25 Hours of Thunderhill race updates

Live timing: http://nasa25hour.com/live-timing/

Sunday, 7am: The 13th running of the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill presented by Hawk Performance has six hours remaining with the No. 45 Flying Lizard Audi still leading the race overall.

The expected rain arrived at 2 a.m. with mixed results from the teams. The cars leading their class welcomed the challenge and increased their on track positions. The No. 45 Flying Lizard Audi, on the strength of two choices of Toyo rain tires, along with ABS brakes and taction control lead the race over second place by 23 laps.

"This is quite an event," Guy Cosmo said. "We brought a serious effort this year. We are gathering a lot of great data on the Toyo tires, both in the dry, the wet and the intermediate weather. It is fun to drive this Audi out there in these conditions. Everyone has gotten into more of a rhythm. The other drivers know where we will be passing and there is just a better flow to the race. My stints have been great. We are on cruise control, we have a good lead so we are not taking any unnecessary chances. The conditions are stable, the tires are working great and we are just hitting our marks."

In ESR, the No. 69 Gryphon Racing Praga continues to lead the class. The all-carbon Renault engine powered car is performing at the top of the class and runs fourth overall.

"We are leading the class and running fourth overall," Danny Vandongen, factory driver, said. "So far so good. We have to keep it on the track and keep turning laps. There is still six hours to go in the race. I haven't had any real issues with my time in the car. The rain came and we handled it well. We overtake a lot of cars, but everyone is behaving. I really like this track with the hills and blind corners."

In E0 the No. 30 El Diablo BMW has taken over the lead. The team was on pole in class and raced to the front overnight.

"It is pretty good stuff," James Clay said. "In the beginning we didn't have our pit stops right – we were using a little too much fuel and we then got a rhythm going. We knew we would be good at night and in the rain and that has come true. The rain was a good thing for us. It is tough for me to be patient. We stayed out on dry tires, which we thought may have been the wrong call. The track began to dry and we made up time and then the rain came back, we cycled to wets and are leading. It couldn't have worked out any better."

In the E1 class, the No. 66 BMW of Bullet Motorsports continues to lead.

"Our E1 car is really running well," Scott Lang, team manager, said. "Our drivers have been very consistent and fast in the rain. Tristan Littlehale did a great job, he was doing 2:12s and 14s while everyone else was doing 25s. The rain was the best thing to happen to us so far."

No. 34 Mazda RX-8 of RDR Racing continues to lead the E2 class.

"The car ran really good in the rain," Joel Miller said. "We had a couple hours of mist, mixed with some really heavy rain. We've had a few issues along the way, but the RDR guys have handled those very well. Lee Pappageorge just got in the car and we are waiting for the sun to come up."

In E3, it is the pole-sitting No. 60 Mazda Miata of A+ Racing leads.

"The car has been doing great," Richard Lucquet said. "I did a double stint. I had about 10 minutes of yellow during stint with the rest all green. I am getting ready to get back in and will be able to see the sun rise. I don't think I will be blinded, but looking forward to the daylight. The car has been great, somehow the steering wheel is at 10 o'clock instead of 12."

CLP Motorsports continues to soldier on with the all-new NP01 Prototype.

"They are great cars with a ton of potential, they are just brand new," Tim Barber, team manager said. "We couldn't be any meaner to them by putting it through its first race in a 25 hour event. We are getting some teething things that can happen with any car. In the wet we were one of the faster cars on the track, so we welcome some more rain."

7:45pm: At seven hours the No. 45 Flying Lizard ES class Audi on Toyo Tires is the overall leader. The No. 17 Davidson Racing Norma leads the ESR class, running third overall. In E0 it is the No. 03 Edge Last Minute Motorworks BMW, in E1 the No. 95 Grip Racing BMW leads, in E2 the No. 34 Mazda RX-8 of RDR leads, in E3 it's the Mazda Miata No. 40 of RaMotorsports (ABOVE) and the CLK Motorsports NP01 leads that class.

