As teams gear up for the start of Saturday’s 2023 25 Hours of Thunderhill Presented by Hawk Performance, Kleen Blast/Davids Race Products will be starting at the front of the pack.
Kleen Blast/Davids Race Products was the fastest qualifier on Thunderhill Raceway with driver Mike David running the Chevrolet Camaro to a best lap of 1:44:695. He’ll be joined on the front line by the TruSpeed AutoSport, a Porsche Cayman GT4 was the second-fastest qualifier with a top lap of 1:46:315 on the 3-mile road course.
Rounding out the five fastest qualifiers are: Three Thieves Racing (GT) 1:46:527; Modified Racing (GT) 1:51.868 and Honda Racing 1 (E0) 1:52.787.
While pole in a 25-hour endurance race isn’t as critical as a short race, it gave the drivers an opportunity to experience the Northern California road course during the day and at night. Kleen Blast/Davids Race Products’ David was a little surprised to be sitting on pole for Saturday’s event.
“I thought the two Porsches and the Audi would have had something for us,” David said. “I really thought that they were kind of sandbagging all day or not pushing it.”
David said pole provides bragging rights for the team but notes it’s a long weekend.
“It’s just good for team morale,” David said. “It (validates) all the hard work they’ve put in, and we know the car is good.”
The 2023 25 Hours of Thunderhill starts at 11 a.m. Saturday and runs continuously until noon Sunday, testing teams and drivers to keep the racecars running continuously for the 25-hour span. The 2023 race is three weeks earlier than previous years with organizers taking advantage of better weather in early November.
The forecast calls for sunshine and clear nights, which means the teams could turn a record number of laps over the weekend. Click here for the complete list of qualifiers for the 2023 25 Hours of Thunderhill Presented by Hawk Performance.
To follow the event live, visit the 25 Hours of Thunderhill page on Race Hero. You also can find the official starting grid on the NASA results page.
2023 25 Hours of Thunderhill Grid
Here are the leaders of the rest of the classes after qualifying at the 2023 25 Hours of Thunderhill Presented by Hawk Performance.
E0 Class
Team Honda Racing 1 picked up the prime starting position for the E0 class, notching a 1:52.787 over its sister car Honda Racing 2. With seven cars on grid, E0 is the largest class at this year’s event.
E1 Class
Team Tazio Ottis nearly broke in the under-2-minute lap time with a 2:00.732 to take the top spot in E1.
E2 Class
Team Spark Performance nabbed the top grid spot in E2, driving its ND-chassis Mazda MX-5 to a 2:03.576-second lap time.
E3 Class
A regular at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, Team Lesher Motorsports 15 is the leading car in E3, qualifying with a 2:06.081.
Such a challenge. Thanks Herb!