Rotek Racing hopes to seal Audi’s first ever 25-hour race win by conquering the United States Air Force (USAF) National Auto Sport Association (NASA) 25 Hours of Thunderhill in Willows, California (7-8 December).
Audi has a rich and resounding record in endurance racing, having won the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours endurance classic ten times over a short 14-year period.
However, there remains one notable dearth in the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer’s record in 25-hour contests and Rotek Racing is in a prime position to resolve this deficiency as it guns for glory in the 2013 25 Hours of Thunderhill.
The super-enduro is billed as one of the toughest challenges in North American motorsport and an extreme proving ground for both teams and drivers.
The 4.83km-long Thunderhill Park Raceway, situated north of Sacramento in the USA’s “Golden State”, annually plays host to America’s longest race, which typically attracts a large and eclectic entry, spread over six classes.
The Sonoma and Nurburgring-based Rotek Racing operation, backed by Oakley, will field a sole Audi TTRS in the ES Class and driving duties will be shared between 2012 FIA World Touring Car Champion Rob Huff, American tin-top stars Robb Holland and Jeff Altenburg, Kevin Gleason and Roland Pritzker.
Huff is a full-time campaigner at the pinnacle of international touring car racing in the WTCC but enjoys returning to his roots in endurance racing.
The 33-year old Briton began his career in endurance Karting, but has more recently piloted a Volvo silhouette in the Spa 12 Hours, contested the Britcar 24 Hours at Silverstone and taken on the Bathurst 12 Hours in Australia with an Audi R8 LMS.
Holland, meanwhile, made history by becoming the first American to contest a round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), also entering selected rounds of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) with Team HARD. alongside a full VLN Endurance Championship programme with Rotek Racing.
Both Holland and Pritzker took on last year’s 25 Hours of Thunderhill with an 034 Motorsport-prepared Audi TTRS and were on course for victory until an unfortunate mechanical fault halted their charge.
Altenburg has 25 years of professional racing experience, notching up no fewer than 15 national championship titles in that time, including the Pirelli World Challenge Professional Touring Car Championship as a Mazda factory driver and, most recently, the 2013 Dominican Republic Touring Car Championship and making selected American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and Grand-Am appearances.
Gleason, who joined forces with Napleton Racing for a full-time campaign in the 2013 Pirelli World Challenge Championship, completes Rotek Racing’s Thunderhill star driver line-up.
Rotek Racing driver, Robb Holland, said: “Why Thunderhill? Because it’s the longest endurance race in America, it has become a bit of a grudge match between the regular top teams, it’s a nice way of ending the season and we’ve been looking to win it for some time. This year is all about being as or more competitive as last year and, considering Roland (Pritzker) and I led the race in 2012, we have to target the victory.
“With such a high-calibre driver line-up and the Audi TTRS, we should be very competitive. The car should be quicker than most of the GT3 cars over the course of a lap. There aren’t many long straights and the TTRS’s aero will take over, but its small-block 2.5litre TFSI engine’s low fuel consumption means we can also go longer between stops. With a few double stints, we should be in good shape.”
Holland added: “Audi has a remarkable record in endurance racing, particularly at Le Mans, but we’re really pushing to seal its first win in a 25-hour race. Audi really supports Rotek’s efforts, follows its progress closely and is keen to see the TTRS do well. It’s fantastic to have that support and it would be nice to reward Audi with a win at Thunderhill.”
For more information on the USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill, please visit the officialwww.nasa25hour.com website.
And more for on Rotek Racing, visit the official www.rotekracing.com website, ‘like’ the team’sFacebook page or follow @rotekracing on Twitter.