tinkfist

Superunknowns, they know us now! The team and car are back safe and intact from Road Atlanta this past weekend. The 9hr NASA Southeast enduro on Friday was the second enduro for the car but the first for most members of the team. Two of our drivers had never even seen the track until their first hot laps!! Unlike a typical sprint race weekend, we knew the enduro would push the car and the drivers to their limits. The pit crew support during stops for fuel and driver changes adds yet another dimension to winning a 9 hour race.

We competed in the E0 class with 4 other cars. The rest of the class brought some serious hardware which included the Lutz Motorsports FR500 Mustang, Farbacher Loles-supported Cayman S, Fandango Motorsports M3, and a Wildhorses Racing Camaro. We were the sole Honda in a class filled with German and American iron. Our driver line-up was made up of fellow s2ki-ers and S2000 hotshoes John Oldt (jfo), Erik Olson (EJO), Scot Burner (Scot), and Rene Badia (Prospect S). The rest of the team was rounded out by Michelle (radios), Andrew (refueler), and myself (crew chief/refueler).

John and Erik


Erik and Scot


Michelle


Andrew aka Wonger



Race Summary
Rene started the race out well for us and we found ourself in a comfortable 4th in class 3 hours into the race. Our lap times were ~2 seconds slower than 3rd place at the time. By the mid-point of the race Erik and Scot's blazing fast 2 hr (each) stints allowed us to take 3rd place from the Fandango M3 and we began battling on the same lap as them for quite sometime. At about the 6:30 mark during John's second stint the #15 began to suffer from a high speed vibration. It was brought in for Rene to take out again and we checked the obvious things and all looked good. He confirmed the issue on track but drove through it. We lost our oil cap (and VTEC) at the 7 hour mark and had an unexpected stop, but quick, stop for that. Due to some extended pit stops with the M3 and Cayman we were able to experience 2nd place for a short while around the 7 hour mark. At 7:30 into the race, Rene brought the car in after hearing some scaring noises coming from the rear. We found the left rear axle boot torn all the way around with grease covering the inside of the wheel. By this point we figured we had 3rd place locked with a 30 lap gap over a still pitted M3 and a 11? lap deficit to a strong running Cayman , so it was decided to park the car and wait it out. The M3 returned to the track around the 8:15 mark and began to cut laps from our lead on them. We did the calculations and figured they might still be able to do 31 laps needed to get 3rd back. Since Rene was the only one of us yet to crack a beer in premature celebration, we sent him back out with 20 minutes left to put in some insurance laps for us. He stayed out for the checkered and we took 3rd place behind the Mustang and Cayman.
















The weekend was incredible and very smoothly ran thanks mainly to the co-owners and logistical extraordinaires of #15 John Oldt and Erik Olson. We'd also like to thank NASA Southeast for running such a great event at this amazing track.

Cheers and happy racing out there!

Superunknowns Endurance Racing Team

PrOsPeCt S

Had a great time guys, Thanks again for letting me drive with you guys. next time we stay out no matter what!! lol

Next Enduro is in JAN with Pbocflorida @ sebring for there 6 hour, 3 of them beeing in complete darkness!!

tinkfist

Haha, that axle may not have lasted much longer if we pounded on it for another hour! Who knew that Cayman gearboxes only last 8.5 hours? We finished safe and sound and in a well-fought for 3rd place

Hope you made it back to Miami in time for work on Saturday. You are certifiably track addicted for pulling the off the trip you did

Squirtle

Awesome! Way to bring one home guys, looks like a great effort and well put together team!

FF2Skip

Tom, great write-up! Glad to hear it all went relatively well! Would loved to have crewed with you all.

gfacter

Great job. Scot's car lives on.

TubeDriver

Great job!



Nice matching suits!

FF2Skip

The more I think about it, the more remarkable I find you all's feat.

tinkfist

The team was rock solid, especially for being so new to endurance racing. Although I have not yet raced, I can honestly say this past weekend was the most fun I have ever had at a racetrack (and all I did was put fuel in the car!!). I cannot speak for the drivers, but as a crew member you really get a sense of how your actions impact the race results. I walked away with a much deeper appreciation of the efforts 24 hr race teams pull off.

robrob

Congrats guys. When I saw your driver lineup I new you would do well.