Old ARRC Night Enduro

[Simon T.]

So I bought a LOT of GRM back issues at the Mitty and saw an article from the ARRC of 1997 I believe where there was a four hour night enduro, this particular one was red flagged due to rain and picked up Sunday afternoon.

Was that a one time thing or did they do that previous years as well? Why did they stop?

[TomL]

I crewed for a friend who ran that event. Running in an absolute downpour when you can't see a *#$^$@# thing is not a lot of fun. As I recall, that was the first (or maybe second) time a night enduro was attempted, except as part of a pro weekend. And I'm pretty sure that that fiasco was the last time it was attempted.

[bhudson]

Atlanta Region had done a shorter night enduro earlier that year as a test for the ARRC enduro and it ran very smoothly. But it was also held in June (I think) with clear weather.

That year's ARRC got behind schedule fairly early on Saturday due to the rain, so the enduro started at least an hour later than originally planned. That meant the race started in the dark AND rain. Cars started falling off the course and getting stuck on lap 1. Visibility was poor and attempts at full course yellows were difficult at best.

In my opinion (I was a flagger at the time) it was the combination of rain and darkness at the start that doomed the race. Had the race started in daylight, even with rain, I think it would have been okay. Likewise, had it been clear weather all day, even starting in the dark would have probably worked out.

Because there were so many problems, it's unlikely to be done again. Also, the current schedule of sprint races on Saturday with the enduro on Sunday seems to work pretty well.

[KelleyHux]

Gosh ... and the whole reason we went to the ARRC that year was because of the night enduro. Turn 1 was a very interesting place to be for that event.

Despite the rain (and the references to the "ARK" for years to come), we had a fabulous time with our friends in the Atlanta Region. We went back to the ARRC in 1999 and have made several of the Petit LeMans events since then.

If the Atlanta Region would run the ARRC enduro in the dark again, we'd probably come to the ARRC instead of the PLM.

Kelley Huxtable
DMVR
"PLAY SAFE"

[Greg Amy]

Man, I luuuuuv racing at night. And I luuuuuv Road Atlanta. The combo would be magical...

[Simon T.]

Cool, thanks for the info you all!

I too would love a night race at Road Atlanta. I'd even buy dinner for the corner workers and pay more than a typical enduro to enter! When I get my license of course. :P

[Cobrar05]

i'd offer just one cautionary word about doing a night enduro in november at road atlanta nowdays. deer.

they are there. ive seen them. just sayin'

[Simon T.]

i'd offer just one cautionary word about doing a night enduro in november at road atlanta nowdays. deer.

they are there. ive seen them. just sayin'

We also have:

-Groundhogs in the turn 11-12 area.
-A baby bear (last year)
-Wild turkeys.
-Snakes.
-Large birds that love to sit on track or in an impact zone.

[M2cupcar]

I felt compelled to reply to this older thread since I was there.

We ran my 90 showroom stock Miata with the suspension kit (shocks/sways/springs) from my street Miata, ITS. Given the classification in ITS, we were praying for rain. I ran a bunch of rain races that year at Rd. Atl and had a quick rain line, very familiar with where the puddles/rivers formed with the amount of water and so on. We got our wish- while sitting on the grid the rain started falling. Yay! We also figured rain at night would make it even more intimidating.

The real problem was that a lot of the guys that went off were having trouble getting back on the track with race tires. I think more than a few were not on rains too- compounding issues. BUT there were no collisions. Honestly it was some of the most careful racing I've ever seen. Drivers were racing the weather more than each other.

At about an hour into the race, I had the car up to fifth in ITS and was right behind 4th when the black flag all was shown. We sat on pit road for ten minutes or so when they informed us there would be a driver meeting. Basically it was those doing well vs. those not doing well. The guys that were doing well were mostly the underdogs and they essentially were out voted by the majority (more than few podium frequenters). Sucks to be us.

I was raised on the 24 hrs of Daytona, and to me endurance racing is about conquering the challenges. Not quitting for any reason beyond complete failure. You either fix it or live with it, but keep on marching. So I came away from that ARRC enduro feeling like a lot of people "gave in". I went into that race fully prepared for the challenge of racing in the absolute worst conditions I have ever been in.

I have some in-car video from the race and if I get it up on youtube at some point I'll link it here. Things that I distinctly remember from the race where coming through the bridge and using things like a street light outside of turn 12 to mark you steering turn in. This was back when the inside of the bridge was actually an apex and there was something called the dip instead of a 10a/b.

I'm still thankful that I got to run what I did though, just a shame it didn't play out like we'd hoped for. - Rob