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Black Swan, GMG, Davidson and Factory 48 head early entrants
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. (Oct. 18, 2013) - The 2013 United States Air Force (USAF) National Auto Sport Association (NASA) 25 Hours of Thunderhill race to run Dec. 7-8 at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, Calif. is attracting top entries.
The race for top honors at Thunderhill is looking to be as competitive as ever. Black Swan Motorsports will bring their Mercedes Benz SLS AMG, GMG Motorsports has entered two Audi R8 LMS cars, Davidson Racing is in with three and Factory 48 is coming back with two Radicals.
Black Swan Racing headed by Tim Pappas will bring their Mercedes SLS AMG with an international team of drivers. Joining Pappas, to date, will be multi-time sports car champion Jereon Bleekemolen.
"Black Swan Racing has participated in endurance racing since its inception in mid-2008," Pappas said. "We have won two ALMS Drivers Championships and two Team Championships, so we are always looking for a challenge. I view the 25 Hours of Thunderhill as one of the ultimate tests in North America, particularly given the weather and variety of cars and drivers. The race is actually very similar in style to the 24 Hours of Dubai, which I have participated in twice and which the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3 has won overall. Our goal is simple - we want to win the race and contribute to what has been a dominant season for the SLS in world endurance racing. Thus far, the only two drivers confirmed are myself and my long-time friend and ALMS co-champion Jeroen Bleekemolen. Black Swan campaigned GT cars in half of the 2008 ALMS season, the full 2010 season, and 2011. We won the 6 Hour at Laguna Seca, Salt Lake, Road America, Mid-Ohio - all in 2010. In 2011 we won at the 12 Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans, Long Beach, Baltimore, and Road America. During this same period, we were on the podium 13 times in 17 races. In 2012, Black Swan campaigned a Lola P2 car in two events and finished 2nd in Class at the 12 Hours of Sebring. I have also personally won at Watkins Glen (Grand Am Cup ST Class with Turner Motorsport) and at Mid-Ohio in 2012, GTC Class with JDX Racing, the team's first ALMS victory."
James Sofronas, owner GMG Motorsports, is looking to capitalize on a great season in the Pirelli World Challenge Championship and carry that momentum to the Thunderhill 25 Hour. Sofronas is currently planning to bring two of his potent Audi R8 LMS race cars to Thunderhill.
"We have always looked at the 25 hour as a proving ground for our team and our cars," Sofronas said. "To run the 25 hour is like running any professional 24 hour race. Our team driver Alex Welch ran the race last year and didn't' get the result he was looking for. We talked about it and he wanted to put together a serious effort for the 2013 race. We are freshening his car, getting some support from Audi and we are going to go for the overall win. GMG has two cars entered. We will definitely run one. The second is to be determined."
Davidson Racing, headed by Ron Carroll, is returning to the track located north of Sacramento with a powerhouse three car entry. Sports car ace Randy Pobst will be at the wheel of the Davidson Racing Norma.
"I am looking forward to running the Thunderhill 25 in a Davidson Racing prototype" Pobst said. "The team has been working and testing on the cars almost all year. The plan is to endure. The race is a challenge in terms of traffic. You also need to have a reliable car, keep it running. The race is a constant slalom, working the slower traffic. We are going to have the fastest or one of the fastest cars on the track. Thunderhill is a good time. We get to pass a lot of cars and that is fun for the driver. It is also a tough, because this will be the first time I am driving an open car in an endurance race. We have been lucky the last couple of years that we haven't had rain or even snow. In that part of California anything can happen with the weather. We are have worked on the car getting the wind to deflect over the driver's helmet. We are also fine tuning our driver changes. We are going to be able to do long stints, so we won't be making many pit stops, so we have to minimize that time on pit lane."
Jeff Shafer and Factory 48 Motorsports is rebuilding and fine tuning their fast Radical SR3 for the 25 and teaming with Radical West to run a second car.
"Right now we have the car stripped completely apart," Shafer said. "It has not turned a wheel since the last 25 hour race. We are bringing the same spec Radical SR3 back with some minor adjustments. As we learned last year, being fast doesn't necessarily mean winning the race. There were some engine reliability problems that cost us the overall win. We will be changing the engine to a slightly more conservative spec. Other than that we will have the same drivers as last year, including John Falb, George Kurtz, Lee Alexander and myself. The goal for 2014 is to improve on our previous effort, winning our class and a third overall will be hard to beat without a win overall! Probably the biggest change is we will be partnering up with Radical West Racing and running a second Radical SR3. They bring a lot of additional resources and together we hope to be a stronger, more prepared team. It also doubles our chances of a win!"
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