The 25 hours of Thunderhill or the 24 hour LeMan have always been staggering events where endurances of both man and machine have been pushed creating newer horizons to scale. Drivers and manufacturers have impelled every drop of sweat and technical prowess for glory. But come March 2013 and a new format of endurance racing will make these grueling races an amateur contest in comparison.
Scheduled to get underway on 14th March 2013, the event would be held in North of Spain at the Circuit of Navarra. The race is being hailed as the “longest race in the world” across 5 classes of participation. From the current GT3, Ferrari Challenge and Porsche Cup Racing to the CN Prototypes and GT4 race cars. The event even before the starts seems a slugfest considering 40 teams have already confirmed their participation and will span across 80 different models of vehicles from 28 various brands.
With the endurance title arduous enough in its own right, a monetary booster in form of prize money between $263,500 to $527,000 would be at stake depending upon the number or participating entries. Rules state that each team could comprise between five to eight drivers with a maximum 10 hours per driver in shifts of two hours each. Also all teams are permitted for rescues and repair operations, including engine changes.
Endurance racing is about to set a new benchmark!