12 hour enduro

Ok you have me beat....but I was in Greensboro last week does that count! :)

Well, it's not in the rulebook but since it's a non-championship event, we'll let it slide... You win for most distance traveled in the most recent period. :biggrin:
 
Don't forget that the ChumpCar endurance race at PIR is two weeks (Halloween) after the CSCC Enduro. I wonder how many racers decided to race with ChumpCar instead of CSCC?

(Full disclosure: I'll be racing on a ChumpCar team at PIR)

And those among us with a serious racing addiction are going to participate in both! AND the THill 25 hour! :wink:

Then I have to sit around for 4 months thinking about it and going karting until I can get my fix again. Oh, and I guess I have some housework to get done as well :mad:

Anyway, in a cheap car (EL E30) enduros are actually cheaper than sprint race weekends for double the seat time. ChumpCar is a bit different approach but if things go well the same cost applies. I actually skew my racing season toward the later months and skip the early season races (not the Enduro though!). No reason to pay $325 to race in the snow in March or April when that same money will buy me 3 hours of seat time later in the year. It is all in the approach.... though I do think that such a huge schedule probably plays a part in a slow economy. But that does provide some flexibility for folks to still get a good number of races close to home. I'd be all for double weekends though... we truly do not need two Qualy sessions for a 25-30 minute race.
 
Last edited:
Maybe I can add something to this as somebody who has travelled from Toronto to do a number of races over the last 10 years or there about. When I first started coming out to do the 6 Hour races, the grid was incredibly varied with a large number of what I would call Super Touring Over cars. I remember the team I was driving for being added to a waiting list to be able to start the race. The costs were manageable and it meant something to do well at the race. In the E1 or Unlimited Class you had a good handful and up to 12 cars to compete with.

As the time and distance increased, the running costs grew very high (the entry costs were only a small part) and if you were in a team running a very quick car, the tire costs grew to a 5 figure point, the fuel costs were high 4 figure and the cost to return the car to before race condition was in the mid 5 figure scenario. Think about it and you can understand why the grid sizes have dropped off some. As well, as the number of ground pounders and Teutonic lightening bolts have dropped by the wayside it doesn't seem to carry the same cache to do well.

With the uncertain financial futures that a lot of people are dealing with, dropping $30 -50 g's to run a 12 Hour race gets examined closely. I am not saying that the other factors don't come into it, I am just mentioning things as I see them. In a 6 Hour it originally would cost a few g's for each driver to run the race, now we are looking at around 10 for 12. I can't justify that as for the same money I can run my ex Speed WC car for most of a season back east.

I have had a number of great experiences at the number of Fall Enduro's I have done with you guys and I love racing in it. In one race I had a 30 minute night time battle with the Fantasy Junction sports racer where we passed each other at least 2 times a lap. I also remember having to share a pitstall with another team and having a car number of 54. I also remember starting a race alongside a ratchet shifted powder blue 'Cuda that had to stop every 30 minutes or so for fuel and a bunch of Volare's, including one with Opera windows in the sail panel. Its a wonderful event that has a very good vibe, but I think that the organisers have to sit down and examine what they want the event to be based on todays economy. I think that 6 - 8 Hours is the sweet spot to bring out the big cars again. This allows for 4 drivers and the operating costs come back into line for an event that is run by guys out of their own pocket.

Just an opinion from somebody well on the outside, but who has experienced the event going back into the late 1990's.
 
...Just an opinion from somebody well on the outside, but who has experienced the event going back into the late 1990's.

^^ Some interesting thoughts. Thanks for sharing them.


On another note, we're back up to 17 entries now!

C'mon, let's make it at least 20 for goodness sakes!!! (Though 25+ would be great!)

I have some thoughts relative to the larger picture of this enduro and season schedule - however, I need to get out the door to head to CLT so I can arrive at PDX later tonight!

See you all soon.

Kevin
 
I applaud thinking outside of the box, but the 6-hour wrapped inside a 12-hour just wasn't going to fly, and I personally wasn't surprised by the lack of interest in the format. It was like being invited to Thanksgiving, but being asked to sit at the kids table.

Certainly the number of races offered this year cuts into attendance. Specifically everyone saw the fall schedule early in the year and made their choices. When given the choice, they are choosing the sprint races.

The whole thing with the L classes is sort of like endurance racing with training wheels. Just because there are differences in refueling speeds we need to create more classes? That's sort of the tail waging the dog. If you create too many classes, and everyone wins a trophy, then you've really got a glorified lapping day, IMO.

BMW CCA CR endurance racing (which is not perfect but I use this as an example) mandates anything over 60 minutes as an endurance race. And as an endurance race they have a minimum 60 second stop for refueling (longer minimum stops for longer enduros where there is more fuel burn). This takes the emphasis on quick refueling (and the need to spend money on special enduro refueling rigs) somewhat out of the equation.

Don't get me wrong, I love enduro racing. I ran my car in the Cascade Fall Enduro a few times when it was a 6 hour. Ran the Spring PR race when it was 4 hour. Have traveled to Daytona to spectate at the Rolex 24 8 or 9 times.

And Wes, I'm also a fan of the 2-day double race weekend. :)
 
Last edited:
Way to go, Team EKR! 501 laps total, margin of victory 5 laps, first place in E1 and overall!! Woo!

