24 Hours of Lemons wrapups

[speedy88]

Not seen these get much coverage on here. I do love the humour, the stories of determination and failure not to mention the mojo boost this gives me to one day actually take part.

Partial retro and americhod content

[ToolsnTrack]

Brilliant. The UK needs this....

[waveman1500]

Lemons looks like great fun and I've always wanted to do it!
It's definitely not a cheap day out though. I really admire the teams who show the dedication to put all that money and work on the line for a good laugh!

Lemons USA costs in US$:
Car budget $500 (but I think a lot of people spend more)
Entry fee $1380
Lemons Licenses $300 ($75 per driver)
Safety gear - Proper roll cage, race seat, harnesses, helmets, neck restraints, fireproof suit, etc. - $3000+?

Lemons Australia costs in AU$:
Car budget $1000
Entry fee $2500 to $3500 depending on track
AASA Licenses $720 ($180 per driver)
Safety gear - Proper roll cage, race seat, harnesses, helmets, neck restraints, fireproof suit, etc. - $5000+?

[tdk]

Arise, old thread!

I was about to start a new thread on this, but then found this one, and thought I'd share my adventures with RR. I thought I'd done this before but, well, I am old, knackered and thick. Our team won 24 hours of Lemons, judges choice, in October 2022 in NH, USA. Team was 6 Brits and 1 Yank, the car was a dreadful MX-5 that would have been treated more kindly if Katie Price had owned it for a year. Anyway, pics?




To echo the posts above, what appeals is the self-deprecation of the event, the fact you get rewarded for racing junk and penalised for driving anything too fancy, and that there's a bodge it mentality required to race over 24 hours. I'd done loads of track days and a bit of rallying in Europe, but wheel-to-wheel racing is bloody terrifying, frankly. I love the 'crapcans' we encountered on track (mostly overtaking us, it has to be said).

[tdk]

It didn't start well, on the Friday shakedown the car sprang an oil leak so serious we couldn't ignore it, so we did an all-nighter drinking and spannering and fitting a slightly less knackered engine we found on a pallet 50 miles away. The leaders were already 80 laps down the road before we'd turned a wheel. I did the first stint, nearly strangling myself with the harnesses and HANS and helmet. The circuit is a NASCAR circuit (I'm in a c.120bhp MX5) with an outfield section like a mini Cadwell park. MASSIVE fun. Also (caps again for emphasis) MASSIVEly intimidating.

I got overtaken by a 7 litre Caddy with a chandelier on the roof, a massive Ford sedan with a spoiler made from antlers, and a TR8 held together with a million rivets. Then there's the usual trackday E30 and E36 driven by mental people.

[tdk]

Anyway, 24 hours later, we were stood on the podium celebrating with the "judges choice" trophy. We'd finished midfield overall and maybe 20th or so in our class (something like 120 cars overall). Judges choice is like the trophy they give the fat kid on sports day for managing to tie the shoelaces on his own supermarket brand trainers. We didn't care, we got drunk, sang the national anthem, and vowed to return.



So in October, this year, we're returning with a plan to be a bit less sh*t and have a lot more fun. It is an awesome event and I recommend it to anyone.

(I wrote a feature on this for Alternative Cars magazine, and Classic Retro Modern magazine, by the way).