Enduro Racing Tips: 3 Things To Consider When Choosing Your Racer
Website design By BotEap.comThe first thing you need to know are the rules of the particular enduro event you are going to participate in. Here in the Central Vermont area you will find two types of enduros.
Website design By BotEap.com8-cylinder enduro racing is as rare as the “old boats” you’d want to race in one. My old 1979 Ford Thunderbird was one of the best cars I’ve ever driven in a race.
Website design By BotEap.com4 and 6 cylinder enduros are more common. Small cars can be found everywhere. I drove a 1997 Ford Escort Wagon last year.
Website design By BotEap.comThe 3 things you should pay attention to when choosing your enduro car.
Website design By BotEap.com1) Price. You don’t want to spend a lot. The car will most likely sustain serious damage during the 200 laps of a typical enduro. I paid $50 for that little Escort van.
Website design By BotEap.comtwo) Solid car. Not only do you not want to spend a lot on a car that you know is going to crash, but you want to find the most solid car for your money. Driving a rusty junker in an enduro race is a disaster. I’ll use an example from one of my previous runs…
Website design By BotEap.comIt’s 1994 and I’m driving a 1979 Buick LeSabre in the annual Enduro 200 at Thunder Road. I only got about 100 laps in and got caught up in a big crash. A redneck I was looking for elsewhere crashed into my car and the trunk lid popped open.
Website design By BotEap.comOnce the crash was resolved and the survivors were rolling again, I realized they were black flagging me.
Website design By BotEap.com“Why the hell are they black flagging me? A raised trunk lid shouldn’t be a problem in an enduro, right?”
Website design By BotEap.comI plan to ignore the black flag for a couple of stints. The flaggers got pretty frantic and leaned over the cars trying to get my attention.
Website design By BotEap.com“They really want me to pit. I’d better go tie the trunk lid.”
Website design By BotEap.comWhen I came into the pits, the guys on my team told me to turn off the car.
Website design By BotEap.com“What? Close the lid and let me come back.”
Website design By BotEap.com“There’s nothing to tie him to!”
Website design By BotEap.comMy car had completely disintegrated from the rear wheel wells. One frame rail was bent 90 degrees and was sticking out straight.
Website design By BotEap.comThe gas tank had been dragging on the track. That was why those bannermen had been so frantic.
Website design By BotEap.comThe moral of the story. Pick a solid car for your enduro racer.
Website design By BotEap.com3) How much will you have to invest to have your running career ready? If you’re starting from scratch, it’ll cost you around $500 to turn a street car into an enduro racer. That’s materials. If you pay someone to work at your broker, plan a lot more.
Website design By BotEap.comHow well does the car run? Pick a car that runs well and requires very little mechanical work to be race ready.
Website design By BotEap.comEnduro racing can be a lot of fun if you build a strong car that can survive the chaos of this type of racing. To build a strong car you have to start with one and that is what this article is about.