One could easily argue that Thunderhill is little more than a club race. They'd be right, mind you, but they'd miss the beauty of the event. Thunderhill may be a club race, but it represents so much more: The spirit of the gentleman racer, the soul of endurance racing and the indomitable willpower of the racer. In it's 11th running, it's better than ever, and Rennsport is here to bring you, the Jalopnik reader, every minute of action.
(Live blog posts will be written in ascending order by all of the Rennsport staff and marked with a timestamp in PST. Posts by DannyCatSteve, the V8 Supercar specialist, will be marked with a "D". Posts by Bakkster, the man who actually watches the World Touring Car Championship, will be marked with a "B". Posts by McNewbie, the self-proclaimed "art ninja", will be marked with an "M". Posts by Nobody, your future local news weatherman, will be marked with an "N". Posts by Porsche9146, the Mountain West Conference football specialist and, soon, the on-site man in today's coverage, will be marked with a "P". For live timing and scoring along with a flurry of on-board cameras, visit the event website here. Title photo via Davidson Racing)
11:00, P: Thunderhill's greatest glory is in it's mixture of grassroots ingenuity and truly world class entries. Where else but in this burgeoning legend of a superenduro can you see a twin-engined Mini, a 400 horsepower FWD Audi TT, a dozen home-built sport prototypes, a trio of production Mazda6 diesels and a NASCAR-style tube framed truck race amid a sea of spec Miatas? Where else can you see WTCC world champion Rob Huff get held up by a Mazda RX3? Where else can you see a spectator's WRX turn from transportation to donor car? Nowhere but the small Thunderhill circuit of Willows, California.
Who's the favorite for the overall win this weekend? Well, part of the beauty of the event. The race is so brutal, so unpredictable, that early pace doesn't tell you much. Even prior results won't give you much of a hint, they'll only tell you that Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars are more durable than Radicals and super Miatas. While every Porsche must be considered part of the group one would refer to as "favorites" for the win on sheer build quality alone, these "tortoise" 911s could go down multiple laps early as the less reliable but faster, often home-built, "hares" fly by them.
This year's race is just minutes from kicking off, and I'll be at the track in approximately 3 hours. Until then, enjoy the work of my colleagues at Rennsport and your glimpse into the strange beauty of the 11th USAF 25 Hours of Thunderhill.
11:13, D: The 2013 25 Hours of Thunderhill is underway!
11:15, D: Mike Skeen leads lap one in the Superlite SLC and has a 2 second advantage on the #48 Radical SR3.
11:18, D: The Davidson Racing DR Eagle has taken 2nd place from the Radical. They are about to hit traffic already. The top three are now running nose-to-tail.
11:20, D: The DR Eagle has taken the lead. The Radical takes second and the Superlite goes from first to third! There is a safety car for a car on fire.
11:23, D: In the midst of the battle for the lead, the Superlite has had an issue and dropped to P7. The #00 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup entry is now in third.
11:33, D: After stopping on track during the pace laps, the #52 Wolf GBO8S has made its way back to 2nd in the ESR class. The race is still under safety car.
11:41, D: Nearly half an hour in and the race has restarted following the first safety car period.
11:44, D: The #00 Porsche has overtaken the Radical for 2nd. The Wolf is continuing to tear through the field and is closing on the Radical for the ESR lead.
11:46, D: The Wolf has gone to the ESR lead. He's now made his way around the Eagle for 1st overall! The Factory #48 Radical continues to drop, now in 6th position. Porsches compose positions 3-5.
11:50, D: Traffic is starting to play a role. The #52 Wolf has a three second lead on the Davidson Racing Eagle. The leaders are working lap 16.
11:54, D: The #67 Pure Performance BMW E46 leads the EO class. The #5 Fantasy Junction Acura heads the way in E1. The #35 Miata leads E3.
11:57, D: The DR Eagle has a drama and pulled into pit lane. The #00 Award Motorsports Porsche now leads ES and is 2nd overall.
12:00, D: The Factory 48 Radical, who was battling for the ESR lead early, has made an early stop. It is a quick in-and-out, but still more ground that needs to be made up.
12:04, D: The DR Eagle has been pushed into the paddock. According to the radio broadcast, it has suffered an electrical failure.
12:07, D: Now the Davidson Racing Norma is back in the pits for the fourth time in the first hour.
12:10, D: Rotek Racing's FWD Audi TT RS has gone into third, overtaking the Barrett Racing Porsche.
12:13, D: Running order at the end of the first hour:
12:17, D: Davidson Racing's Norma has just caught fire and stopped on track on the start/finish straight. The fire is out and the driver is still the car.
12:20, D: Correction: The car was not on fire, but suffered an engine failure.
12,22, D: The safety car is now out for the second time to recover the Davidson Norma.
12:24, D: The safety car has worked perfectly for the Rotek Audi and Superlite, allowing them to stay on the lead lap.
Survive The 25: A Live Blog of 25 Hours at Thunderhill