Endurance

[pforrester]

As I scan down the Donington availability form for this year, my eye is drawn to the LMES meeting at the end of August. Part of me thinks "great, something different (and hopefully it won't be raining!)", while another part of me thinks "good lord, X hours standing around waiting to push some BIG cars out of some DEEP gravel". What are others' experience of endurance racing, and why do you enjoy doing it (or the reverse, if that is the case)?

[TwoSheds]

As a flag marshal I enjoy endurance racing as I know I will be busy for most of the race. I also enjoy how different teams put their tyre and fuel stop strategies together and then seeing how well they work.

[Alan Green]

Firstly, I enjoy endurance racing;

From a flag marshals point of view, yes you can guarantee to keep busy throughout a race such as the LMES, the EERC races, Uniroyal FunCup, etc. For pit marshals it's busy with teams in & out of the pitlane and the monitoring that is required there.

For course & incident, to be honest, they can drag but you know that given the right incident / corner / conditions they can be some of the best races of the season.

And there must be something about endurance racing. A few people make a trip to France every summer for some enduro race or other and members of this forum were part of the first Silverstone 24hr last year which was fantastic will hopefully be bigger and better this year (if there's enough marshals to man it given the congestion in the midlands that weekend )

Al

[b1ackcr0w]

Instead of regurgitating the whole sorry saga, here's the main thread about how tenth's folk fared at last year's LMES at Silverstone.

http://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72416

While me and many others there were bitten at that meeting, I think even the angryest of us would have to agree it was a fantastic experience despite the problems.

My suggestion is give it a go. I'll never forget the unique excitement of being inside the Luffield loop for 6 hours, hypnotised by the astonishing skill and bravery of what are most of Europe's best drivers. Not to mention the unique thrill of top level prototyes at close range in the dark.

But just be prepared for a very long day on post.

[Paul Newns]

As a flag marshal I enjoy the challenge of flagging a long distance event. Keeping track of who is leading keeps the mind active. As for the cars, they look and sound wonderful.

[The Fat Clerk]

Endurance is my favourite sort of racing if I'm out on the bank, I'll be @ the Nurburgring & Silverstone 24 hour races this year and have previously done Le Mans, Spa & Daytona.
Donington is a different kettle of fish though, I find a 10lap race there bad enough & after many years of doing the LMES & one great ALMS race @ Silverstone, I'll be giving Donny a miss.

[Woolley]

Despite the experience of Silverstone last year, I am an endurance sportscar nut at heart and will make the trip to Donny for a bit of flagging. I will be looking carefully at the timetable and seeing how much I'm prepared to do, and it won't include Friday.

[JimW]

I like eight lap races round Mallory so doubt if LMES is really my thing.

Regards

Jim

[Cynic]

I'm not sure why I like endurance racing: I think it's the technical aspect - building a car that can be fast and reliable over several hours (not to mention the driving) is pretty amazing. I think it's something that's always worth trying once to see what it's worth, but I wouldn't recommend jumping straight into a 24hr - I did! I think it's also worth pointing out that most of the grumbles concerning last years LMES and Britcar races were mainly about organisational aspects. I don't think too many people had issues with the quality of the racing.

[Marshal]

Its like the difference between a test match and a one day match in cricket. If you can't understand why the former is the better, then there's probably no explaining it. Flagging Edurance racing is just he best

[Englishman]

I'm trying to venture a little further afield this year and so am not planning too many Donington days but I have to admit this LMES event has me interested.

Yep, I'm another endurance nut.

Only problem is the family have this pencilled in for our summer holiday. I wonder.../??

[b1ackcr0w]

Yup, I have to agree with Cynic. All of us are desparately hoping that the LMES Silverstone debacle is going to be the low tide mark as it was put at the time.

I think it is fair to warn endurance newbies to the possible downside of the discipline. Mainly because although I really do badly hope it doesn't happen again, I don't think enough will have changed to make a similar problem impossible. Lets face facts, Donnington is murder for undermanning on Saturdays, never mind Friday. How man times have you been alone on a post at Donny on a Saturday AM? Probably not very many because you all thought sod that for a game of fish fingers.

BUT!!!!

Go and see for yourself, Gt & Endurance racing is a bit like Marmite, you either love it and crave it or you hate it and the very mention of it curls your toes. If you are the former, it'll be like the first time you fell in love.

[ss_collins]

if your gonna do it read the blue book rules on the topic

[Woolley]

Since the first two races I ever went to watch were an ETCC 500k at Donington and a Group C 1000K at Silverstone, I think I can safely say it's in my blood. Not that I have a problem with 8 lappers around Mallory either.

[Steve Tarrant]

Like Woolley, I am more than happy watching an 8-lap dash with a pack of Mini's or doing 24 hour races at Le Mans or Daytona, so am more than happy being involved in endurance races, and plan to do so once again this year.

I wasn't at Silverstone for last year's LMES race, but see the organising club has been changed from BRSCC to BARC, so there are different task masters at the top. Therefore it would not be fair to smear them with any problems from last year's race before they have had the chance to organise a race of this type and show if they are capable of pulling it off.


