Steve Gorriaran of Providence, Rhode Island, drove the GorillaRacing/Driven Performance/Red Line Oil Miata to a dramatic win in the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill be himself. After nearly 22 hours of solo driving, Gorriaran won the highly competitive E2 class, set fastest lap for his class on lap 546 and logged 1,600 miles of competitive fender-to-fender racing without any major mechanical problems.
Racing the same Red Line-sponsored car he used to win the 2009 SCCA National Championship Runoffs just a few weeks prior, Gorriaran competed against teams of professional racers rotating fresh drivers into the car every hour and won the class by three laps. The physical and mental stamina required to attempt a task of this magnitude is immeasurable.
According to Gorilla Racing, while Steve will be awarded the win and get the accolades for the drive, David DelGenio of Driven Performance coordinated the race effort and deserves much of the credit as well. DelGenio has long been an icon in the Road Racing world for his Mazda Miata accomplishments and was one of the originators of the Spec Miata class. 2009 was the first year DelGenio and Gorriaran teamed up, resulting in a dream season.
The Driven Performance, MazdaSpeed, Red Line Oil, Stewart Motors, Hawk Brakes, Hoosier Tire Mazda Miata that Steve drove may now be the most successful Spec Miata in the history of the sport. The undertaking of the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill would not have been possible without the help and support of Robert Davis of Mazda and Jerry Kunzman of NASA believing that Steve was up to such a challenge and green lighting the project.
Steve finished the race in great spirits not much worse for the wear. His hands are blistered and bruised, his wrist are sore as is his back and shoulders, but not one hour after finishing the race Steve drove another 110 miles to the airport. Steve took a red-eye flight home to fulfill work obligations he had less than 16 hours after the finish. Steve eventually arrived home Monday night to celebrate with his family, having last slept Friday evening and driving for over 2,000 miles and flying another 3,000 miles in just two days.
