Early 911 Wins 25 Hour Enduro

[MarkP]

Well perhaps not as "early" as we like, but pretty darn close.

After last years 2nd overall finish, this year the 1974 911 of team 'Lost in Space' took the overall victory at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. Press release below. Of note - they beat a 93, 95 and 98 911.

I ran the race in a Spec Miata to a 6th in class and 16th overall finish (of 60 starters). I must say, running a 25 hour race is one of amateur racings greatest adventures!

__________________________________________________ ____________
Willows Ca. December 5.... Forty-five of the sixty race teams that started the 2005 edition of the NASA twenty-five hour endurance race at Thunderhill Park on Saturday December 3rd were on track when the checkered flag was thrown at noon on December 4th. The ninth running of the worlds longest closed-course motor sports competition was treated with picture perfect weather as drivers and teams from all over the world gathered at the raceway just west of Willows California starting on Thursday to see who would be successful in the six classes eligible for the grueling test of skill and mechanical durability. When it was all done Team Lost in Space took the over all win completing 665 laps over the three-mile, fifteen turn course in the allotted time. The four driver team was headed by Masuo Robinson of Redwood City and included Neil Jackson, Pete Smith and Rich Walton. They drove a sturdy 1974 - 911 Porsche to the top spot.

A number of national and international driving stars participated in the event adding even more to its stature. SCCA World Challenge drivers Randy Pobst, Roger Foo, Taz Harvey, Ken Dobson, Mark Kirberg, Mike Courtney and Johannes Vanoverbeek were among the celebrities. Famous journalists Kim Wolfkill and Andy Bornhop of Road and Track magazine, J. G. Pasterjak of Grass Roots Racing magazine and Csaba Csere, the head man at Car and Driver Magazine, all drove in the event with the intent to document their experiences in their publications. Famous driver Derek Hill, son of Formula One champion Phil Hill, along with Booby Bondurant son of racer and driving school impresario Bob Bondurant were in the field as was Charles Espenlaub of Grand Am fame and fourteen year old sensation, Auston Harris of Formula TR fame. Local racer David Vodden competed on two teams earning third in the EO class in a Taz Harvey Tracy Honda World Challenge Civic and fourth in a Tracy Mazda Miata in E2.

Over the twenty five hours of competition on course incidents involved Overbeek who flipped off the track in Redding car owner Joe Wong's Porsche. The incident happened Saturday night in the straightaway leading the the former Sears Point bridge. The Seattle Endro entry fielded by Leis Johnson flipped violently in a Friday practice session but returned to race for the full twenty five hours finishing fifth overall. Spencer Sharp driving a Factory Five Cobra made a surprise left turn in front of 2007 Mazda Miata driver Johnny Kanavas resulting in a spectacular double flip off of turn five in the early dawn of Sunday morning. The 2006 newly re-designed Mazda Miata was a total loss as was the Factory Five kit-car. All drivers involved in incidents during the event were treated by the tracks medical personnel and released.

The 2005 running of the ninth annual National Auto Sport endurance race at Thunderhill was the third covering the history making twenty-five hour distance. The first six endurance races at the local road track ran for twelve hours. LeMans France and Daytona Beach Florida both present twenty-four hour endurance races. NASA founder and CEO Jerry Kunzman has made Thunderhill Park the home of his most prestigious road racing event because of the unique and special partnership his organization enjoys with the raceway, the community of Willows and all of Glenn County. The 2006 edition of the event will be held on December 2nd

[pwd72s]

Bravo! But Mark? A huge tip of the hat from me to you as well. This is "grassroots" at it's best, and you are a huge part of it.

[MarkP]

Thanks Paul!

[spydr32000]

Mark, great effort, I know what it takes to run in one of these events and it is a huge effort from all concerned! Nobody can understand until they have done it, can they?

I was invited to run at the Winton 24 hour way back in 1990. This was the first real 911 drive I'd had (well anything more than in a carpark). The guy I partnered was Mike Tankard who went onto win the Australian Porsche Cup with the same car 18 months later. We had everything to contend with, rain, floods, heat, cold the lot as far as weather went. This was a relay race so there was a ribbon to be transferred at pit stops between team cars, of which there were 6 cars in each team. Our only problem was at one stage our little 2.8 RS clone was the only car in the team running, due to reliability issues. So Mike and I had to do the majority of the driving for the team,from memory, we did about 13 hours between us. At least at the end of the day the effort was worth it as we won the event! This was on the very short and twisty 1.5 mile Winton track 120miles north of Melbourne, so it was a hard days work. Like you, though, I would not trade it for anything, it was an experience like no other and great fun to boot.
So while our events were quite different there is some similarity,if only in the length in time, at the end of the day I'm sure the satisfaction level is still sky high!
Very well done, and congratulations to you and your team mates