Conquering the 25 Hours of Thunderhill

In motorsports, the goal of perfection can sometimes outweigh the result. Naturally, the result speaks for itself when all the ingredients come together. At this year's 25 Hours of Thunderhill, our team set out in pursuit of that perfect race. AR motorsports has been trying to garner an overall victory at this race for 12 years, and our clients, the Three Thieves, have been trying for 5 years.

Last year, we won our class but did not have that perfect race, and we were not in contention for an overall win. Sometimes, it's bad luck; other times, it's uncontrollable factors, and sometimes it's self-induced mistakes. We've had it all over the years; all it takes is one misstep for the whole thing to go wrong. The challenge of this race is what lures us to it.

This year, we returned with the Audi R8 LMS Ultra. Being our second year with the car, we came into this race with a better sense of what was needed to achieve our overall victory. We conducted multiple test days months before to get a better setup for Thunderhill on the car. We brought in pro driver and coach Thomas Merrill to help with that process and he was instrumental in getting dialed for this race. With endurance racing, we're focused on getting a car that is easy and comfortable to handle for all drivers, one that is consistent and predictable.

When we got to the track for this year 25, we were greeted with sunny skies and low 60s, partly due to this year's November date instead of the traditional December time. We registered for two test days on Thursday and Friday, allowing us to get all four drivers up to speed and make a few minor setup tweaks. Our lineup this year included Rick Wright, Tom Burt, Eddie Nakato, and Thomas Merrill. We worked the car up to speed, Thomas conducted some driver coaching, and we conducted fuel burn calculations and some tire wear testing. Much to our surprise, the setup wasn't ideal for the current conditions compared to the previous test days we did. As with any track, ambient temperature and track conditions can primarily affect handling. John and the crew made a few minor tweaks to get the rear more settled and make the front do more work.

Outside of one limp mode issue, we didn't run into any mechanical woes during testing on Thursday, which gave us Friday to spend a good portion of the day focusing on pit stop practice. Driver changes, tire changes and rehearsed pit stops. We got a good number of reps over and over again. When you go into these races, there's always a plan to practice pit stops and procedures, but the test days are often spent chasing car issues, dialing in the setup, or learning the track. Fortunately, with our prior test days earlier in the year and diligent prep at the shop, we could adequately practice some of the nuances of endurance racing. Although simple on paper, these minute details can bite teams in the race in the heat of the moment.

On Friday night, Tom qualified the car P3 in class and overall—a safe starting spot for the team and a solid result.

From an organizational standpoint, we entered Saturday feeling better prepared than in previous years. Yet, at the same time, we all know that even the best prep in the world can never prevent all failures. Parts or systems can fail or act up unexpectedly at any point. As we often find out, newly manufactured parts can even be prone to issues.

After a team photo, we loaded Tom in the car, and the race was on. We settled into P2 after a quick pass over the TruSpeed Porsche Cayman GT4 RS. 30 minutes in, Tom was able to scoot by the pole-sitting stock car that was driving quite hard. From that point forward, our focus was consistency and intelligent decision-making. The strategy centered on double-stinting tires throughout the race and single-stinting every driver. Team manager Martin settled on the idea that it was safest to only keep drivers out there for one stint at a time to keep everyone a little fresher with only an hour and fifteen-minute stints. We retained the same order throughout the race. Tom, Thomas, Rick, and Eddie.

Our tires were holding on quite well after two stints, which was a good relief to all of us as we had some slight degradation issues during the test days. All four drivers ran more conservatively at race pace, which played into our tire strategy.

We continued knocking out the laps into the afternoon as we changed from our sprint nose to our endurance nose, complete with additional LEDs and Apex marker lights. This was a slightly longer stop, but we continued running faster than the stock car and GT4 RS, putting them laps down by sunset.

We drove into the night without issue, getting into a good rhythm with our pit stops almost hourly. 31 gallons of fuel, tire + driver change; all in just about 2-3 minutes. We encountered a starter issue earlier in the race. NASA rules allow for the car to stay running during fueling/pit stops, which played into our favor, so we didn't have to bump start the car after every stop.

At about 1:00 am, a Spec Miata lost an engine in a big way, nearly covering the entire track in oil. Car after car went off before the black came out. Rick did a great job keeping it on track. After a 25-minute clean-up, the race went back to green, and it was time for Eddie to get in. "Some of the worst conditions I've driven in. The oil dry was everywhere on track and in the air, making it really hard to see," Eddie said.

He did a great job handling one of the most challenging stints of the race and handing the car to Tom completely unscathed.

We did a four-corner brake pad change early in the morning, which John Grant and John Graham knocked out quickly. Considering our crew's limited abilities to sleep, they didn't falter at all in the middle of the night. We continued to put more laps on the stock car and Cayman GT4 RS, building a healthy cushion to continue cruising comfortably.

Finally, the sun came up. In endurance racing, it's the unofficial sign that the end is near! The car continued to run flawlessly for the final hours without any mechanical woes or changes in the handling. Thomas ran the second to last stint before Rick got in to bring it home. He even managed his fastest out lap after the pit stop, running a 1:51, quicker than any time he had run the previous year. And he did it on his out lap. Rick took it to the checkered with a signature buzzing of the wall. It was a special moment for the whole crew. The margin of victory was 34 laps over the second place finishing Cayman GT4 RS.

Years and years of trying to win this race culminated with a class win and an overall win at one of the toughest endurance races in North America. So much goes into it: luck, preparation, focus, and execution. With limited sleep, it's easy for the bigger picture to become lost when on track or in the pits. Our drivers and crew couldn't have performed better. It was a near-flawless driving performance by Rick, Tom, Eddie, and Thomas, with no spins or contact after 25 hours. Nearly every pit stop was consistent, fast, and without any mistakes. Outside of one pit road speeding penalty, everything went according to plan which does require a bit of lady luck at this race. This time it was on our side.

13 crew members, 4 drivers, 19 pit stops, 12 sets of tires, 6 delicious meals cooked by Chef Ben Bettinger, 742 laps completed, 1 trophy.

It wasn't perfection, but our pursuit of that perfect race brought us the result we earned. We will cherish this one for a while.

Conquering the 25 Hours of Thunderhill

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