SEASON 1 PREVIEW
The Enduro series returns on Tuesday night after a 6 year absence, with new drivers and new cars. 25 cars are so far entered for the season, and the organisers are hopeful of at least 16 cars a week to fight it out for the first Thunder Enduro Championship.
Most of the runners are usually found running in the superb PK Motorsport and THORS series, so the drivers are use to racing each other, so expect a number of rivalries from old to resurface. The entry list is led by preseason favourite Bradderstig86 who has joined Team Cheetah. Bradderstig is one of the fastest drivers in THORS and PK and pre-season has shown him at the top of the timesheets. The team have gone for a 2005 Honda NSX and he set the fastest time on media night at Silverstone, with a 2.08.732. The billiard smooth surface of the Northamptonshire circuit suited the Japanese sports car, but the team struggled for a bit of a balance on the bumper surface of Road Atlanta. Bradderstig is one of the best test and development drivers in the series so expect him to do a good job with the PI ballast when it comes into play.
The second Team Cheetah car is being run for the team owner Fkart5. Fkart5 has shown great speed in his short career and is the perfect foil for his more experienced team mate. The longer races will be a new experience for Fkart5 and may need a different approach which will help in his learning process. It was a smart move to bring Bradderstig into the team, as Fkart has admitted that development and tuning is not Cheetah’s strong point. Favourites for the team championship if FKart can curb some of his enthusiasm, the fun will start when they are equally matched on the track.
RML are usually the team to beat in the other series and will be in the mix again. They have opted for the Maxda RX7 and lead driver NikeMikerules was the quickest at Hockenheim on a 1.46.471. Unlike the Cheetah’s Honda, the Mazda looked like a bit more of a handful and in need of some testing, and some believed tyre wear maybe an issue. Second driver Robraceruk showed flashes of speed in the other car, and can be relied on to score a bagful of points. The longer race formats will work well for him as he has proved to be a consist runner that makes few mistakes.
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Cerberus is running the Ford Escort Cosworth for Kinkycowboys and Devil Lord 13. The Respol backed cars looked beautifully balanced on media night, Devil Lord being 4th fastest at Silverstone on a 2.12.825, a track not expected to play to the team’s strength. Don’t be surprised to see the Fords fighting for the top step of the podium at the likes of Laguna Seca. Kinky is another driver well known for his testing skills and the battle between these two equally matched team mates will be fascinating to watch.
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What could also be interesting is the team battle between Cerberus and KRR Racing. KRR looked very close to them on Media night and the two Gulf liveried Lancia 037’s showed plenty of torque out of the corners, and handled superbly. Both drivers are quick, veteran BMR Sutton is no stranger to longer races, whilst RangersRick is fast and reliable. Rick set a superb 2.11.406 around Silverstone which will see him challenging for the podium places.
.Many have him as a bit of a dark horse for the title and they are both capable of challenging for the team championship, especially if they end up making less pit stops than some of their rivals, which testing seemed to suggest.
DART are running the gorgeous looking Ferrari 288 GTO, and surprised many with its pace on Media night. The car may lack a bit of acceleration but it seemed to have the top end pace to burn and handled well, and it will be a challenger for the podium on some of the fast flowing tracks. The oldest car on the grid has the oldest driver pairing. Major Raver is extremely experienced in this form of racing, having done over 100 rounds and the long races will play to his strengths, whilst Wambogini21 has improved massively from a back marker to race winner in THORS. Raver shocked the paddock on Media night with a late lap of 1.26.723 around Road Atlanta which put him third fastest overall.
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Sister team DARE is running the Lotus Evora, which is a fine handling car, for Hoppers and Badbeat. Hoppers showed some promising pace in the car at Media Night, and has dipped into the 2.14s around Silverstone. His preseason testing has been blighted by electrical issues, whilst team mate Badbeat is late to the party. They may struggle in the early rounds and find themselves on 800pi, but expect them to improve through the season and surprise many if the potential is reached.
One of the big surprises of media night was CQR Rob and the Volvo. The Volvo was glued to the track and Rob went 5th fastest at Hockenehim on a 1.49.974. A lack of team mate may hinder a bit of development but there is no doubt he will be fighting for the independent honours. Rob currently also leads the AM division of the THORS Focus series, so his speed is not in any doubt. Another car with bags of pace in testing was the Hyundai Veloster of Kenty76. Kenty76 has formed a new team with Penfold called DMR Racing, and they showed a lot of promise on the test night. Like DARE it maybe a slow start for them, but results will come in the second half of the season. They may also be the one team running different drives on the car, as testing has spotted Penfold in and AWD drive car and Kenty in possibly a RWD.
Fife Flyer Devilsbogeyman had a struggle on Media night with the Alfa Romeo; the car looked well presented but a real handful on the brakes and lacked a bit of pace. The team were seen trying a Nissan 350z as well, which looked promising but lacks development at this stage. Devils is a promising runner, and rumours in the paddock of him joining another runner to form a new team are certainly interesting.
One of the bigger teams on the grid, Alert-it Motorsport, had a terrible media day. The two drivers Captain Storer and RGreenwood are no strangers to success in the THORS series, but the Subaru WRX 05 looked a real handful on his first appearance, so much so, that RGreenwood was seen trying out a Mini later on. Rumours in the paddock suggest the team are looking for a new car for the championship, but either way it wasn’t the start they were hoping for. It maybe a slow start to the season, but expect them to improve if they can get a car sorted out.
Many runners were still hard at work and missing from Media Night. One of those was WeeBilly. Billy is running on his own in the Mercedes 190E under the Speedhunters banner at the time of going to press, but he has been clocked around Silverstone in times that will give the Cheetah Honda’s a run for their money. If Speedhunters build a second Mercedes, then don’t write them off in the team championship either. Basslinejunkio is running the most off the wall car on the grid in a FWD Nissan Juke. Built and prepared by DART, the Nissan certainly brings a bit of spice to the gird, and Bass is one of the fastest FWD drivers around on his day. Don’t expect a championship challenge but expect a few fireworks when he appears.
Top Independent CelticFox is running the Dodge Viper and although missing on Media Night it is believed he has been running strongly in testing. Quicksilver racing always deliver a decent package and Celtic is a fast consistent driver who will score a podium or two through the season. Again like Speedhunters, a second car if it were to appear would certainly give the team a strong chance in the championship.
Ruffy60 has been seen in the Alfa 4c which looks a fine choice of car. Ruffy is a pretty fast driver and he could deliver a shock or two, especially around circuits with fast flowing corners. The only worry is the non appearance on Media Night and lack of recent news from the team has fuelled rumours of budget issues ahead of the season. Team THORS boss Diboor has been doing his James Bond bit and running around in a Lotus Esprit. Whether we see the car or Diboor race is unknown at the moment and will depend on other commitments.
Also entered for the season are Millyzwhites and A Big Pie Key. Neither have listed a car or a team, so it is unknown if they will run independently or rock up in a second car elsewhere. A number of cars have been built and in full running order, including a 2000 Ford Mustang, Porsche 924 and 1984 911, Mitsubishi Lancer 1999, Subaru BRZ, Honda Integra R and Alfa 8c to name but a few, so the machinery is available to any new runners.
So it all starts on Tuesday night at Silverstone. Expect Team Cheetah to lead the way in the opening round, and Bradderstig to be the favourite to lift the crown. But it won’t be easy for them and if past seasons are anything to go by, we could see at least 5 different winners and over ten different drivers finding themselves on the podium over the season by the time the flag falls at Spa for round 10.