Ben Keating
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Riley_Motorsports_-_SRT_Viper_GTS-R_-53_%2818839904046%29.jpg/290px-Riley_Motorsports_-_SRT_Viper_GTS-R_-53_%2818839904046%29.jpg)
Ben Keating (born August 18, 1971 in Tomball ) is an American entrepreneur and racing car driver .
Entrepreneur
Ben Keating was born in Tomball, a suburb of Houston , the fourth largest city in the United States of America. After attending elementary schools, he graduated with engineering degrees from Texas A&M University in College Station . After graduating, he joined his father's car company and became sales manager there. In 2002 he started his own business and now sells vehicles of the Chrysler , Dodge , Jeep and Ram brands at ten locations in Texas .
In Keating's company, the Dodge Viper and the successor model SRT Viper were and are being prepared for racing. A partnership with the Danish car designer Henrik Fisker has existed since 2015 . Keating helped develop the active suspension on the VLF Force 1 , a supercar based on the Dodge Viper. The first 50 copies of the car presented at the North American International Auto Show 2016 in Detroit are expected to be sold through Keating sales outlets.
Racing career
Ben Keating's racing career was sparked by a Christmas present from his wife, who gave him a weekend with a racing instructor at a racetrack in 2005. In 2006 he had his first races in the Viper Racing League . In 2007 he became a regular starter in this racing series, the overall ranking of which he won in 2007. After finishing second in 2010, he secured the championship in the Dodge Viper Cup in 2011 .
In 2011 he made his racing debut in both the Grand-Am Sports Car and the American Le Mans Series . By the end of the 2015 racing season, Keating had driven 48 in various sports car series and celebrated eight class wins. He finished sixth overall in the GTD class of the United SportsCar Championship 2015 . In 2015 he contested his first 24-hour race at Le Mans , but retired prematurely after a defect in the Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R .
statistics
Le Mans results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
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2015 |
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Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R |
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failure | malfunction |
2016 |
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Oreca 03R |
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Rank 34 | |
2017 |
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Riley MKXXX |
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Rank 47 | |
2018 |
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Ferrari 488 GTE |
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Rank 28 | |
2019 |
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Ford GT |
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Rank 32 and class win |
Sebring results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 |
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Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
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failure | malfunction |
2014 |
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SRT Viper GT3-R |
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failure | accident |
2015 |
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Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R |
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failure | malfunction |
2016 |
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Dodge Viper GT3-R |
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Rank 33 | |
2017 |
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Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
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16th place and class win | |
2018 |
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Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
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Rank 19 | |
2019 |
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Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
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Rank 23 |
Web links
- Office website of Ben Keating's company
- Ben Keating at the Driver Database
- Ben Keating at Racing Sports Cars
Individual evidence
- ↑ Force 1 V10 at the Detroit Auto Show 2016 (English)
- ↑ About the Force 1 V10
- ↑ Force 1 V10
- ^ Dodge Viper Cup 2010
- ↑ Dodge Viper Cup 2011
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Keating, Ben |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American entrepreneur and racing car driver |
DATE OF BIRTH | 18th August 1971 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Tomball |