K-CLASS VAPES THUNDER ENDURO SEASON 3 PREVIEW
The Thunder Enduro is all about unpredictability, the Pi’s change the weather is unknown and depends on the world as it is. So planning ahead is difficult, a car that maybe a rocket ship at one circuit tested to death, maybe a slow coach at a circuit later in the season untested. It may be as we have seen before, a car is brilliant at the base Pi, and then totally rubbish when it drops down the index, the Honda NSX of Season 1 was like that. Or a car that handles everything that is thrown at it, the TVR Sagaris last season did that.
Teams and drivers scramble for the best car, DART were the first out of the box this season, only to dump the car and look like they were in turmoil. Then the DART Alfa set impressive times at one venue that saw other others drivers leave teams
NIKEMIKERULES will be hoping for title number 3 with a return to Mazda Cars
in search of a new car. Crazy as no one knows what the Pi’s and the weather will be when we go to that circuit later in the season. Season 3 is upon us, and it has the biggest change of teams and cars we have seen yet. Many in the paddock are predicting one of two drivers to lift the title, two drivers never to have won a Thunder Enduro race, whilst the chit chat has seen 6 drivers named as winners of races this season, that have never won a race in the history of the series. It’s unpredictable that makes it fun to most.
For the past two seasons Nikemikerules has lifted the Drivers Championship, in both seasons he was one of the two preseason favourites, but although SleazyBet have him at the shortest odds, many in the paddock don’t think it will be three out of three. Mike starts the season on his own at RML in a Mazda RX-7; a different Mazda of course served him very well in season 1. He has been obviously fast in testing at a number of the tracks, but you have to wonder if the motivation is there to do it all again, and add to this Mike’s head dropped in Season 1 when the car was uncompetitive and its likely to be at a low Pi at times this season. Will that even see him finish the season? Being on your own will not hurt you as badly in the teams this season with the changes, but with no teammate will RMl lose to many points on those low Pi days, or will Mike have the consistency to carry home a defence of the team honours? You would be foolish to write off the champion, he drove brilliantly last season, and he proved in season 1 that the key to winning the Drivers Title is to get the bonus points on the board from day 1. His biggest rivals last season came from the DARE pair, but DARE are no longer and the two teammates are elsewhere. Bradderstig is still without a win, the joint championship favourite in Season 1 and 2, can’t buy the top step of the podium, surely this won’t happen in season 3. He shocked the paddock on Media Day in joining Cerberus and taking the Camaro with him. The big American car has oodles of torque and the team have been impressive in testing at Silverstone, but what will be the fuel consumption on the car, and will it be too heavy and tyre hungry at a lower Pi? Bradderstig has joined Kinkycowboys in an exciting line up; Kinky has had podiums each season but is still without a win. In the past, he has been heavily involved in trying to tune a car and having Bradders on board is lightening that load and helping him to concentrate on the driving. If the car is good he should break his winning duck, and with the help of new brake pads for him and steering changes he is hoping to give his teammate a fright even without a Pi drop on two. Cerberus is running 3 cars this season, they have kept the Escort Cosworth that they initially ran for Devil Lord and he is running that under the Cerberus with Ford banner. The Escort is the most used car in the series and Devil Lord has fantastic form with it, having won Class A in Season 1. With the vast data available and the knowledge it runs decently at a lower Pi from the Modsports series, don’t discount Devil Lord regaining his Class A title.
CQR Posh Rob and Scarlet Witch are looking for trophies in the Subaru.
The second DARE driver from last season, and the other many are tipping for overall honours is Posh Rob. Posh Rob jumped ship and moved over to the new Scarlet Witch Racing team that have the works Subaru contract. The Subaru BRZ proved to be a decent car last season, winning a round and it has impressed many in testing at Silverstone, with Posh Rob leading the times. He has improved massively as a driver, and is now classed amongst the best on the grid. His teammate Scarlet Witch is reasonably new to the series, and she drove brilliantly at the last round of Season 2 to score points. She may not trouble the front of the grid, but many in the pit lane believe she maybe the girl to beat in the AM class this season, which must be her focus.
KRR Racing had a difficult Season 2 after lifting the Season 1 team’s trophy. RangersRick has left, and been replaced by ABigPieKey, and most surprisingly of all is the fact the Nissan, or as the pitlane call it, the Datsun, is back again. Last season Rick tamed the 370z in AWD trim, so it’s may be a surprise that both cars are in the wilder if not faster RWD spec. Lead driver BMR Sutton believes the lower Pi is the making of the car, and it is a star with less power, and if he is right he could be fighting for the title. There is no doubting BMR Sutton pace, he is the second most successful Thunder Enduro racer, and if we have 11 days like Monza or Long Beach from last season, he can win the title. His teammate is an interesting one, for the past two seasons Sutton had a slight edge over Rick on pace, but Rick was more consistent, many believe PieKey might have the pace to be the fastest in the team, and he is on a high from winning the K-Class Cup. Both are capable of the Drivers title and they also start as the favourite for the Team honours as well.
