Just three hours into the 2022 25 Hours of Thunderhill Presented by Hawk Performance, the rainfall that characterized the start of the race has begun to subside. It’s premature to say that a dry line is forming, but the spray off the back of the speeding cars is beginning to subside and lap times are beginning to decrease slightly.
Crowdstrike by Riley holds the overall lead early at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill presented by Hawk Performance, but the soggy weather continues to be the main storyline at the endurance race.
Several cars have already skidded off track, but all the teams remain in the race as of 2 p.m. PST. The rain is a minor nuisance, but is also causing some electrical issues for teams.
Leader Crowdstrike by Riley left the race on lap 38 to install mufflers to comply with the track’s sound requirements. TVI Racing took the overall lead until Crowdstrike regained it about 22 laps later. The leader has already logged 300 miles.
“With the air changing with the rain, the sound changes and how it travels, so we had to put on an extra muffler on the car to make sure we pass the sound requirements,” said Crowdstrike team owner Bill Riley. “It was nothing mechanical. We just had to add another muffler.”
The teams will race continuously until noon Sunday. Follow the event live at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill page on Race Hero.
Here’s an update on where the classes stand as of 2 p.m. Saturday.
E0
Team Dig Motorsports benefitted early on when its main competitor in E1 had trouble at the start. Team Tazio Ottis pulled to the side of the track when the cars pulled away for the opening parade laps, but the team has been making steady progress forward. At hour three, the Dig Motorsports Mustang was two laps up on Team Tazio Ottis’ Honda Civic. As the track dries, it will be interesting to watch this duel unfold.
E1
The No. 22 Team Honda Racing THRW1 is leading the E1 class over its sister car, the No. 23 Team Honda Racing THRW2. Honda Racing THRW1 was two laps up on its sister car and three laps up on the third place Funduro Racing.
E2
Team Palomar Racing Thunder’s two-car team was running one-two at the three-hour mark, with Team MooreWood Creative three laps behind. MooreWood suffered an uncharacteristic spin on the parade lap, which forced them to let the entire field pass before the car could rejoin the field. Palomar Racing Thunder 24 had a two-lap lead on Palomar Racing 25.
E3
Lesher Motorsports was fielding two cars with a roster of seasoned drivers, including Randy Pobst and Mark Hamilton Peters. Both cars were running in the 2:07s in qualifying, just a tick off the pole-position pace of Team Misfits Racing, which was six laps down to the first-place Lesher car. Team Misfits was called in for repairs on a meatball flag early in the race.
EM
Entropy Racing EVSR, the lone electric car at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, continues to hold its own. The car’s best lap of 2:45:391 early in the race on lap. The team is 23 laps off the overall leader, Crowdstrike by Riley.
ENP
With only one car entered in the ENP class, Team Ageless Bio Racing had no competition, but that usually means a team will focus on finishing as high in the overall standings as possible. That will be tough for Team Ageless Bio, which had only completed six laps by hour three.
ES
Three Thieves Racing is off to a fast start, currently running sixth overall and 12 laps off the leader Crowdstrike by Riley. The lone car in the ES class, Three Thieves Racing was as high was third place overall 62 laps in the race before falling back a couple of slots. The team’s fast lap came on the 49th trip around the track with a time of 2:09.109.
GT
Kleen Blast/Davids Race Products jumped to a 10-lap lead over Modified Racing in the GT Class and has since extended it to 13 laps after the three-hour mark. Kleen Blast in the Chevrolet Camaro has been averaging about 4 seconds a lap faster than Modified Racing. The leader’s fastest lap was 2:20.514 coming on lap 69.
