Two years after Spoon Sports' win at the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) 25 Hours of Thunderhill, the team decided to return to fight again for the 2023 running. Cameron Parsons was again invited to join the team, driving alongside legends like pro driver Eiji "Tarzan" Yamada, Spoon founder Tatsuru Ichishima, and Drift King himself Keiichi Tsuchiya.
In 2021, the Spoon Sports Japan and Spoon Sports USA joint effort resulted in a fully race-developed FK8 Honda Civic Type-R crossing the finish line first in the E0 category. The car ran with no problems outside of expected wear and tear from endurance racing, showcasing Spoon's bulletproof engineering. Seeing that Honda just launched the new generation FL5 Civic Type-R, Spoon decided to have another go at the 25-hour race.
This year's driver roster saw the return of Tatsuru Ichishima, Eiji "Tarzan" Yamada, Dijiro Yoshihara, Aaron Wang, and Cameron Parsons. Accomplished endurance racers and teammates Daniel Wu and Tazio Ottis joined the team for 2023, and drifting and racing legend "Drift King" Keiichi Tsuchiya rounded out the lineup. Just like before, the car was developed by Spoon's outstanding engineers with great attention to detail.
The race itself proved more demanding in this running, as the weather offered a totally dry track and warmer conditions than recent years. This gave everyone the opportunity to push harder throughout the race, but higher speeds means quicker fuel burn and tire degradation. The Spoon team was also up against closer competition this time around, putting them in a fight for third place in the E0 class for a majority of the race.
Cameron's experience this year delivered more time behind the wheel and his first ever night driving stint. The team gave him the opportunity to drive during sunset and rise, taking the car into and out of the darkness of the night. Given the team's grasp to the podium for most of the race, they changed the run plan to have Cameron pilot the car for the final hours to the checkered flag to keep them in the top three.
However, in the final hours, Cameron was behind the wheel when a mechanical issue arose. After multiple pit stops for diagnosis and an extremely quick turbocharger and intercooler replacement, the Spoon team fell back to a secure fourth position with little time remaining. The team decided to put Tsuchiya back in the car to take it to the finish.
This year's effort at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill proved more challenging with greater competition, faster driving conditions, and the mechanical issues that were later discovered to be a result of contact with another car. Ultimately, the Spoon team earned a fourth place finish. Although this does not measure up to the recent win in 2021, the elevated challenges left Cameron and the team proud of another strong finish.
Photos: @phaze2yogi
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