ERIC CURRAN RACING

Willow Springs, Calif. (Dec. 8, 2010) – For 25 hours of racing, mother nature could not make up her mind at Thunderhill Raceway. Though America’s longest endurance race for production-based sports cars started under dry conditions, the rain crept in as the sun went down and continued on and off throughout the night.

Changing weather conditions resulted in an incident-filled race (including one red flag period), as teams found it difficult to make the right tire choice for their cars and find grip on the 3.0-mile surface of the wet and sand-blown race track.

What's even more frustrating than a mechanical failure,is a mechanical failure so rare that parts cannot be sourced at the track. But that’s exactly what happened to the No. 80 MER/Hoosier Mazda RX-8, when, early in the race, the Mazda’s frame broke beneath the engine.

Unable to find a spare, the team welded the frame, but that proved to be only a temporary fix. When it broke a second time, the car, driven by Eric Curran, Shannon McMasters, Dan Watkins and Ward Herst was unable to continue. It was a real disappointment for a car that showed tremendous promise.

The Mazda was parked at 17 hour and 21 minutes into the 25-hour race, having completed 304 laps to the class winner’s 504 laps.  Its best race lap was an 87.962mph average shot.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in a race car all year long!” Curran exclaimed on the radio.  “What a wild race this 25-hour is. Four drivers in one car swapping in and out for 25 hours!”

“We had some mechanical troublewith the car but I had a blast,” Curran said after the race. “How much more fun can driving a race car in the middle of the night in the rain with 80 other cars be? The MER guys did a great job and congrats to our team car for winning its class!" he added.

“Thunderhill was especially grueling this year,” said Team MER co-owner Jason Saini said. “The weather kept everyone guessing and with four cars, sometimes we guessed right and sometimes we guessed wrong. It’s disappointing that all the cars couldn’t share in the success of the No. 36, but that’s just how endurance racing goes. I’m proud of that car’s team for giving it all they had and coming away with our third E1 class win in this race.  We’ll take what we learned this year and be back in 2011 looking for the overall win.”

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Team MER #80Mazda RX-8 thanks its 25 Hours of Thunderhill sponsors for their support:Sparco, Hoosier, 949 Racing, ProParts

About Team MER (Motorsports Enterprises Racing)

Based at the MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, Texas, Team MER is a leader in Mazda performance, consistently developing the best SCCA, GRAND-AM and NASA cars for purchase, rental or testing. By combining a championship-winning race team, modification and enhancement shop, research and development facilities and full PR/media services, Team MER is uniquely suited to serve every level of customer, from weekend enthusiast to amateur and pro-level racers. Led by one of Spec Miata’s founding fathers, Shannon McMasters, and professional driver Jason Saini, Team MER employs some of the best and brightest talent available in all disciplines of motorsports. The combination of technical expertise and driving talent is unique in the industry and a proven recipe for success. To learn more visit www.goteammer.com.