Richie Hearn Podiums In First Endurance Event

Richie Hearn Podiums In First Endurance Event

  

 


LAS VEGAS, Nev., December 23, 2004 - Richie Hearn is an experienced and
successful race driver. He has dominated karting in California, won the
1995 Toyota Atlantics' championship and the 1996 Las Vegas 500 IndyCar
Series race. But, this four-time Indianapolis 500 starter made his debut
in endurance sportscar racing recently at the longest sportscar race in
the country; the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) sanctioned 25
Hours of Thunderhill. Hearn made a strong first impression. As lead
driver of the No. 23 Elder Benner Team One Mazda Miata, the Las Vegas,
Nev. resident helped the three-man team to second in the E2 class, ninth
overall. Splitting driving chores with Christian and Justin Elder, Hearn
completed the full 25 hour distance. 

 

The NASA E2 class, the equivalent of the Sports Car Club of America's SM
division, is for street machines only slightly modified for racing. The
three-mile Thunderhill Raceway Park facility in Willows, Calif. is one
of the country's most challenging courses particularly when coupled with
over 90 entries of various classes. The competition was so intense in
the E2 class that a single, 20-minute delay in the pits was enough to
cost Hearn and his teammates a shot at victory. The stop was brought-on
by a vibration in the car that was eventually traced back to a bad set
of tires. The team would finish two overall positions behind the class
winning entry of Team PDQ Motorsports. The No. 23 was the highest
finishing Mazda Miata.

 

Beyond his work as a driver, Hearn also took the step into team
ownership this season. His two-car Hearn Motorsports effort debuted in
the Star Mazda Championship in 2004. Hearn guided series' rookie Raphael
Matos (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) to two podium finishes including a pole
position and second-place at Mosport International Raceway. The No. 70
Showtime/ Samsung/ Skip Barber Mazda of Matos finished seventh in the
season championship despite missing the season-opening round. The No. 77
Thienes Engineering Mazda of Brian Thienes (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
finished 14th in the championship after joining Hearn mid-way through
the season. 




 

Richie Hearn:

(about endurance racing): "This was my first time racing at night and it
was a lot of fun. It was a pretty long night but I was really into it. I
just wanted to drive; I never wanted to get out of the car. What
surprised me was how much I enjoyed driving at night. I wasn't expecting
that. At night I was within a second of my daylight lap times. I was
very happy with that. At a lot of the sportscar races that I have
watched, they have lights in key corners. At Thunderhill there was no
light out there except in pit lane. It's pitch black and you can't tell
what's behind you until they're right on top of you. I really wanted to
do this to get some endurance experience. I'm looking forward to doing
more of this."

 

(about the race): "That Miata was so much fun to drive. Overall it is a
great endurance car. We never had to change brakes and we never had any
other problems with the car. We did have a tire problem and that kept us
in the pits about 20 minutes looking for a vibration. Otherwise, I think
we could have really pushed the leaders at the end of the race. The
Elder Benner guys were great to work with and we had a lot of fun. I
don't think I slept all night. It was a lot of fun to get out there and
race for 25 hours with all of these different classes. The different
speeds and different braking abilities of each car really taught me a
lot about sports car racing. I had never done anything quite like this
before but it is definitely something I would like to do again."

 

For more on Hearn Motorsports and its 2004 Pro Formula Mazda Series'
effort please visit  <http://www.hearnmotorsports.com/>
www.richiehearn.com.