A race specified on the schedule as an Enduro will require at least one mandatory pit stop. If more than one is required, that will be specified in the race information. Races of more than one hour will allow refueling. Driver changes are allowed in Enduros.
The Enduro Race Timing will begin at the green flag or a wave off at the start.
- All required pit stops shall be for a minimum time of five minutes. Required pit stops cannot be made within the first fifteen minutes of the race and must start before the last ten minutes of the announced race length. Region timers will time pit stops, but the ultimate responsibility for the correct timing of the required time is that of the driver(s). Drivers who do not stay in the pits for the minimum five minute stop will be Black Flagged and assessed a stop and go penalty with the stop time being equivalent to the time that the pit stop was short. A crewmember or driver shall notify a National Scrutineer when a pit stop is not to be considered a mandatory stop. If a stop and go penalty for a short stop cannot occur during the race a 1 lap penalty will be added to the results. Car must be running ON track when checkered is given to the leader and crosses the s/f loop on track or hot pits to avoid a DNF.
- All required pit stops shall be started under Green Flag conditions. In the event of a restart, a driver may enter pit road to make the required pit stop on the ‘restart’ lap, provided that driver has crossed the Start/Finish line on the track under Green Flag conditions on the restart.
- Cars entering the hot pits for the mandatory five minute pit stop will drive past the designated Check In Point and timing of the pit stop will begin when the car passes the timing check point. The car must be at or below the designated pit lane speed limit of 35 MPH at the Check In point. When the driver has determined that his/her pit stop has been completed, the car will pull away from the pit wall, and proceed at or below the pit lane speed past the Check Out Point, at which point the car may start accelerating to re-enter the track. Cars which have pulled away from the pit wall may not stop or otherwise impede the exit of other cars from the pit lane in order to optimize their pitstop time. The elapsed time shall be from the time the car passes through Check In until the car passes through Check Out before entering the track.
- A maximum of three persons, including the driver(s), will be allowed over the pit wall to work on the car at any time. Any deviation from this standard for crewmembers will result in a stop and go penalty of the car involved.
- Minor repair work: tire changes, and driver changes are allowed during the pit stop. No equipment (e.g., jacks, tires) may be placed on the hot side of the pit wall until the car is within the pit stall. The car must run in the same configuration during the whole enduro, i.e., legal weight, equipment, etc. It is strongly recommended that the car be checked during the pit stop for excessive tire and brake wear, general safety, and leaks.
- The use of generators, battery operated tools, or electricity in the pits is not allowed during any refueling enduro of any duration. Compressed gas bottles taken to the pits must be secured and equipped with protection (e.g., metal cage) for the regulator.
- For enduros allowing refueling, fuel may be added to the car only by a driver or pit crewmember while wearing a fireretardant suit, gloves, and a full-face helmet with visor down or balaclava with goggles standing at the point where fuel is added to the car. Long hair must be covered by a balaclava. These crew protection requirements also apply to anyone holding a funnel or cranking a fuel transfer pump wherever located. One person acting as fireman must be present in the hot side of the pit, with full fire safety gear, equipped with a minimum 10 lb., 60BC or 60ABC fire extinguisher with the pin removed during refueling, and positioned to discharge the extinguisher on any fire related to 2023 PCA CLUB RACING ENDURO PROTOCOLS page 2 of 3 a fuel spill. The fireman may have no other duties until the cap is back on the gas tank. Drivers will be responsible for providing the fire extinguisher.
- During refueling, the car motor must be off, the driver out of the car, and no other work may be performed on the vehicle during refueling. Fuel jugs must remain capped and on the cold side of the pit wall, and the gas tank must remain capped, until the car is off and the driver is out of the car. Fuel jugs may not be set on top of the pit wall without being held by a crew member.
- Only plastic containers may be taken over the wall to be used in refueling. Reversible hand-crank refueling pumps screwed onto plastic fuel containers no larger than five gallons are allowed over the wall in the hot pits. If kept on the cold side of the wall they may be up to fifteen gallons capacity. Dry break systems with a “dump bottle” are allowed. Refueling towers and pressurized containers are not allowed. Hand operated pumps from metal barrels up to fifty gallons capacity are allowed on the cold side of the pit wall, but they must have an approved nozzle. Approved nozzles include filling station type nozzles with automatic shutoff, but with the ratchet system disabled, and manual nozzles with a dry break end.
