Hey all, wondering if anyone here runs endurance races. When I get the money and time to race this is what I really want to pursue.

 

that has always been our passion and this year that is all I will be doing. 3 hours will be the shortest enduro. NASA has a new west coast endurance series. we will probably run our new/old IMSA car in a few enduros this year. would like to put a package together to run the 25hrs at Thunderhill.

 

i love endurance racing,im building a wide body first gen from the ground up.i have done 2 racing schools at vir..
a few years ago.then got a wife and a baby.that stoped all racing for a few years but now im back at it..are there any races at vir this year as far as endurace??how many hours??when??

 

I race my '87 with EMRA (www.emraracing.org). I've done their 4 hour night enduro at Summit Point in 2002 and helped a friend run his '89 there in 2003.

Lot's of fun but the car can't really go further than 1hr 20min on a tank of gas. It uses about half a set of tires in 4 hours.

I'm looking forward to running against him there in 2004.

ed

 

Like Tim, I'm attempting to put together a package to run all enduros... Thunderhill 25, 12 at the Point, etc. Unfortunately, it will probably be in a Miata if it does happen.

 

I crew for a Grand Am Cup team. Most of our races are 2.5 to 3 hours, but in addition to GAC we also run a few club endurance races, like the 8 hours of the Cascades (Portland) and 25hrs at Thunderhill. Thunderhill sucks! Nice track, but the pits are muddy as hell, the pit stalls are 10 feet long(!!!), every "off" requires a wrecker to pull the cars out of the clay muck (sometimes a second wrecker is required to rescue the first wrecker!) and the weather in December is total crap. Reminds me too much of the Army...cold, wet, muddy, exhausted. NASA is also not our favorite sanctioning body. We had to do the first 25 hour race (yes, we've done the 12 for several years too), but the team unanimously vowed never to do it again after this last episode. The Portland race, however, is really cool. It's the third longest continually run endurance race in the US, after Daytona and Sebring. They also have what I believe is the last Le Mans start, where drivers line up across from their cars and have to jump in, strap down and drive off under Green. Very cool! It usually rains, but at least it's not a mud fest, like TH. We've never done the 'point, but perhaps we will now that TH is ruled out. Next stop: Homestead (Miami) in late March.

 

Here are a few Thunderhill pictures from the 25 hour enduro. Our car is a BMW M3, but we may switch to an RX-8 after this season.

Before:


After:


Pits:

 

I've had lots of experience running enduros all over North America and had lots of fun in different cars. I ran the full 1992 season in the Canadian Firehawk program including 24 hours at Mosport with World Challenge, 3 hours, 6 hours and 1000 KMS at Tremblant. Next Year I ran in the Michelin Enduroseries until I was replaced on the team with a paying driver.

Since then I have run with NASA at Thunderhill, back when it was a 12 hour and have run the Cascades event at Portland 3 times. This is my favourite race of the year. Last ran at Portland in 2001 the Brown Bros. Cobra R. Freakin thing was pulling 175 going into Turn 1 at night. Broke the drivers side control arm going into 1 with 20 minutes to go and did some wild tank slappers until it settled down. We needed to hose out the seat afterwards. Will do it again this year with more power/ better suspension in the Cobra R.

Regarding Thunderhill and NASA, it was not my best experience. The at race organisation was a little lax and somewhat confused. The track is a little spooky at night. My first time at the track was during night practice for the 2000 Timex 12 Hour. I was doing 1:59's at night and seriously overdriving the headlights. Came in after practice soaking in sweat, it wasn't a ton of fun. Does the track have any brake markers yet or painted edges of the track going into the corners especially on the double lefts on the back straight? It was a bit like playing an ancient nightdriver video game at 145 mph. I don't think we will go back to do the 25 hour until the track is upgraded and someone wins a lottery to cover the running costs (costs $1,500 an hour to run the Cobra R) and my RX7 is based out of Toronto and that is to far to go for a race.

Interested in running some EMRA events this year. I think Watkins Glen enduro would be fantastic in the RX7.

 

Yep, brake markers and painted FIA curbing.. If you happened to catch the Ford GT commercials with the car on track, that's thunderhill now.

PaulC

 

Thank heavens. I still wake up with the cold sweats dreaming about trying to find the Turn 1 braking point and apex at 150 mph in the dark.

 

Sorry forgot to add an additional photo of the car last year. We ran it during the World Challenge race at Laguna in 2002. We had our a$$e$ handed to us. I guess 500 HP doesnt even get you into the game. Since then we have added new brakes, new suspension, moved the driver back 8 inches and added over 150 HP. We may get a sniff now.

If time and budgets allow, we will be racing in the Cascades 8 Hours this year. We hope to be able to do a sub 1:10 without the festival chicane. I know it isnt an RX7 but a 5.4L DOHC at 7500+ still is a monster buzz to hear and drive.

 

Hey 23racer, when are the events at Portland? I can't wait to get my Rx7 to PIR, even though it's not a race car.

 

David Edwards: check out ncrscca.com for the SCCA enduro schedule (& other races) @ VIR, also virclub.com

There is an enduro in March, also a 13 hour race in late October, IIRC.

"wide body first gen"...what class is it?

 

thanks for the info ill check it out..im not even sure what class i would be in...when i did a few schools at vir my instrutor sayed my wide body car would be in unlimited class or something.i dont really know,im just getting in to it.but cant wait to go back to some more racing schools i need more practice...lol

 

If you want to find out the schedule at P.I.R. just check on google for Portland International Raceway. They have a great website that has a link to a camera overseeing the last turn. It is cool to hook up on weekends as you can see whats racing.

 

David Edwards:

Most likely it will be in either ITE or SPU or SPO...all SCCA 'catch all' classes in the SE Divison for cars that don't meet the rules of the other classes...however, the car MUST meet minimum safety requirements for either the Improved Touring or Production classes, or u won' tbe able to put a wheel to asphalt.

 

I think the wide body would keep it out of ITE...most likely SPU, SPM or SPO, depending on the engine and porting. David: you should invest in an SCCA GCR (rule book) to get the feel for the classes before you spend any more money on preparation.

 

I have run the 10 hrs of Gingerman in a Specracer, Best fun ever. This year Id like to di it in a 3rd gen. Anyone Interested?
1R1

 

David:

Ya, I second Blake's suggestion to get the SCCA rulebook for club racing ($40), its fun running against other first gens that are similarly prepped. To keep costs down, IT7 class doesn't allow porting of anything, and u lose all the emissions junk.

 

thanks for the info.the car is being built for racing schools right now.it will be one of those cars ill drive on the street around here and hope to be able to race when i get my racing liscence in a few years i hope..thanks for all the info..