WRPM 2017 Race Update

WRPMotorsports Driver Willie Phee Finishes 2 nd at Round Five of the SCCA Majors Championship at Road Atlanta Raceway. WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee would finish second in STU in in the first race and fifth in race two at the SCCA US Majors Tour Races at Road Atlanta Raceway. Rounds 5 and 6 of the SCCA US Majors Championship Race Series was held at Road Atlanta Raceway. Qualifying for both days would be held Saturday morning and Phee would end up fifth in STU and 16 th overall. Race one would be Saturday afternoon and Phee would start outside row 8. Phee would move up two positions at the start and would maintain fourth in class until lap six when the Miata of Charlie Lowrance would get by. Phee managed to stay on the Miata’s bumper until lap nine when he would get back by and move into third in class. On that same lap the second place Miata would spin into the wall in turn seven moving Phee up to second in class and 12 th overall where he would finish. Sunday’s grid was based on Saturday’s race laps and Phee would improve his time by nearly two seconds in the race from his qualifying time on Saturday morning. Phee would line up outside row seven, move up three positions at the start, and hold on the third in class for the majority of the race. Phee was in a comfortable third place until lap 18 when he spun the car in turn five. Phee had a big enough gap over the fourth place car that he recovered and continued in third until he got to turn 10 and the car would spin again. “I knew at that point there was something wrong with the car. I thought I might have a flat tire as the car just snapped sideways in both turns. I limped the car into the pits and had the crew check it out and it turned out a rear suspension bushing separated and I was out” said Phee. Phee would go out on lap 18 of the 20-lap race and finish fifth in class and 17 th overall. “We were chasing a shock problem all weekend. It turns out the left front shock had blown out on the test day and unfortunately we didn’t have a spare. We moved the bad shock to the right front as Road Atlanta has predominantly right hand turns and it would make the car somewhat easier to drive. I managed to bring the car home in second in race one but the rear suspension failed in race two while I was in a sure podium position” said Phee. The next race is scheduled for April 15-16, 2017 at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia. The WRPMotorsports team is sponsored by G-LOC Brakes, Optima Batteries, Sparco USA and OPM Autosports. Photos courtesy Clark McInnis of Motorsports Photography https://cmcinnis.wordpress.com/

WRPMotorsports Driver Willie Phee Finishes 5 th and 4 th at Round Six of the SCCA Majors Championship and 4 th and 4 th at Round 8 of the SCCA SARRC Championship at Roebling Road Raceway. WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee would finish fifth in race one and fourth in race two at the SCCA US Majors Tour Races at Roebling Road Raceway. Phee would also go on the finish fourth in race one and fourth in race two at the SCCA South Atlantic Road Racing Championship at Roebling Road. Qualifying for both rounds would be held Saturday morning with race one of both series later that afternoon. Phee would qualify fifth for race one of ITS and fourth for race one of STU. Race one would be the ITS race and Phee would get balked on the start and dropped back to sixth. Phee would manage to get back into fourth on at the midway point but the top three cars were too far ahead to make up any places by the end of the race. Race one of the STU class had Phee starting in the fourth position but another bad start would have Phee trying to make up places throughout the race. BY the end of the 14 lap race Phee could only manage fifth in class and 13 th overall. “The weekend started out pretty crappy for us as we were chasing an electrical problem all day on test day, that combined with the fact that I haven’t been to this track since 2011 and never in this car” said Phee. “The first time I had any laps at speed was in the qualifying sessions. I managed to get a little quicker in each session but losing the test day made it very difficult to get the car set up”. Sunday morning had two quick qualifying sessions but with the temperature in the mid 90’s there wasn’t much of a chance of improving qualifying times from the previous day. Phee would line up in the same positions for the afternoon races for ITS and STU. The first Sunday race would be in the ITS class and Phee would have a good battle with the second and third place cars but would get held up in lapped traffic and would lose touch with second and third and would end up fourth at the finish. Race two on Sunday would be the last race of the day and storm clouds were moving in. Phee would finally get a decent start and move up one position and was in a position to battle for third but the race was cut short due to high winds and lightning. Phee would end up forth at the finish. “I wish the race would have run the full distance as the car was the best it felt all weekend. I felt like I could have gotten on the podium but the race was cut short and I ended up fourth” said Phee. “I really have to thank the OPM crew for all of their hard work in getting the car ready for the races, it seemed like on Friday the car was not going to run at all but the managed to find the problem and get the car ready for the races” said Phee. The next race is scheduled for July 29-30, 2017 at Road Atlanta Raceway in Braselton, Georgia. The WRPMotorsports team is sponsored by G-LOC Brakes, Optima Batteries, Sparco USA and OPM Autosports.

