Enduro length question?

[Marcus Miller]

I'm with Kirk and Chuck. 6 hours+.
A 3 hour 'enduro' is still a sprint race in how we prepare.

[Cobrar05]

Ah, the Enduro Elitists. Yea, I am sure the 6 hour / 13 hour /24 hour races are great.
This is not about whats fun. Its about what the minimum should be. Yes, there is more TEAM required to run all day long. There are also a lot guys that can't afford a TEAM. Can't afford all the tires and fuel. Can't afford to rebuild the car after one race.

It would be ridiculous to have no racing between a 30 minute IT spring race and a 6 hour race. Further, while I know Kirk loves the long runs I also see his posts regular trying to sell co-drivers so that he can come to the track and see his posts saying he didnt race because he couldnt get the co-drivers and the funding.

I can run a three hour race with one friend. That friend can be a driver or a none driver and I can have fun. I am fine with the option to race all day and all night if I want to, but I am not going to side up with you guys that think a race as long as the Indy 500 is not an enduro.

BTW...Kirk, if they let me refuel without getting out of the car and no minimum pit stop time, I'd race you with your 3 hour rules.

[Knestis]

>> This is not about whats fun. Its about what the minimum should be.

It's about what the minimum should be for something to be called an "enduro." I love me a 3-hour race. We won the NASA 3-hour at VIR in '07 overall. I spent most of the entire thing giggling like an idiot - except for a short trip to the tire wall and subsequent wheel change. HUGE FUN.

But an enduro it ain't. I'd way prefer it if Regionals were one group of cars on the track for 3 hours, rather than 4 groups on the track for 20 minutes each, with standing around in between sessions.

Enduro Elitists UNITE...!



K

PS - I still have room for one more for the VIR 13. LOL.

PPS - If someone were considering some kind of "enduro" series, it would be very cool to weight the points by distance. That would balance out the risk/reward, cost/benefit math.

[joeg]

Anything originally scheduled for over 45 minutes is an Enduro.

[Cobrar05]

The long races are struggling to survive. The Homestead race is dead. The Ledges race was cut in half hoping to survive. The 6 hour Road Atlanta race had 25 cars in it.

There is a 9 hour at Road Atlanta in December. How many of you guys are going to be there? I am the series director and would love to see you.

Conversely we can make 3 hour races work all year long.

We run an enduro at each NASA SE event. Would love to see you out there. Its a lot easier to get car count when the race is a reasonable lenth.

[Knestis]

...There is a 9 hour at Road Atlanta in December. How many of you guys are going to be there? I am the series director and would love to see you.

Sure going to try.

We run an enduro at each NASA SE event. Would love to see you out there. Its a lot easier to get car count when the race is a reasonable lenth.

...and a lot easier to enter if they had an equitable, fair head and neck restraint rule, rather than a restraint-of-trade H&N system rule.

Point is that everything potentially matters when it comes to picking - so defining - races. Think what you want but I can make the math for a 12 hour enduro work out better than for a 3-hour simply because people - some people, not everyone - are willing to pay for a seat in a long race, where they aren't willing to pay what it costs to run 1/2 of a 3-hour.

K

[Cobrar05]

Ah...the SCCA protest against SFI. I have to wear a HANS if I want to race my Koni Challenge Mustang next season. No ISAAC allowed. Should I restrict myself to just SCCA because every body except SCCA requires an SFI approve device?

Oh, well. I tried, boys. There is a 9 hour race at Road Atlanta in December. We have 4 RA dates for next season with 3 hour races and another 9 hr race. CMP, Charlotte Motorspeedway as well.

[Ron Earp]

Deleted, missed the author's point.

[Cobrar05]

I am tired of the "Its not an enduro" line. The next step up from sprint race is enduro.
I am not aware of a single SCCA national or regional or NASA sprint race over 45 minutes in lenth.

Since there is nothing in between a sprint race and an enduro, by definition a race longer than a sprint is an enduro. The honest question is whether its your kind of enduro or not.

The "its not an enduro" claim only serves to eliminate or make exclusive YOUR kind of enduro racing. That means that it serves to discourage, not encourage people to join us. Thats the wrong approach. Hell, I drive a V8 car. I am not even allowed to enter most SCCA enduros. Thank god for NC Region and Atlanta Region.

So, lets start telling guys that are curious that its not an enduro unless they are ready to run at least 6 hours. Unless they know enough guys to crew the race car and know someone else he trusts to drive or is willing to chance driving someone else's car.

Last point in this rant. The pitstops. Its not a real enduro unless you have no required pitstops.

Grand Am Rolex requires a pitstop in the first 30 or 45 minutes of a race. I think ALMS does not allow any work on the car until fueling is completed. These are professional series. We are AMATEUR racers. AMATEUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1.a person who engages in a study, sport, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit or professional reasons. Compare professional.

Either we do pitstops in a way that takes as much of the risk for injury out of it or we go professional style, which means your entire team must be in firesuits with helmets.