The Lexus IS F CCS-R will be racing in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill this weekend in California — drivers Jeff Westphal, Ken Dobson & Tom Dyer are competing in the ES class of the longest endurance race in North America, which runs Saturday morning to Sunday morning.
With the help of my friend Paul Williamsen from Lexus, we’ll be providing some live updates throughout the race weekend — good luck to the team!
(Please note: You will need to refresh the page to see the latest updates — if you prefer, it’s best to follow my Lexus News Live Twitter account.) This event has been completed, and live coverage has ended.
December 8, 2013
3:49pm: Engineers Sekiya, Morikawa & Kosuge (L-R) of TRD & Technocraft discuss the #Lexusccsr at #Lexus25hr
3:44pm: Drivers Jeff Westphal, Tom Dyer & Ken Dobson (L-R) discuss driving 1,900 miles to place 4th #Lexusccsr #Lexus25hr
3:19pm: Crew chief Jeff NGO doing interviews after crewing the #Lexusccsr to finish 4th in the #Lexus25hr of #Thunderhill
3:03pm: Lexus IS F CCS-R finishes world’s longest endurance race!! 4th in Class ES, 5th overall among 87 entries. #Lexusccsr #Lexus25hr
2:49pm: Full course yellow with 14 minutes left due to a car that oiled Turn 1. #Lexusccsr #Lexus25hr
2:46pm: 1/2 hour remaining in the 25 Hours of #Thunderhill : #Lexusccsr still hanging on to 4th in class after 643 laps – 1,900+ miles of racing.
2:04pm: 1 hour remaining in #Lexus25hr : #lexusccsr just took on a final splash of fuel, still holding 4th in class, 5th overall.
12:59pm: Final pit stop? 2:10 left in #Lexus25hr IS F CCS-R has a fresh driver (Jeff), 4 new tires & a full fuel load.
12:47pm: Nearby on pit lane, N1 Racing has brought the IS 250 AWD safely thru the night, 7th place in class E1. #Lexus25hr
12:33pm: The sharp Lexus pit crew prepares for the final service stops. #Lexusccsr #Lexus25hr
12:02pm: The Lexus IS F CCS racecar ran strong all night and is currently 4th in class, 5th overall. 3 hours to go! #lexusccsr #Lexus25hr
10:31am: N1 Racing IS 250 AWD, 7th in class, pits early to assess damage after being ‘tagged’ by a competitor. #Lexus25hr
10:11am: Team Lexus USA carefully inventories the remaining Toyo Proxxes race tires. #Lexusccsr #Lexus25hr #toyotires
10:07am: The Lexus IS F CCS-R just moved into 6th place overall: under 5 hours to the finish now. #Lexusccsr #Lexus25hr
9:48am: Somewhere out there is a sunrise and an IS F CCS-R with another 1,500 miles on it. #Lexus25hr #Lexusccsr
9:25am: Inspecting the tires after a pre-dawn change of driver & tires #Lexusccsr #Lexus25hr
7:02am: Lexus crew enjoy mid-morning soup & sandwiches during a quiet period between stops of #Lexusccsr at #Lexus25hr
7:01am: Cold now for #Lexusccsr at 4AM, may drop another 4°F before it starts to warm after dawn at #Lexus25hr
6:31am: Over at N1 Racing, the IS 250 AWD has worked thru new-racecar teething issues with the brakes, now holding 7th in class E1 #Lexus25hr
6:08am: 410 laps – 1200 miles – Jeff Westphal, Ken Dobson & Tom Dyer have consistently run laps between 1:53 to 1:56 in #Lexusccsr at #lexus25hr
5:42am: After the axle replacement Team Lexus dropped from 5th to 25th. @WestphalRacing just put in another stint and climbed back to 11th. It’s on!
2:18am: RT @williapm: Watching these Mastet Techs replace 2 1/2-axles at 11 PM in freezing temps is keeping everyone awake at #lexus25hr
1:46am: Crew of Lexus master technicians replacing an axle on the #Lexusccsr at #lexus25hr
1:41am: Jeff Westphal noticed a vibration with the #Lexusccsr & smelled hot grease: the crew will replace a rear 1/2-axle.
December 7, 2013
9:56pm: Spotting the #Lexusccsr in traffic gets harder at night in #Lexus25Hr
9:40pm: Night comes early in Nor Cal in Dec: driver change puts Ken Dobson at the wheel of the #Lexusccsr at #Lexus25Hr
9:39pm: Full tank of fuel, fresh tires all around plus front brake pads, too for #Lexusccsr at #Lexus25Hr
7:39pm: Lexus master driver Dave Smith getting his turn in the N1 Racing IS 250 AWD #lexus25hr
6:57pm: #Lexusccsr race engineers Sekiya, Morikawa & Kosuge confer after a late afternoon fuel stop #lexus25hr
5:44pm: Assessing a full set of tires after 3 hrs of racing the #Lexusccsr , the team confirms their #lexus25hr tire plan.
5:24pm: Jeff Westphal give a quick debrief to Ken Dobson after 3 hours in the #Lexusccsr #lexus25hr
5:24pm: Pit stop at hour 3 is as complex as it gets: tires, fuel, driver change, plus a camera crew. #Lexusccsr #lexus25hr
5:01pm: #Lexusccsr up to 7th overall, 5th in class #lexus25hr
4:58pm: Driver change @ 3rd fuel stop for IS 250 AWD #lexus25hr ; currently 4th in class.
3:57pm: 1st fuel stop for #Lexusccsr , running 7th class, 9th overall #lexus25hr
3:57pm: 1st pit stop for IS 250 AWD; currently running 4th in class! #lexus25hr
3:57pm: Frost on the spares. IS 250 AWD, #lexus25hr
2:58pm: Turning into a pleasant afternoon. #Lexusccsr #lexus25hr
2:49pm: Mark from Toyo Tires (foreground), Ken Dobson (R) & @jimlee310 (L) finalizing tire strategy. #Lexusccsr #lexus25hr
2:17pm: The paddock has suddenly become rather quiet. #Lexusccsr #lexus25hr
1:34pm: Lexus IS F CCS-R on the starting grid of Thunderhill 25 hour:
1:06pm: It’s cold here at Thunderhill raceway — IS F CCS-R is warming things up:
12:52pm: Lexus IS F CCS-R driver Jeff Westphal applying the #RIPPaulWalker commemorative decal to IS F CCS-R:
December 6, 2013
11:57pm: Jeff Westphal after qualifying the Lexus IS F CCS-R at Thunderhill:
7:04pm: and now it’s snowing for the IS F CCS-R #lexus25hr
3:31pm: Hey Lexus fans, we will be posting live updates from #Thunderhill. Qualifying is later today! #Lexus25hr #survivethe25
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