The Devil in the Dark 2013

I think my ride is locked in. I'm pretty excited about it! Should be highly entertaining - and educational...

K
 
RST Performance Racing is happy to officially announce that we will be running the #50 Mazda RX8 at the “Devil In The Dark” 12 hour endurance race. The team has competed in several multi-driver 3hr and 4hr endurance races however this will be the first time that the team takes on a 12hr endurance race. It will also be the first time that we will be racing at night!

At this years event not only will the car turn some heads but we are also excited to announce our driver line-up that should turn even more heads!

Long Time endurance driver/champion: Kirk Knestis
FWD hero: Tim Dugan
Co Pilot: Raymond Blethen
RX8 "pro" driver: Stephen Blethen
5th driver: To Be Announced!

The team of drivers will be supported in pit lane by the same people who have helped make RST Performance Racing so successful over the years:

Crew Chief: Randy Schneiderheinze
Alignment Specialist: Tom Gray
Diagnostics: James Chafe
Gas Man: Justin Abbott

We are also happy to announce that we will be working with SCCA officials to test a possible future tire rule for long distance endurance racing. The car will be set up per the NASA PTC class but will run in the ITX3 class with a street tire restriction putting us in the highly competitive E3 Endurance Class for this event. We are confident that despite the restrictions on the car and the number of pit stops we will need to make, our driver line-up will be able to keep us near the front of the pack against all of the Miata’s!

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RST Performance Racing has been competing and supporting SCCA road racing since 1984; Information can be found at www.rstperformance.com. More information about the Devil In The Dark 12 hour endurance race can be found at www.thedevilinthedark.com.
 
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Woo-hoo! This is going to be *very* interesting. I'm jazzed about being part of the tire test initiative. Props to the organizers for giving this a shot!

K
 
So how far do miatas go on a tank of gas? WE only go about 60-65 minutes so I am thinking we may be at a HUGE disadvantage!

With that being said does anyone know how long an average pit stop time with refuelling takes?

With some math I can set some goals for us to start practicing :) Surely the gas will take less time since it only fits 12-13 gallons max.

Do people set up lighting out over the pit wall into pit lane? how is the lighting that already exists from the track?

What other random things do we need to plan for?


Excited to be participating in this event, I have heard nothing but great things in the past and I am excited to be part of it this year. Pretty cool to have the famous "K" with us as well! I almost put a "K" on the window instead of his last name :)

Stephen
 
Pablo used to need about 3.5 minutes (additional time on the lap, not time sitting still) to do tires, 22 gallons of fuel (NASCAR dry break dump), and driver change. That presumes the typical rules that require the driver out while refueling.

Pit lights are helpful but differ in importance by track. I have to confess I don't remember how much lighting the track provided last year but I think it was pretty good...

K
 
The supps dictate driver out while fueling.

We used two halogens (think the ones painters use) on the wall at Road Atlanta to illuminate our hot pit, we'll use that with another two on a stand for additional. We've also decided on some sort of lighting inside our EZ Up to help with finding tools and such on the cold side. For this we'll use a couple enclosed kitchen type fluorescent lights. Another quick idea I had from watching the Rolex is a cheap collapsible shelf, probably plastic four-levels that you'd find at H-D racing on the cold side for driver gear, otherwise the gear shits up your space, and drivers end up putting that stuff on seating surfaces, tool boxes and coolers.

Will
 
StephenB said:
So how far do miatas go on a tank of gas? WE only go about 60-65 minutes so I am thinking we may be at a HUGE disadvantage!

With that being said does anyone know how long an average pit stop time with refuelling takes?

With some math I can set some goals for us to start practicing :) Surely the gas will take less time since it only fits 12-13 gallons max.

Do people set up lighting out over the pit wall into pit lane? how is the lighting that already exists from the track?

What other random things do we need to plan for?


Excited to be participating in this event, I have heard nothing but great things in the past and I am excited to be part of it this year. Pretty cool to have the famous "K" with us as well! I almost put a "K" on the window instead of his last name :)

Stephen
Click to expand...

Stephen,
You have one of the best amature enduro experts on your team................ Ask him!!
 
RST Performance Racing is happy to announce that our 5th driver for the Devil in the Dark 12 hour endurance race will be Rob Foley! I think we have a great driver line up and the best crew we could ask for... Now the only thing to question will be how good these street tires do against the R compounds :)

Raymond
 
...and that is going to be a very interesting question. The more I think about it, the more I'm pleased to be part of this experiment. Go back and look at all of the "why is Chump/LeMons better than SCCA" conversations on the various boards. I'm convinced that much of the difference is cost (real or perceived) and that a pretty substantial chunk of that is tires. NJMP is going to be something of an acid-test for the concept, being relatively tough on tires but if we can demonstrate that we can get through a 12-hour race without using the 10 tires that I would typically dedicate to the process, it may be something of a game-changer.

K
 
Agreed... Interestingly the following weekend I am running the 15hr LeMons race at NHMS with 5 drivers in a Porsche 944. It will be very interesting to me to compare the cost of the two events. The biggest difference I see so far is the RX8 will be prepped with all new parts while the lemons car is being prepped with used stuff.

The other interesting note is the entry for the Lemons race is considerably MORE than the SCCA event.

Raymond
 
Testting for The Devil in the Dark

Registration for The Devil in the Dark Test is now open on DLB

The Test Day for this year's 12 Hour is being conducted by SCCA rather than the track. The format will be the same as in the past - a four hour open track session on Friday, 26 April on the Thunderbolt course.

Although the testing is primarily to support The Devil in the Dark, it is open to all closed wheel cars. Drivers do not need to be 12 Hour particpants in order to enter the Test Day. All drivers with SCCA recognized licenses are welcome.

Direct link to enter the Test Day: Register

Hope to see ya at The Devil

Terry
 
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Anybody looking for a team? We are trying to fill up our Savings Auto Center team for the 12 hour.

We will be running a top of the line 99 SM. This car and team has many wins including the 2011 SCCA runoffs championships. The team also has loads of experience with enduros winning the 4-hour at the glen last fall. We have 2 fast drivers so far and we're looking for 2 more.

Anyone with questions or interest can e-mail me at [email protected] or the team owner, Ademir directly at [email protected].

Matt Ferris
 
Up to 37 cars! Wow, what is the most that have ever run?

Also or the $200 test day entry can ALL drivers that are driving in the enduro Saturday drive the car?

Stephen
 
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Questions. Does this race allow overhead fuel rigs and dry breaks? If so why?
I saw some mention of a new tire rule. What isit??'
Thanks, Mm
 
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