Twenty-five hours of continuous racing seems like an eternity. It certainly seemed so for many of the teams at the U.S. Air Force-sponsored 25 Hours of Thunderhill" endurance race held at Thunderhill Raceway in Northern California. Very few teams finished the race unscathed. Racecars with mechanical problems were an epidemic. Bent sheet metal from collisions could be found on just about every car. But that's to be expected when you combine a challenging track with rain and mud, 73 cars, 25 hours and mental and physical fatigue.
Endurance races, also known as enduros, generally feature a wide variety of cars and this race was no exception. Porsche GT3s, with over 415 horsepower on tap, shared the track with sub-100 horsepower Honda Civics and Mazda Miatas. Winning a 25-hour race takes reliable rides, fast and consistent drivers, a dedicated crew and a bunch of luck.
One of the teams that had its share of misfortune was the Toyo-Endless-5Zigen-Alaniz (TE5A) team, but we'll get to that later in our race diary. This is the play-by-play of the TE5A team's effort to win the E0 class and finish in the top ten overall. The TEB5A team consisted of five proven drivers: car owner Sam Higashi, 2003 West Coast Honda Challenge H1 series winner Andy "Import Legend" Hope, 2003 WCHC H4 runner-up Steve Ellsworth and Toyo Tires' Tom Okihisa. The team also consisted of a trio of dedicated crewmembers including Higashi and 5Zigen's Tsuyoshi Inoue. Without this crew, this story of triumph over tremendous adversity wouldn't have happened. Toyo Tires, Endless Brakes, 5Zigen, Alaniz Tuning, and GT-Pro were the primary sponsors of the team. The racecar was a beautifully prepared 1993 midnight blue Honda Civic hatch with a J-spec Integra Type-R motor. Preparation involved more than three weeks of 12-hour days to make sure it was fast and reliable. Many major components on the TE5A Civic were thoroughly checked over. The 210-hp B18C engine was compression tested to ensure freshness. The five-speed transmission was thoroughly inspected and the vital fluids were replaced. At a track like Thunderhill, the brakes take a beating so the calipers were examined and new prototype Endless enduro compound brake pads were installed. The wheels were exceptionally light and strong 17-inch 5Zigen FN01-RC's wrapped with gumball Toyo 205/40R17 full-tread RA-1s. Yes, the equipment was first class all the way.
The racecar was loaded onto the trailer the Wednesday evening before the race for the nine-hour drive from Los Angeles to Willows, California. Cold damp weather and a fast and twisty road course greeted the 73 teams of racecar drivers and their crewmembers. Most of the enduro teams arrived on Friday morning for testing, and for some of those who had never been to Thunderhill, it was a chance to learn the track. Learning a new track is often a humbling experience for a driver. The first couple laps usually feel awkward and slow. This track is very fast, with three completely blind corners and lots of elevation changes. Going consistently fast here will require patience and many laps of practice to get the driving fundamentals right. Learning the fastest line around the track is essential.
The TE5A drivers took it easy for their first two or three track sessions until they felt comfortable enough to push the pace. Pushing the car too hard on a new track would be a recipe for disaster. Flying off the track and damaging the car was the last thing anyone on the team wanted to do. Thankfully, the whole team got through the practice without incident. Our team was now ready to do battle in the race.
In an enduro, all the cars are separated into six different classes. In each class, cars of similar overall performance race are combined. Cars in each class are racing one another and not the cars in another class. This means that there are really six races taking place on the racetrack at the same time. The enduro classes range from the unlimited ES class down to the E3 class. Cars types span from the Porsche GT3, BMW M3, Honda Challenge H1 hybrids, and powerful BMW E36 328s.There were also Honda Challenge H4 cars, Honda Civics, Miatas, RX7s and LS Integras in competition.
Teams were comprised of both professional and amateur drivers. Pro drivers included former Indy car driver, Davy Jones, SCCA Speedvision race winners Bob Endicott and Roger Foo. Speedvision top guns Taz Harvey and Paul Bonaccorsi were also in attendance. From Japan, the Spoon Sports team brought a beautiful right-hand-drive Honda Accord, which has the same body as an Acura TSX sold here in the U.S. It was the diversity of the cars and drivers that made this a world-class event.