds off the pace in qualifying and finished four laps down on the GT race winner.

What a difference a year makes. The Viper threat has been growing with every race of the 2013 season and the Bill Riley-led SRT Motorsports squad finally put it all together this weekend with pole position (actually two in a row) for the No.93 car of Jonathan Bomarito and Kuno Wittmer and victory for the No.91 machine of Dominik Farnbacher and Marc Goosens.

“The start was tricky, you couldn’t see anything from all of the rain,” Farnbacher said.

“But I just got bumped from the front, and the rear, and the side. I tried to stay away from everyone, but it was no use.

“The car was pretty much fantastic in the rain. It has to be the best car I’ve ever driven in the rain.

“We were one of the few teams who changed to the slicks on the first yellow. The Michelin’s gave me a lot of confidence and even in the dry they did so well. I didn’t even know I had that much damage, I knew I got hit, but it drove just fine.

“I looked in the rearview monitor and it was upside down and looking at the sky. They told me, I had to get a repair so we were there a bit longer. We gambled and put on the slicks, but it was the right decision and we could just drive past everyone.”

The late race yellow certainly was a huge help for the Viper squad as all the leading contenders were running very close to the wire on making home with enough fuel.

In fact, even with the yellow, there was concern the No.91 machine had enough fuel to make it over the start-finish line on the final lap.

“I want to say big thank you to so many people for building such a great car,” Goosens said.

“This is the first track we’ve been at twice. We had a pole for the sister car, the 93 and now the win for this new Viper. And I can’t say thank you enough for Dominik for a great stint and a great race.

“It was the first time we had been running up front, so we speculated and gambled a little bit on the fuel. There is no secret the last safety car helped, we were very low to say the least. The pit stops were perfect and they did a super job in pit lane. Now we gather more data and move on to the next race.”