Endurance Jul 1, 2024 4:18:01 PM Sontek Racing 3 min read
Sontek Racing's Endurance winning streak continues
The Sontek Racing Endurance circus moved to Botniaring well in advance on Thursday 27.6. to prepare for Friday's practice. Like last time, we entered two cars (cars 813 and 913).
Friday's practice sessions were run in scorching heat. The meter occasionally rose well above 30 degrees. If it was warm in Kemora, Botnia was really hot. Despite the heat, the cars and drivers coped well with the training. The greatest thing was to notice that all the drivers were able to perform consistently in practice and everyone started to find race speed. During practice, refueling car 813 posed an interesting challenge when its petrol filler hole overflowed. The fault was located and fixed for Saturday's race.
The second leg of the Endurance Cup was held at Botniaring on Saturday 29.6.2024. Between the hot day of training and the day of the race, there was rain all night, but it stopped just before qualifying. The qualifying sessions were run on a challenging semi-dry track. The 813 time trial was driven by Petri Kiikka and the car 913 by Tino Lainisalo, who claimed good starting positions for Sontek Racing right behind the faster classes.
The drivers of car 813 were:
Mikko Toivonen (Team Manager)
Petri Kiikka
Jani Turunen
Jenni Silventoinen
Manu Skyttä
Car 913 was commanded by:
Jupe Arala (Team Manager)
Jyrki Laune
Ronja Skyttä
Antti Heiskanen
Pasi Saarimaa
Tino Lainisalo
Right in the first laps of the race, the car behind car 813 driven by Petri Kiikka was hit into the left rear corner by the car behind. This, of course, affected the rhythm of the race for a while, but there was no major damage that needed repair. Petri set his fastest laps of the race very soon after this incident.
Each driver drove confidently and in times comparable to their fastest laps, lap after lap. Driver changes and pit stops, including refuelling, were invariably professionally reliable, and there were hardly any surprises.
On the last stint of car 913, Lainisalo reported clutch and transmission problems that prevented Tino from shifting normally. Tino's last drive suddenly changed from hunting for fast laps to making sure the car finishes.
Car 813 arrived at the checkered flag as the winner of its class, and the car 913, despite clutch and gearbox problems, came second.
An absolutely great race weekend, thanks to everyone involved.
The Endurance Cup 2024 continues at the Motopark on 16.–17.8.