2015 25 Hours of Thunderhill...FFR PDG GTM TAKES THIRD PLACE!!!

[crash]

3rd in class, 3rd overall.

It rained half the time and I ran 10.5 hours of the race. I love the rain.

The Toyo rain tires performed like no other rain tire I have ever run. We were the 2nd fastest car in the heavy rain fall 3AM downpour. Only the Audi with traction control and ABS was faster than us during the heavy rains.

The Baja Designs LED headlights never skipped a beat, even in 100+ MPH driving rain. Great lighting.

The Mendeola transaxle shifted roughly 9000 times this weekend without any hiccups. It performed flawlessly.

The race from the cockpit of the FFR PDG GTM was live video cast, and there was also a professional camera crew on hand documenting our journey this year, so once we find out where and when that is going to be available, we will let you all know.

More to come, but our first podium in the 25, and we are all very happy with the result this year.

48391

[FFRSpec72]

Was a great race, congrats to the PDG team, a great accomplishment, was good to see the "kit cars" in some of top spots this year

[kabacj]

Very well done team PDG.

Yeah traction control and abs are a huge advantage in the rain especially over the number of hours you guys were out there.

I'm happy to see all the hard work pay off. Very well done

[Taz Rules]

Congrats on your best ever finish at the 25!

You worked hard and overcame adversity this past year, and you earned this!

[johngeorge]

Excellent job TEAM!!! wish I was there :(

[Fraser D]

Well done!!!
Huge effort!!!

[David Hodgkins]

Incredible result! Will you be posting a full race report? Did you manage NO trips behind the wall this year?

:)

[The Stig]

Nice job Mike! Congrats to you and the rest of the team. :cool:

Mike.

[Martin]

I must have watched about 6 hours of the live timing screen (couldn't get the video going on my phone). The lap times slowed down a massive amount as it looked like it was a downpour for most of the night. The Audi just seemed to keep going (traction control and ABS) and going. I think the top three cars were all solid as a rock.

I think the radical drove into a pit crew member and broke his foot so they were disqualified, not sure what happened to the Davidson team (they did a 1:39 lap!?!?) when they just stopped. I'm not sure how the race is billed, but if it is supposed to be the premier endurance race at club level, it's a rich mans game. A few of the teams that were there must have enormous budgets.

Great result for PDG though.

Martin

[Fraser D]

http://headonphotos.net/gallery/NASA/NASA2515/4/index.html

Link to the official race photos of the PDG GTMR.
Great action shots
When you see the photos you will appreciate the comments about how much rain they had.

[crash]

Incredible result! Will you be posting a full race report? Did you manage NO trips behind the wall this year?

:)

Yep.

Our only issue was a tow in to the hot pits and a computer reset that took us 8 minutes due to water getting somewhere it shouldn't have. Still don't know quite what it was, but we also lost the radios to rain and did most of the race without radio contact. Other than that one issue, brake pad changes, switching to rain tires, and fueling we ran non stop and all of those later three were part of the plan.

Can't say enough about the team this year and the Toyo tires. We never ran Toyos because we had been told that they were a couple seconds a lap slower than the Yokohamas. Well they are, but they last FOREVER and the rain tires are second to none...literally. I'm betting we will be on Toyos again next year as I was REALLY pleased with how they performed. We may be able to do the entire 25 without a tire change if it stays dry! They last THAT long. :)

[crash]

I must have watched about 6 hours of the live timing screen (couldn't get the video going on my phone). The lap times slowed down a massive amount as it looked like it was a downpour for most of the night. The Audi just seemed to keep going (traction control and ABS) and going. I think the top three cars were all solid as a rock.

I think the radical drove into a pit crew member and broke his foot so they were disqualified, not sure what happened to the Davidson team (they did a 1:39 lap!?!?) when they just stopped. I'm not sure how the race is billed, but if it is supposed to be the premier endurance race at club level, it's a rich mans game. A few of the teams that were there must have enormous budgets.

Great result for PDG though.

Martin

Lets just say that looking forward from our starting position on the 6th row was humbling. The Ginetta and the Audi were definitely the biggest $$ teams at the track. The Ginetta lost traction when it dropped a wheel coming onto the straight very early on and hit HARD a number of times into the tires and maybe even the concrete wall. They were pitted next to us, and while the driver was okay the carbon fiber tub was reportedly damaged to the point that they could not fix the car. I believe it was the owner driving at the time. It felt like I was driving in some huge series when I came around and had to dodge literally dozens of large pieces of carbon body work that was strewn about the track.

Without a doubt, every year this event gets more and more popular with the professional teams and drivers. We had three pro drivers lined up for this year to drive the FFR PDG GTM and just a couple of weeks before this race they dropped out on us. We also had no tire or brake sponsors as the pro drivers were also supposed to provide those as well, so we went to our friends and competitors and asked if they could help us out. We literally two weeks ago were considering not running because we couldn't find brakes and money for fuel. MasterCard, UPS red label, and our competitors saved the day, and the rest is history.

All three of my co drivers I raced against on the track this year. Last week I also came down with a cold. Amoxicillan brought me back in just three days time. The challenges this year were monumental. HUGE background story, and lots of "where there is a will there is a way" going on. Don't know if I will get the chance to put it all down in writing, but just know that the support we get from all of you on this forum, and the racing community at large really helps keep us doing what we do.

Lots of sponsors like Mendeola Transaxles, Factory Five Racing, Baja Designs Lighting, My Race Shop.com, Tel Tac, Chase Chevrolet, Slush Rips, and dozens of volunteers all make this race possible for Team PDG, and we have to give a HUGE "THANK YOU"!! to all those that help support this epic adventure.

[crash]

Excellent job TEAM!!! wish I was there :(

Yep.

We wish you and Karen would have been there. Would have been like the "good old days" of having three Factory Five cars at this event.

[Taz Rules]

PM sent

[crash]

Video of raw qualifying footage now posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Bx7Z0kEGY

[kabacj]

Video of raw qualifying footage now posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Bx7Z0kEGY

Haha nice save at 10:37. You need more rear tire ;).

I'm always amazed by the closing speeds. It seems faster in the dark probably, but you guys sure need to trust the slower guys. If they close the door on you there is nothing you could do.

And boy not so easy to get a semi clear qualifying lap either!

It just shows how hard it is to podium in a race like the 25.

[crash]

Haha nice save at 10:37. You need more rear tire ;).

I'm always amazed by the closing speeds. It seems faster in the dark probably, but you guys sure need to trust the slower guys. If they close the door on you there is nothing you could do.

And boy not so easy to get a semi clear qualifying lap either!

It just shows how hard it is to podium in a race like the 25.

One of the most amazing things is that all three podium cars had virtually zero body damage after this race. Both us and the Audi had a tire rub mark from a competitor on the right rear of the cars, but other than that all were untouched. We take a lot of time to pass people, and the flash to pass feature...well I'm surprised the button is not worn out!

[crash]

For those that don't receive the emails from FFR, here's a link to the article they had on PDG on the website...

http://www.factoryfive.com/whats-new/team-pdg-scores-podium-finish-at-25-hours-of-thunderhill/?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Factory%20Five%20Racing,%20Inc.&utm_content=December2015-Blast

[Santiago]

Fantastic job! Really, this is inspiring for many of us. Way to go!