(First time winning class/overall for this car and the only time that I haven't been either driver or crew. Hmmm...)
 
The whole thing with the L classes is sort of like endurance racing with training wheels.

i dont agree with this statement. only because the "PRO" endurance races dont limit what you can do on pit stops as much as limited class does. why would it mean training wheels, maybe for your wallet. its not about the speed of fuel filling its you only get 10 gals to put in per pit stop. i see the limited class/classes have more strategy involved when more cars enter. its not just about making the car last or how fast car you go. you also have to be fuel efficient while going as fast as you would like. while planning for the distance.
a few years ago a limited class car won the overall at the 25 hours of thunderhill.
side note we were getting 17 miles per gal until i got in the car then it was down to 15 miles per gal.
 
17 miles per gal until i got in the car then it was down to 15 miles per gal.

Nice.

Did they make you pay more for your share of the gas after that, or did you bring down the lap times for the sprint home?

I wanna see an SRF(-type) with a bigger cell. 57 silver looked pretty good out there.
 
i got to excited and was trying to draft the SRF which helped me drive my car 2 seconds faster then next fastest driver which time wise was right at personal best for the car sprint racing lol not our enduro pace. oops
 
Way to go, Team EKR! 501 laps total, margin of victory 5 laps, first place in E1 and overall!! Woo!

(First time winning class/overall for this car and the only time that I haven't been either driver or crew. Hmmm...)

We missed you Steve! But we knew you were there in spirit via PIR Live. We set a pace and ran it lap after lap after lap. Pit stops were flawless and fast even with driver changes.

Congrats Eric we all know how long you have been trying to win the 12 hours. Great job by the whole team.
 
Last edited:
Thanks to Cascade and everyone that helped put on the event. Whomever was in charge of the weather did a great job. It was beautiful! Driving thru the sunset period was serene, if there is such a thing in a race car.

Kudos to all the brave souls who were willing to take on this race. It is never easy. The challenge and team effort are what makes it such a great time.
 
Thanks to everyone who worked, helped and entered the 12 hour, we really did have a great time. Way to go team Krause, well deserved win! We had a few issues, but had a blast working through them and tried our best to put on a show for the workers. All the boys and girls in Retro Blue are looking forward to the next enduro, hope to see more of you out there next time.
We had a pro photog out there for the duration of the event and have over 1500 pictures, plus, two guys taking video from different areas of the track for the whole event, so stay tuned to the retro site for videos and pictures. I personally can't wait to see the "belly cam" footage from one of our tire changers!

Jeff Remfert
www.retroracingteam.com
 
I was a first time flagger at the event, and had a great time. Sorry to any driver who got the "Check mirrors" flag for the thousanth time when you were well aware that #59 was coming up again.

I sadly had to jet right after the event, as I was due in Seattle, and didn't get to visit with the other drivers. I'm wondering if the results are hiding someplace online? Anyone intend to post any pictures? I can find hardly a peep on the internet about this event!

I've been able to find a few websites for the cars that were there. But naturally they only talk about themselves :)

I know first through third. I'm mostly curious how everyone else did! Thanks for any pointers in the right direction!

Cheers,
Tyler
 
Hi Tyler,

Here's a link to about 2379 photos of the enduro by Doug Berger. He takes great shots; http://dougberger.zenfolio.com/cscc-enduro-2010

I know Camden Thrasher was also lurking about, he also takes great shots; http://www.flickr.com/photos/cthrash

I was lucky enough to drive with Jeff and Ross in the #59. It was a big question mark how the car would perform since being pulled out of mothballs a little over a month ago, having not turned a wheel for over three years.

Jeff started the race and did a single fuel stint, Ross did a double stint and laid down our fast lap for the race in the high 1:12.xxx range. That's compared to times in the recent past in the 14s run by Porsche Cup cars, so the car runs well. I was scheduled for a double stint, but the car was losing oil pressure after my fuel stop, so we decided to retire rather than risk damaging the engine.

It was a let down of course, since we had already built a lead of more than 10 laps by half way, but of course that's the nature of endurance racing. We'll be back with the issues sorted out, and probably even more speed.

Hats off to Team EKR, they ran a masterful race, and collected a well deserved overall win.
 
Start for EKR and the Last Lap!

Video of the start from my iPhone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW8D2CWN4TU

Video of the finish...Victory for Team EKR!
If you have never been to the pit wall at the end of the Enduro you are really missing out...check it out it is a rush
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llk_-bErh1Q

I am so happy for Eric in his teams 7th try. Been right at the sharp end but victory as been elusive until this year. You deserved it buddy. Well done to all the drivers, and the team. It was freaking awesome to be part of it. Man I love endurance racing.

Also well done to all who entered and tried. Many good teams.

I am sure Jeff and his car will be back and be tough.
 
I/we had a good time even though the car counts were down. all our drivers had a good time on track even though we were not the fastest out there. its not always about speed its about finishing and finishing strong. well we only finished but we still finished and had fun doing it. even beat a car with similar issue only 4th gear. next time we will be ready to go the whole distance and doing it with fun in mind. oh yeah we ended up 12th o/a
 
Last edited:
Back
Top