The No. 75 Mercer Michelin Porsche will lead the 86 car field to the green flag for the start of the United States Air Force (USAF) National Auto Sport Association (SA) 25 Hours of Thunderhill race to be run this weekend, December 3-4, at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, California.
Under the cover of darkness and 60-degree temperatures with winds of about 20 mph the field of 86 racers took to the three-mile, 15-turn Thunderhill raceway to qualify for the twice around the clock plus one-hour event.
Johannes van Overbeek was at the wheel of the Mercer Michelin Porsche in the ES Class, setting a time of 1:46.102 with an average speed of 102 mph to take the overall pole position for tomorrow’s 11 a.m. PT start.
“The Mercer Motorsports crew did a great job, the Michelin tires did great, my buddy Craig Watkins is engineering the car, so it went well,” van Overbeek said. “We were trying to take some under steer out of the car, so we used it as a tuning session. The session was cut short a little, but the team did a great job and I am happy to get the pole for them. Strategy for the race is to get out front and stay there. We can drive the car hard the whole time if we have to. This is a race against yourself. Patience is the key. It is easy to get caught up in yourself and try to make a bad pass. The race for me is about being patient, cautious and finishing.”
Jeff Shafer had the wheel of the No. 48 Team Factory 48 Motorsports Radical for qualifying, posting a 1:49.537 lap good for the ESR Class pole position.
“Qualifying went really well,” Shafer said. “With a fast car I usually pass like five or six cars a lap. I was hoping for a clear lap that never came. We practiced at six-seconds a lap faster, but that is OK. We started dead last in 2010, so this is much improved. For the race, we play it safe. Bring the car back to pit lane the same way we took it out.”
Brett Strom drove the No. 95 Team Nitto BMW to the pole in the Class with a time of 1:57.433.
“There was a lot of traffic,” Strom said. “We learned from last year that there will always be problems in qualifying. It is just getting dark, and everyone is out there, it gets crazy. We went out just before qualifying started, and I was able to space myself and get a good lap. I did a 57.5 and a 57.4 and figured that was good enough. We run a consistent pace and use fuel economy for the 25 hours. We double stint our drivers and we get awesome wear with our Nitto tires. Our team beats people in the pits.”
Tyler McQuarrie put the No. 38 CJ Wilson Mazda Miata on the pole in the E1 Class with a time of 2:02.059.
“The session was shortened up a little,” McQuarrie said. “I went out and found some open track. The CJ Wilson MX5 set-up was fast right off of the truck. We are happy with the 2:02, We had done a 2:01, but I am happy with the pole. I have won the race three years in a row, going for a fourth. We need to stay out of trouble. I will start and do a double stint to get us into rhythm. In this class, if you make one big mistake you are pretty much done.”
Dean Thomas had the wheel of the No. 051 Team Super Miata MX5 and put in a lap of 2:03.640 good for pole in the E2 Class.
“I got really lucky, there was a lot of traffic out there,” Thomas said. “There was a yellow in Turn One just as qualifying started. We were just rolling up as qualifying started, and they held us, so when the track went green we had some clear track. I was able to put my time down on the second flying lap. We expected to be on the pole. I think we will be racing hard the whole 25 hours and expect to be out front the whole time.”
Aaron Povoledo put the No. 06 Acura Integra of Team Divaspeed on the pole in the E3 Class with a time of 2:04.947.
“What an exciting track and event that NASA puts on here,” Povoledo said. “This is my first time at Thunderhill. That was a very exciting session. We had the darkness, cars going everywhere. I had to get used to the darkness. We really lucked into two quality, traffic light laps. You never get a clear lap here with 86 cars. I had very good visibility with our lights. Hats off to Ron Carroll at Team Divaspeed, the car drives itself. It really goes through the left handers here. They prepare a great car, which is fun and easy to drive. We want to stay out of trouble in the race. We need to drive a little slower than our best lap, to free up our brain space and make it to the end. It is a thinking man’s game. One little mistake can put you two laps down. We need to be gentle and error free.”
Live video segments from Thunderhill Raceway Park are scheduled to air direct to the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show in Orlando, Florida on screens located in the food court area, close to the NASA booth, at the following times:
Saturday, December 3rd at 12 p.m.
Saturday, December 3rd at 3 p.m.
Source: NASA