5:45pm: The No. 17 Davidson Racing Norma, last year's overall winner, has led the race from the start. They nearly gave up the lead four hours in when the NASA officials called them to pit lane to serve a 10-minute penalty for passing under yellow. This allowed the second place runner, ES Class No. 45 Audi of Flying Lizards, to make up four laps and get on the same lap as the 17. At six-hours it is the 17 out front with rain expected by 2 a.m.

"I had a good start to the race," said Brian Frisselle. "It opened up for me and I was able to take the lead. I then settled into a pace and was able run pretty comfortably upfront. We had to take a 10-minute penalty when Kyle Marcelli passed under yellow, which erased the few laps lead we had, but we are back to running upfront. Everything is going great with 17 car."

In ES the No. 45 Flying Lizard Audi is one lap behind the leading Davidson Norma.

"I did a double stint, I was second in the car," said Tomonobu Fuji. "There were three caution periods during my stint, so it was a little crazy. The Toyo Tire is really good here. My stint was very consistent thanks to a good car, good tire and good crew. There is always traffic out there, so you have to really pay attention. We ran in the rain on Thursday and the car was good on the Toyo rain tire so we are ready."

In E0 the No. 61 RoadShagger Racing BMW leads the class.

"It is going very well we are leading our class," Gavin Ernstone said. "We had some issues yesterday. We were a little disappointed qualifying fourth, but we have progressively moved into the lead. We have had good driving and good pit work and everything is going according to plan. The rain will add some excitement and bring out a different level of driving talent."

In the E1 class, the No. 14 Technik HQ Autosport/Active PDF BMW is at the front.

"The start was really, really good," said Peter Hopelain. "We picked up four positions by Turn 1 on the first lap. We then settled into a pace and were running good. On lap 10 I had a prototype come up on me and I had to go off the track and that put us back about 30-seconds. We changed up our strategy a little. We fell back to fifth, went back into the lead and we are strategically placing our car forward. I want to thank our sponsors Active PDF and Ocean Side Motorsports. They have done a stellar job giving us a great driving car. Without those two companies we would not be here."

The E2 class is being led by the No. 34 Mazda RX-8 of RDR Racing.

"So far so good, we really haven't had much drama," Robert Davis, team owner said. "We are leading with the RX8 and the new Mazda Miata MX-5 Cup cars are a little over classed. We are fighting amongst ourselves with those. This race is a whole season of the MX-5 Cup series. We have about 900 miles on the cars so far with no issues. The rain keeps getting pushed back, so we will see how it goes."

In E3 it is the No. 13 SP Racing Miata in the lead.

"The first stint was challenging with all of the traffic out there," Hernan Palermo said. "I had a little issue and had to come in and do a fast front end alignment. I hope to see some rain that can only help us."

In the new NP01 class, CLP Motorsports continues to lead.

"The start of the race was good," Tyler McQuarie said. "We didn't get involved in anyone's mistakes. We have struggled with axles a little, but I think we have it figured it out. The car is running pretty good right now. We did a few laps in the rain during the test day. We made some setup changes anticipating the rain and I think they will put me in to slide it around when it gets wet."

2:15pm PT: Three hours into the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill, the No. 17 Davidson Racing ESR class Norma leads, having run 96 laps. The ES leader, running second overall, is the No. 45 Flying Lizard Audi. The E0 leader is the No. 65 Bullet Motorsport BMW, the E1 leader is the No. 14 Teknik Autosport BMW, in E2 it's the No. 34 RDR RX8, in E3 the RaMotorsport No. 40 leads and in NPO1 it is the No. 67 NPO1 of CLP Motorsports.

12:15pm PT: One hour of 25 in the books at Thunderhill and the No. 52 JFC Wolf has taken the overall lead. In ES it is the No. 16 Davidson Racing Eagle, in E0 it is the No. 65 Bullet Motorsports, in E1, the No. 0 Grip Racing Miata leads, in E2 the No. 34 RDR Mazda RX8 leads, in E3 No. 40 RaMotorsports Miata leads and in NPO1 it is the No. 6 CLP Motorsports car out front.

Sean Rayhall took pole in the One Motorsports Radical (pictured) with the Ginetta LMP3 starting alongside.