2008 ENDURANCE RACING

Endurance Racing is almost a different sport than sprint racing championships such as the BTCC. The teams must operate in a more tactical manner to ensure they cross the line first, and the racing demands extraordinary stamina and prolonged concentration from the drivers.

This form of motorsport has always been popular and the 200,000 fans at the 2007 Nurburgring 24hrs event is proof of its growth in recent years.

Endurance Racing represents fantastic value for money for sponsors. The investment costs required are much lower than other forms of racing, mainly because the cars are designed to run for longer periods between rebuilds, and wide-ranging television coverage is now commonplace, proving a hit with the public. For example, the Nurburgring 24hrs race was televised live on Eurosport to some 15 million viewers!

In addition, the number of hours of sponsor exposure over a season is far greater with Endurance Racing. A single 24 hour race at the Nurburgring generates more hours of TV exposure than two full seasons in the BTCC!

"Since our company logos appeared on Peter's car at the Nurburgring 24 hour race, we have been impressed with the increased hit rate on the i-TRAK website, particularly foreign inquiries, which was the fundamental aim of our sponsorship involvement. The value of our investment is unquestionable." - Stephen Rush, Director, i-TRAK

Other notable Endurance racing championships in Europe  include the British GT Championship, the EERC, several other 1000km events within the LMES (Le Mans Endurance Series) at Spa (Belgium), Monza (Italy), Nurburgring (Germany) and Silverstone (UK) and of course the Le Mans 24 hours.

THE TEAMS

In 2003, Peter drove with Brunswick Endurance Racing, which was formed in 2002 as a sister operation to Brunswick Motorsport, a long-standing successful UK-based team with numerous titles in both the Alfa Romeo and Auto Italia Championships.

In 2004, Peter has also driven for Team Think (www.teamthink.co.uk) at the Nurburgring 24 hours and secured a top drive with Fleper Motorsport (www.fleper-motorsport.de) for the 2005 and 2006 events.

In 2007, Peter drove for Schumann Motorsport at the Nurburgring 24hrs, winning the class and finishing an incredible 13th overall out of 230 starters. He also drove four endurance events for Connell Racing's FunCup campaign, helping to secure the team's maiden victory at Croft.

In 2008 Peter will again compete at the Nurburgring 24hrs, in addition to contesting the UniRoyal FunCup with Connell Racing (www.connell-racing.co.uk)

THE CARS

There are a number of different classes eligible for Endurance and GT  races, depending on the championship contested. For the Nurburgring 24hrs, Schumann Motorsport entered a Hyundai Coupe, with a power output around 350bhp, which has been developed specifically for this unique track over the previous years.

There are many car options available for the British GT championship. Peter is always evaluating opportunities in both the N-GT and GT Cup class.

The UniRoyal FunCup involves identical light-weight composite-bodied space-frame race cars, powered by mid-mounted Audi engines delivering more than 230bhp per tonne through one type of UniRoyal all-weather tyres. This specification puts the emphasis on driver skill rather than on the development budget, and results in fantastically entertaining racing. For more detailed information on the car, see www.fun-cup.com.

2009 FUNCUP CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

    4th April             Rockingham 6 Hours  

    2nd May            Snetterton 5 Hours

    13th June          Brands Hatch 4 Hours

    11th/12th July    Spa 25 Hours

    29th August       Anglesey 6 Hours

    12th Sept          Donington Park 7 Hours

    17th October     Oulton Park 4 Hours

OTHER MAJOR ENDURANCE EVENTS IN 2009

       May 21-24          Nurburgring Nordschleife (Germany)        ADAC 24 Hours

For further information on the Endurance Racing series or how you can become involved
as a driver sponsor, please contact us at info@petercate.com