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12 Hour Endurance Race

wexford

Maximum Pace
Jul 3, 2012
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Ok - so this is about a car race...

My last 12 hour endurance race was about 2 years ago. I've mostly been enjoying the bike too much since to think about car racing again and well, the arrival of a baby boy also didn't help persuading the wife that I still needed to spend money on car racing.

Still - what use is having a race car if you can't race it. Of course, I've winged my way into this race by saying that I'll sell the car after this race and move on. So for the moment, this is one last hurrah.

The car is an S2000 and I've 3 team mates. We're racing in Fukushima on a track called Ebisu circuit this coming Saturday the 22nd. Hopefully, the weather will behave. A nice cloudy day would be best. Sun will toast us, rain will make for a very tiring day. That's what a 12 hour enduro is all about though. Driver and car survival. I'm probably the fittest I've been physically in a long time though due to all the cycling. That should help.

Our goal is to win the race. Lofty goals of course but anything can happen. Last time out our LSD shattered about 6 hours into the race when we had just taken the lead. Hopefully, the car is sorted this time and we can just drive.

Here is some footage from my last race. Towards the end around 6:30 in I miss seeing a slippery surface flag and end up hitting a huge oil slick which brought the heart rate up a few notches.


Unfortunately, there will be no footage for the upcoming race as the camera went on fire the last race apparently. I didn't actually join that one. The fun stuff that can happen in a race car :)

Anyway - will try to update the thread in case anyone is half interested in the outcome after the race and then I can get back to cycling ;-)
 
Disappointed at the lack of string-back gloves, which would have given you a better purchase.

Also, I reckon I could draft you round the whole course on my bike.

(Sweet video! Never realised you were an actual car racer. Madness!)
 
Disappointed at the lack of string-back gloves, which would have given you a better purchase.

Also, I reckon I could draft you round the whole course on my bike.

(Sweet video! Never realised you were an actual car racer. Madness!)

Gloves... nomex man. Damn regulations you know. Still the camera (base unit) did go on fire the last race so fire resistant is a good thing.

I reckon you could draft me too. Although you might find I brake rather hard in places. How do you think you would have faired through the oil patch on your bike? I barely made it with four wheels.
 
I've done Ebisu on two wheels with an engine, going back in time a bit. Have they removed the "hump" at the top of the hill straight? It would generate monster wheelies at full gas. Some riders loved this....gave me kittens!
 
@wexford - thanks for sharing this! I am a big fan of all forms auto racing. In fact, at this moment, I am watching the Super Gt 300/500 race #4 qualifying at Fuji Speedway, when I should be out on the bike:D Good luck with the race!
 
Gloves... nomex man. Damn regulations you know. Still the camera (base unit) did go on fire the last race so fire resistant is a good thing.

I reckon you could draft me too. Although you might find I brake rather hard in places. How do you think you would have faired through the oil patch on your bike? I barely made it with four wheels.
car looks very balanced and your driving is smooth as butter! can't hear any tire squeal too, looks like you know the track very well and you are very easy on the tires
 
I've done Ebisu on two wheels with an engine, going back in time a bit. Have they removed the "hump" at the top of the hill straight? It would generate monster wheelies at full gas. Some riders loved this....gave me kittens!

The hump is still there although in a car you'd need a fair bit of power to really feel it. We don't have that kind of power. Must be a great track on a bike also. It has a good flow and certainly does't let you sleep when at the wheel. When was the last time you rode it?
 
car looks very balanced and your driving is smooth as butter! can't hear any tire squeal too, looks like you know the track very well and you are very easy on the tires

Thanks! Yeah, we usually try to get 12 hours out of the tires so smoothness is the key for endurance. There are many other videos of me not driving very well also (mostly when I was starting out). All good fun.
 
If any of you car fans actually wanted to travel up to catch a bit of the race and perhaps cycle around the area. I can get you some free entry tickets and you can come play in the pits for part of the day. Race is Saturday 22nd, I believe its 9am to 9pm but I'm just unorganized enough not to know exactly :) Ebisu circuit is close to Nihonmatsu. Anyway - thanks for all the comments.

In other news, I was down getting an international driving license this morning and I ran into Jenson and his wife at Samezu also. Told Mr Button about the race and offered him a drive but it seemed he already had plans. Super nice guy though.
 
The hump is still there although in a car you'd need a fair bit of power to really feel it. We don't have that kind of power. Must be a great track on a bike also. It has a good flow and certainly does't let you sleep when at the wheel. When was the last time you rode it?
About 14 years ago.... on a Honda XR650R motard with a full HRC engine. That beast didn't need a hump to wheelie!
 
Good stuff mate all the best! I've been there a bunch on two wheels back in the day. Not my favorite circuit due to safety being a bit on the lax side of things. But it has a great layout and is fairly technical.

Have a great race!
 
@wexford - thanks for the offer, but I have to work on Sunday, and this seems to be a weekend event. It would be great to set aside a weekend to see an endurance race and do some cycling. It might be worth organizing an event like this as an official TCC ride.
 
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@wexford - thanks for the offer, but I did not have to work on Sunday, and this seems to be a weekend event. It would be great to set aside a weekend to see an endurance race and do some cycling. It might be worth organizing an event like this as an official TCC ride.

I was actually thinking of taking my bike up and riding Sunday morning, but as it happens I have to be back in Tokyo before noon on Sunday so no chance to get a ride for me. I'll probably be toast anyway after a full day on Saturday.
 
In other news, I was down getting an international driving license this morning and I ran into Jenson and his wife at Samezu also. Told Mr Button about the race and offered him a drive but it seemed he already had plans. Super nice guy though.

I've heard he likes to cycle too. If you see him again check if he's free at 5 am on a Tuesday. Or a weekend ride in the mountains..
 
@wexford - best of luck on Saturday!
 
I've heard he likes to cycle too. If you see him again check if he's free at 5 am on a Tuesday. Or a weekend ride in the mountains..

Yeah. I was annoyed that I did't ask him about his cycling here in Japan. For a moment, all I could think of was cars, cars, cars. Oh well :)
 
Sad news regarding the race. We had an oil filter fail an hour into the race. Looks like it broke threads, flew off and dumped oil on the circuit causing a few cars to spin and one to crash and damage their car so that they couldn't continue :-( We didn't finish either as you might imagine. Not sure what happened yet. Will have to look carefully at why this happened and figure out if the shop that installed it was at fault or something else. Anyway - this just cost me a boat load of money and a weekend I could have spent cycling so not a very happy camper right now. Lot of effort. Team was gutted.
 
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