Steve

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by Cynic

I think it's also worth pointing out that most of the grumbles concerning last years LMES and Britcar races were mainly about organisational aspects. I don't think too many people had issues with the quality of the racing.

Not so! I don't think anybody's complained about how BRSCCNW ran the Oulton meeting. The complaints were all centred around the pathetically small grids & the total lack of anything which could be remotely construed as racing. If anybody had any doubts about endurance 'racing' that fiasco would have put them off for life; no way will I be put through that again, a feeling shared, I think, by many of the Oulton 'regulars'.

[Cynic]

Sorry, should have been more specific. WhenI mentioned Britcar I was reerrring only to the 24hr at Silverstone. I didn't attend any other Britcar meets so can't comment on them.

[Shelagh]

My first "endurance" race was at Donington (circa 1991) - 4 hours of Le Mans-type cars and I was in the middle of the loop for all of it. I think I set a record getting to the loos by the railway carriage at the end!!!!! But it was Le Mans 1992 that got me hooked into this form of racing.

As a flaggie, I find it absolutely brilliant - even if I haven't got a clue of who is where (usually after the first pit stops!). My advice is just to treat it the same as a practice session, faster cars will be wanting to overtake slower ones. Also remember that LMES and such type cars use white headlights for the fastest classes and yellow headlights for the slower - very helpful in the dark!

From working in Race Control last year, I can also confirm that most organising clubs will try to give reasonably frequent updates of the first 5-10 cars, although if the FIA are involved that isn't always so easy (they get so tetchy about radio traffic). That can help get you back into the rythmn.

[Stoowert]

I think the most important thing about marshalling endurance races is to keep in touch. At Le Mans one person, at least in every team is glued to Radio Le Mans as it does become a bit like standing by (A very fast) the M25! In the UK you could invest in a scanner, as long as you don't act on it. For instance to hear that a car is moving very slowly in a part of the track up from you, you are on your toes at once! Now's the time to impress your mates!
For EERC races, why not try and do a basic lap chart for the top ten cars. That works well until you have to deal with an incident! Then the whole thing's down the Swanee!

[Seoigh]

'Off to Control Room for Rolex 24 at Daytona...NOW!

yes...another endurance nut...

Cheers All

[PapaJuliet]

Well I did the Britcar 24 hour at Silverstone and I am hooked. I found that it was fun trying to follow the "stories" as they changed throughout the 24 hours. For example "the" Mercedes and the progress (or not) of the Mazda RX-7 (I drive an RX-8) so I was slightly biased on that matter.

Also I thought the end was absolutely exilerating. I was at Luffield Centre so we actually stood AT pit lane entry on the slowing down lap (no-body official is listening to this, are they?) and every single driver acknowledged the marshals, which helped to make it all worth while. I, for one, will be at Silverstone for the next 24 hour since a possible trip to Mongolia is looking rather less likely (the group appears to be going but I can't afford it in terms of money OR time off work). That is about the only thing I have decided for this year.

Slightly I received my copy of the Marshal's Post today and there is a letter in it from James Tucker (from EERC? anyway he organised the Britcar 24 hour) where he thanked all who helped and said some very nice things about us marshals. I was impressed with James at Silverstone (e.g when he gone rid of the Ferraris because they only presented about 12 cars) and I thought it was a very nice gesture to make a public thanks.

This is a slightly longer post than expected.

PJ

[Hepatic]

i think the EERC guys did a fantastic job at silverstone as i haven't heard a bad word said about it, but Oulton was just awful last year. For that reason alone i won't do Oulton's EERC unless someone can promise us the grid will be full, and not the pathetic 14cars we had last year.

On the note of Enduro's, i just love the cars. The silverstone issues were more to do with the TV schedule dictating racing rather than anything else, but despite having to take time off work afterwards due to exhaustion, i look back at it with memories of the racing and not all the other stuff.

It's one of those "must try once" things, which is why i'm down to do the F1 this year. If you haven't done it before, at least give it a go as watching cars racing at dusk is just awesome

[Woolley]

Originally Posted by Hepatic

The silverstone issues were more to do with the TV schedule dictating racing rather than anything else, but despite having to take time off work afterwards due to exhaustion, i look back at it with memories of the racing and not all the other stuff.

Not to mention the lousy and long-winded support programme and sundry other organisational eccentricities...

The LMES were, however, fantastic despite terrible weather. Once they did get racing, oh, boy!

[blueflagger]

Flagging a good endurance race is the best! In the old days of GTP (Group C to you), we would have four classes of cars at once on our longest tracks. My arms got tired from so much flagging but you could not wipe the smile from my face. The speed differentials really kept us on our toes.

[Shelagh]

I remember the first ALMS race at Silverstone a few years back which ran "into the dusk". A crowd of us were staying with the Whitlocks and we had all been flagging, except Chris, and the "buzz" as we discussed the race over our very late tea was amazing. I still feel sorry for Chris because the rest of us were totally hyper!

I was woken up at about 3am the following morning - by the pain from classic tennis elbow symptoms in my right arm, caused by all the blueing!!!