The RML Development team were the first to pick a car, and have stuck with it, and again have clocked up the miles testing. Robraceruk had a fantastic season last time out, yes the results may have been disappointing to the driver but the truth was he was fighting for wins and competitive. The Lotus was well developed and he has the same confidence with the Honda S2000, although it hasn’t looked a great car in the ModSports series. The top speed is very good, but it looks a handful over the bumps. Lead driver Robraceruk is vowing to rid the disappointment of last season and win a round, whilst teammate Mad will be looking for Class A honours as unlike his teammate he is running in AWD trim. You rather sense he isn’t as confident in the Honda, unlike his teammate he hasn’t run the car in the ModSports series so has a lot less miles behind the wheel. Mad is a very consistent driver and will rack up the points in class if the car is good. RML Development big rivals are DART, and expect the usual battles between these 4 on and off track. DART picked the BMW M2 and then saw Major Raver leave the team, which prompted the closure of DARE as well. Then Major Raver returned to the team bringing his Alfa contract with him, it’s like a scene from Hollyoaks. Wambogini was happy with the BMW, and did not look keen to see the Alfa back, but he has been very encouraged with the testing in the reworked car. Major Raver has made the little sportscar fly in the long distant ModSport rounds, in fact he has only been beaten by the Mazda’s MX5’s of the now defunct sister team in both races. Raver’s testing pace at Maple Valley shocked a lot of people, and as we know Wambogini can fly around there having won in the THORS Porsche series at the Canadian venue. They have gone from the heaviest most powerful car, to the lightest least powerful car, and it may change their fortunes, or leave them breathless out of the corners.
ABigPieKey joins KRR, and the Nissan returns in an exciting line up.
Devilsbogeyman is the first ever FWD runner.
A team new to the series is GRT, set up by RangersRick and joining him is NitroRushmini. The team are running a pair of AWD Acura Integra, the Integra in RWD lifted an Enduro Series nearly 10 years ago. Rick has been clear, he is out to lift the overall Class and Class A titles that he won last season. He isn’t out for the Drivers Championship and is also hoping for a top 5 in the teams for his new team. NitroRushmini had a brilliant season last time out and is one of the fastest most consistent drivers in the series. Both drivers can win a round, and expect to see some banter and rivalry between this team and KRR through the season. Another new team is the Northern Monkeys, who have the season 1 winning car of the Lancia 037 and the reigning AM champion Basslinejunkio. Bass is now out of AM after his success, but the team are hopeful of defending the crown as Badbeat runs in the second car and is many people’s tip to lift it. The two Lancia’s are good cars, and Bass is fast, whilst Badbeat is getting quicker all the time. Don’t be surprised to see both drivers trounce their best ever results later in the season, and podiums for Bass are possible.
Class A for AWD is where we see the excitingly fast Hoppers Sport R&D team, and the Evo 6’s. J47TEE has the budget for the season and returns from his win last season, whilst teammate AtomStew became a star in the second half of the season. These two are quick drivers and will be well in the hunt in Class A, and also for overall wins. They can’t be discounted in the team battle, but will need to find some consistency. Team owner Hoppers is running on his own in the ex KRR Clio Sport, and has racked up a number of testing miles, in fact he has already done more than he did in last season’s car ever. He must surely be aiming to score a point this season and close the gap in the AM class, and if he keeps the testing up may end up with some memorable days further up the field. Another to watch for in AM is Penfold, and he is armed with the unique Renault Alpine. DMR announced the car early and some in the paddock are impressed, in fact many believe Kenty will win a round or two. Penfold has looked happier in the French car more than in the Kia last season, but he drove brilliantly in the Stinger in the second half of the season. Kenty has good form in the THORS Touring Car series and if the mood takes he will be close to the sharp end of the field.
Team Hard are returning with a pair of BMW Z4’s but on a limited programme again. In both seasons RGreenwood has shown promise and if the team get the best out of the car, they are a potential podium finisher. Also due to make an appearance is CarCrazyCal, he will miss Silverstone but is expected for rounds 2 and 3 and will be in the mix for victories at both rounds. Another who may break his winning duck this season is CelticFox. Celtic is always known for running something different, and has a Pontiac as his weapon of choice. The car will be quick in a straight-line, and Quicksilver believe this car is more of a Viper from Season 1 than and Aston Martin of Season 2. And finally, and for good reason, we have Devilsbogeyman. The Fyfe Flyer has finally moved on from his ever reliable Mercedes A45 and picked up the Honda Civic, and in FWD trim. Yes we have a FWD runner! It will be with great interest to see how he does over the season, and don’t discount him in the AM class as he is more than capable of winning that.
So that’s the main event, we also have the support series, which looks like being close again, a number of the favourites from last season are returning, like the Citroen 2cv’s, Formula Mazda, TORC Touring Cars, Holden Utes and the Porsche’s, but we also see a trip to Indianapolis and a NASCAR support race on the oval.
So all the talk starts on Tuesday at Silverstone International. I’m going for Bradderstig to win the title, RangersRick to lift the AWD crown, KRR to win the teams, with Badbeat to take AM honours. But what do I know? I certainly never predicted Nikemikerules to dominate last season, and maybe the champion will show that crushing form again and make it 3 out of 3.
Can Cerberus and Bradderstig test the top step of the podium at last?
The racing through the field will be closer than ever.