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Grand-Am Cup and USTCC driver Gary Sheehan of Martinez, CA has helped earn Subaru its first-ever podium finish in a North American Endurance race, with a 3rd place overall finish in the #66 ART/ESX/Car & Driver/TC Design/JustRacing.com Subaru STi, at the 25hrs of Thunderhill. Racing in the highest car class (ES), against proven powerhouse GT cars such as Porsche 996 and BMW M3, Sheehan, qualified the all-wheel-drive, turbocharged, four-cylinder car 4th on the grid, (with a lap of 1:58.447 on DOT street-legal Toyo tires). In his first-ever 25-hour endurance race, Sheehan drove the team's first, middle and final stints, a total of 7 hours, on the way to helping the team secure their unprecedented high overall finish.
The team's strategy was to run the car's power and suspension settings very conservatively, to insure a full 25 hours of reliability, keeping more power in reserve if needed in the closing hours. Despite running most of the race at a modest, less-than-stock 9psi of turbo boost, Sheehan and the team's exceptional group of drivers were able to post extremely competitive lap times: Early in the race, Sheehan laid down the team's fastest race lap, a 1:59.8 on lap 3. During his final, marathon four-hour stint, he was turning consistent laps of 2:01, preserving the team's P3 position while managing tire wear on the single set of tires used over the final stint. It was more than enough to comfortably secure the podium finish, and the team is overjoyed at its fantastic result.
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