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We had our first race of 2014 at DeBary Glen Saturday in the form of a 2hr enduro. The cars were Scaley modern GT types. They were specifically, a Ford GT(modern), a Maserati Trofeo, an Aston Martin DBR9 and a Ferrari F430. Two of the cars were borrowed from the track but all were very evenly prepared. I did not retrieve the data from the computer before exiting last night so I will add the race data sometime during the week. We had a couple of no shows so Marty Stanley in his Ford GT driving solo won the race with over 1,300 laps and a 14 lap margin of victory, Bob DeWoody(myself) and Rick Turner teamed up to come in second in my Maserati Trofeo. We suffered a broken guide flag late in the race and with the approval of the other racers finished with a Jaguar XKR GT3. Grant Goerner and Jim Smith finished third in a track owned Ferrari F430 about 30 laps back. Charles Neal, from Jacksonville, could not persuade any of his fellow north Florida racers to make the trip so he drove the entire race alone without a break. He was using the track owned Aston Martin DBR9. Late in the race as he was getting accustomed to the track he started turning some competitive laps.

At the midpoint of the race we took a break for a meal prepared by Marty and his wife Barbara. They served us meatball subs, which were delicious, and after about 30 minutes we got back to racing. We then ran two heats in partial darkness making use of the car's headlights. Then we finished the last two heats with the lights turned back on.

The track and the trackmate timing system performed flawlessly after a long period of inactivity. I spent the week prior to the race running laps on every lane and performing maintenance where problems appeared.

I want to thank everyone who showed up to make it a fantastic race with special thanks to Marty Stanley who made the race and won it only a little over a month after heart surgery. Way to go Marty.

ModlerBob,

I would like to thank you for all the hard work you put in making sure the track was ready for the race. The action was absolutely FLAWLESS! Nothing to detract from the total enjoyment of the racing action.

What a great time it was and trust me when I say I really needed to come and race yesterday. Cabin Fever was starting to set in to the point where it was affecting me.

I am already looking forward to our next event like this.

Great job on the race preparation.

That sounds like you guys had just as much fun with your enduro as we do (held at Mark's Model World in Canton, OH) Our enduros go 15 minutes per lane with a 30 second break between lanes to swap out cars/drivers - at the switch, you are NOT allowed to do anything besides swap your lane sticker and move the car - if you want to tape tires, lube, etc - you have to do that during actual race. :)
Ours are structured with the first two lanes in full light, the next lane with half the lights off, the next two lanes with all the lights off (you have some ambient light from the counter area across the building and the open sign out front - but not much! In fact all the marshals have flashlights so that if there is an off, they can find the car! (race is run in regular crash and burn format - so offs are something everyone wants to avoid in the dark!) That is followed with the reverse order of one lane at half lighting and the last two in full light.
These enduro races have a completely different dynamic than the normal 2 minute/lane races we normally run and the night driving REALLY adds a different spin to things - especially if you are driving those gutter lane(s) during the full dark!
If you've never had a chance to run / drive in one, I encourage you to try it as it is great fun! And as Modlerbob noted - you'll see some drivers/cars improve through the race and others that might fall off. Also, I've noticed that the two cars I have used in the ones that I have participated in run a LOT smoother/quieter now than they did when I started - particularly my viper - that drives soooooo much better now, it is like a different car! :D
Glad to see others running these types of races! :D

:clap: This was a fantastic race. The DeBary Glen Raceway is developing a reputation for it's outstanding Endurance racing. This was my second enduro in two years in your racing facility. You must really consider holding more than one enduro a year. Your Scalextric Sport racetrack was in tip top condition and all of your club members are very friendly. The race went very smoothly considering just how intense two hours of racing can be. Sign me up for the next one and maybe some of my Jacksonville friends will join me in making the trip down to DeBary. :auto-driving:
:text-thankyouyellow: I hope the meatball subs will be a part of the festivities next time too.

Our race last spring was dedicated to the memory of Ken Brown and I think we should make the April race dedicated to his memory again.

GREAT report there Bob! Thanks for sharing and I'm glad everyone had an excellent time.

Good stuff, really is. Congrats on a great race program.

Now does anyone have a camera? It would be nice to see some action and some of the great people involved.

Longer races are fun, kinda like open track time with a purpose. The crash and burn does change driving styles for the better. Now, if only North Florida were closer to East Tennessee...... ;-)

:music-rockout: Petit Le Mans De DeBary Glen of April 2014 :music-rockout:

This announcement suits me very much. Such good fun should be bottled and sold for profit... however ten dollars works for me.

I will be SO ready for this event. TorqueMutant will be ready for the Petit Le Mans De DeBary Glen of April 2014 but the question might just be... will your other competitors be ready for TorqueMutant. :teasing-neener:

We were somewhat distracted by the cold and only a few pictures were taken.

The computer did not save the heat by heat results of the race but there was a file with the final tally.

Team 1 (Marty Stanley) 1306 laps averaging 163.25/heat
Team 2 (Bob DeWoody & Rick Turner) 1292 laps averaging 161.5/heat
Team 4 ( Grant Goerner & Jim Smith) 1258 laps averaging 157.25/heat
Team 3 ( Charles Neal) 1156 laps averaging 144.5/heat

Great report Bob. Sounds like a great time! Will the Callaway Corvette be competing anytime soon?
Steve

:text-datsphatyo: Post photos of the race cars. :twocents-mytwocents: