Nitto Tire teamed up with Achilles Motorsports from Fresno, Calif., for the world’s longest endurance race: the 2008 25 Hours of Thunderhill. The race requires teams to drive throughout the night for 25 hours straight. At the end of 25 hours the team with the most laps is declared the winner. The team campaigned a BMW M3 in the second fastest class overall and the fastest class requiring D.O.T.-compliant tires. The team ran on Nitto’s NT01 road race tires. After an extremely close race, the team finished first in their class, with 477 laps completed and a 9-second lead over second place.

In fact, the team’s laps and times were comparable to faster classes, which have the competitive advantage of using race slicks. When compared to these classes, the team finished second overall, fewer than 15 seconds behind the winner of the fastest class. This is Nitto’s second consecutive win at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. Nitto is the only tire company to hold consecutive wins.

One of the biggest challenges the team faced was time. The team had a scant eight weeks to prepare for the race. Their preparations included fully rebuilding the vehicle and engine to meet the series regulations. After many long nights tuning and building, the team had only a single day to learn the vehicle and the other drivers’ driving styles. Despite the quick preparations, the team started the race favorably and quickly found themselves battling for the lead with a factory-backed Honda team.

As night fell on the track, so did a thick fog. The fog became so dense that the series officials stopped the race until it cleared. After a 7.5-hour delay, the team restarted the race second in class and once again found themselves battling the Honda team. The two teams swapped the lead at every pit stop. With 20 minutes on the clock Achilles Motorsports regained the lead and held it to finish the race in first place, 9 seconds ahead of second place. The team also set down the fastest class lap at 1:57:2 and finished first amongst all teams with a 2.0-liter or larger engine. This is Nitto’s second consecutive win at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. The team was rewarded with two trophies: a 7-foot tall class trophy and an additional trophy for the 2.0-liter win.

“It was a really close race,” explained Terrence Ng with Nitto’s marketing department. “After the morning re-start everyone’s attention was focused on our race for first place. We were able to regain the lead with only 20 minutes left on the clock. With a bit more time, I think we could have taken the overall win.”

When asked about his victory, driver Marc Ghafouri attributed much of the success to the tires: “We were battling against a Honda factory team equipped with Hoosiers. Thankfully, we were running on Nitto’s NT01s and were extremely competitive. Tires win races so it’s no accident that Nitto has back-to-back wins in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. The NT01s are fast, durable and economically priced.” The NT01 is designed to provide the best balance of traction, consistency, heat cycle performance and longevity.

Nitto Tire develops performance tires for all uses, including racing, off-road and street. Using state-of-the-art manufacturing and testing facilities in Japan and the United States, the company strives to provide innovative and high-quality performance tires for the most demanding enthusiasts. For more information about Nitto or its products, visit the company’s web site or contact the company directly. Nitto and Fueled by Enthusiasts are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc., located at 6021 Katella Ave., Ste 250, Cypress, CA 90630.