Robert Davis Racing (RDR) returns to the National Auto Sport Association (NASA)'s 25-Hours of Thunderhill at the famed Northern California circuit for the second year, and they're ready to avenge some bad luck from last year's race that saw them fall from an early lead to finish third. This year, the team will tackle the 25 in two specially prepared Mazda RX-8s, one in the E1 class and one in the E2 class. Additionally, RDR will support Mazda North American Operations' debut of a factory-supported 2011 MAZDA2.

"Running a race like this is an incredible undertaking," said Robert Davis, team principal and team manager. "We've been prepping for three months and planning since last year's race. We know we've got the right cars, the right drivers, the right crew, but we also know that things unplanned can still happen, and that's why we run the race. We enjoy the personal-time support of 16 Mazda employees in this endeavor - it's just incredible support."
Behind the wheel of the E1-class RX-8 will be RDR regulars Dennis Holloway and Jeremy Barnes, with the addition of a couple of MAZDASPEED Motorsports specialists, John Edwards and Eric Foss. Piloting the E2 car will be RDR regulars Jim Holloway, Truman Pollard, and Ken Saward, as well as Scott Shelton, the newest addition to the MAZDASPEED Motorsports ladder, and Jim Daniels, a MAZDASPEED ladder graduate. The MAZDA2 will be under the care of journalists Dan Edmunds and Mark Gillies, as well as Mazda employees Tim Buck, Jim Jordan and Nathan Edmonds.

Of course, when the race is 25 hours long, the drivers don't do all the work themselves. Keeping the RX-8s and the MAZDA2 running for an hour more than a day is a tireless group of volunteers with responsibilities for fueling the cars, changing tires and brakes, keeping everyone fed and fixing all the little things that go bump in the night. And in addition to the team's regular season-long sponsors and supporters, special thanks go to PIAA and to Whelan Engineering for supplying a host of lighting products. Race starts at 11:00 am Pacific, Sat. Dec 4.