- “Splash and go” refueling is not allowed. Any car refueled during an enduro must be in the pits for a minimum of five minutes during any refueling pit stop, even if the mandatory five minute pit stop requirement has been met or will be met by a different pit stop.
- Fuel may not be spilled during refueling. Fuel not contained in a jug, hose, funnel, or the car’s fuel intake system is a fuel spill. Any deviation from these refueling standards will result in the immediate disqualification of the car involved.
- No crew and no equipment may be over the hot pit wall in anticipation of a pit stop until the car has entered its pit and stopped.
- Each pit area will be thoroughly cleaned and swept, and all equipment removed, immediately after each pit stop. It is the responsibility of the entrant(s) to provide cleaning materials and equipment and to ensure that the pit area is clean. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.
- Drivers who have multiple cars or cars in different races may request the same pit area assignment for those respective races.
- Starting grid position for an enduro held before the sprint races will be determined according to the fastest lap timed during the qualifying session, or third practice session if no session is designated as qualifying. If there are two drivers, either driver may start the race, however drivers may participate only in the car to which they are registered. If a car does not have a driver who participated in the session used for gridding, the car will be gridded in the back of the field and placed by class; a number draw will be used within classes. Starting grid position for an enduro held after the sprint races will be determined according to the fastest lap timed during the sprint races or, if time permits, by a separate qualifying session.
- Anyone speeding in the pits will be black flagged after they have exited the pits and shall be assessed a stop, talk to the National Scrutineer, and go penalty.
- Pits will be closed during full course yellow flag conditions. If a car is in the pits and completes its mandatory pit stop during a full course yellow, it shall be held at Pit Exit until the pace car and the main field has passed and be released to join the pack at the back of the field.
- If a Black All or a Red All is declared, at the time that the Black All or Red is first shown at Start/Finish, the pit stop timing clock shall stop for cars then serving their mandatory pit stop. The Enduro Race Timing shall continue. The race order shall go back to the order of the cars as they pass Start/Finish behind the on track race leader’s last Green flag lap. No work shall be allowed on any cars during a Black All. The mandatory pit stop timing shall commence at such time as the green flag is dropped at Start/Finish for the field, once the Black All has been completed. Any cars that have entered the pits under the Black All may remain in the pits but their mandatory pit stop shall not start and no work may occur on those cars until the Green Flag has been dropped on the field. Since the race order shall be the race order for the leader’s last Green Flag lap, the field may be re-ordered in the pits during the Black All.
- Any driver involved in an incident: (see Rule Book / Driver Requirements 1.A.)
A. If the car is not running or handling normally or appears to be unsafe the driver must immediately exit the track during the session and must immediately report to the Black Flag Station, or
B. If the car is running and handling normally and the driver determines the car to be safe the driver may complete the time on track but must immediately report to the Black Flag Station upon finishing the session. - Drivers who ignore a Yellow Flag shall comply with the provisions of the PCA Club Racing Flags section of this Rule Book.
- If a driver is Black Flagged the driver shall immediately pull into pit lane after being shown the Black Flag and go directly to the Black Flag impound area and not to his pit area. Other than mechanicals, no work may be done to the car during the pit stop. Drivers who ignore the Black Flag shall be assessed a one minute penalty for each Black Flag passed. Other than mechanicals, Black Flag stops may not be used towards the five-minute mandatory time.
- Mechanical black flag stops may be used as the mandatory five minute stop provided that it is within the allowed pit stop window and is for the full five minutes.
- Drivers should remember that enduro races are much longer than normally experienced and that they should pace themselves. Drink plenty of liquids, take care of yourself and your equipment and if you find you are making mistakes while driving, pull into the pits.
- Only the drivers registered for the enduro may be in the car. If a driver who is registered does not drive, a change sheet must be completed immediately after the race and before the drivers leave the track.
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