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2016 Race Results

WRPMotorsports Driver Willie Phee Continues His Podium Streak with Four Podiums in Four Races at Round 16 and 17 of the SCCA SARRC Championship at Daytona International Raceway WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee would finish first in Both ITS races and finish third and second in the two STU races at the SCCA SARRC Races at Daytona International Speedway. Qualifying for both days would be held Saturday morning and Phee would end up on pole in ITS and would start fourth in both STU races. Race one in ITS would be Sunday morning and Phee would start outside row one. Phee would hold onto first position until lap two when the second place RX-7 would get by in the bus stop chicane on the back straight. Phee would slowly close back in on the first place car and make the pass for the lead in NASCAR two and go on to a 27-second lead by the end of the race. “I had a good battle with the RX-7 and ended up getting to within .002 of the lap record during the race, it’s a shame I couldn’t find that extra .002 but I’ll take the win,” said Phee. There would be one group between the ITS race and the STU race so there would be a little time to get the car prepped for the first STU race. Race one in STU and Phee would line up outside row two. Phee would maintain the third spot for the entire race. Race two in ITS would start Sunday afternoon and Phee would start from pole again. Phee would lead the first 10 laps until he was balked by traffic in turn one allowing the second place car to get by in turn three. Phee would get back by on the exit of turn six only to lose the lead in the bus stop. By start finish Phee, would draft back by and would maintain first in class and end up with a 28-second lead at the finish. A video of the complete ITS race two can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybQsSI5I9WY “It was another great race and the car was great in the race” said Phee. The final race of the weekend would be the STU race and Phee would again start outside row two. Phee would circulate in fourth position until lap four when the third place car would get a flat tire moving Phee up one spot into third. On the last lap, the first place car would go out with a mechanical issue moving Phee up to second at the finish. “I was lucky to hold onto the second and third place cars in the first few laps. As it turned out two of the front runners had problems and I ended up second overall”. “It was another great weekend finishing with four podiums and especially two firsts in the highly competitive ITS class was very satisfying. As usual, the OPM crew did a fantastic job getting the car set up for all four races and the Motion Control Suspension continues to perform flawlessly” said Phee. http://motioncontrolsuspension.com/ The next race is September 30 th the SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Indianapolis Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. The WRPMotorsports team is sponsored by G-LOC Brakes, Optima Batteries, Sparco USA and OPM Autosports. Photos courtesy of Bill Kent at No Sweat photography https://www.facebook.com/NoSweatPhotography/

WRPMotorsports Driver Willie Phee Finishes on the Podium in all Four Races at Round 14 and 15 of the SCCA SARRC Championship at Road Atlanta Raceway. WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee would finish second in race one and third in race two in the ITS class but would come back wan win both STU races at the SCCA SARRC Races at Road Atlanta Raceway. Rounds 14 and 15 of the SCCA SARRC Championship Race Series was held at Road Atlanta Raceway. Qualifying for both days would be held Saturday morning and Phee would end up fourth in ITS and first STU. Race one in ITS would be Saturday afternoon and Phee would start outside row two. Phee would hold on to fourth position until lap four when he would get a great drive out of turn seven and move into third with a pass in turn 10A. Phee would move up another spot into second on lap seven and hold his position to the end of the 12-lap race. Since the STU race was the following group the OPM Autosports crew would have to complete a quick turn around after Phee’s car was released from impound. Unfortunately impound took longer than expected and Phee would start from pit lane in last position instead of the fifth overall spot where he qualified. Phee would put on a charge in the 12-lap race and eventually finish in fourth overall and first in class. “It’s always a challenge when the organizers schedule my races back to back but the OPM crew did a great job changing tires and refueling car to get me back out for the next race. It really wasn’t their fault impound for ITS took longer than expected” said Phee. The Sunday races would be held in the afternoon and Phee would line up on the outside pole based on the lap times from the previous day’s races. Phee would get a good jump at the start mod move into the lead in turn one. He would hold that position until lap three when the BMW of Matt Reppert would get by. Phee would hold on to second until lap 10. The Mazda of Harold Corbin shot by in turn 10A but lost momentum going up the hill. Phee and Corbin would run side by side through turn 12 with Corbin easing into second in tune one. Phee would hold on to third for the remainder of the 15-lap race. A video of the complete race can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UaiE1YVyNI&app=desktop Impound would be much quicker on Sunday and the OPM crew had the car ready to go in time for Phee to take another outside pole starting position. Phee would maintain second until lap seven of the 15-lap race when he noticed a vibration in the car. He would back off his pace and nurse the car home to a first in class finish in STU. “It turned out I had a bad left front tire and a left rear hub failure that kept me from push to the end of the race” said Phee. “We were also test a new shock package this weekend and I have to say that they worked fantastic all weekend. The car was very compliant over the bumps and handled great. I have the thank Lex Carson at Motion Control Suspension http://motioncontrolsuspension.com/ for the great job his team did in getting me an outstanding set of shocks”. The next race is scheduled for August 5-6, 2017 at Daytona International raceway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The WRPMotorsports team is sponsored by G-LOC Brakes, Optima Batteries, Sparco USA and OPM Autosports. Photos courtesy of Simon Tibbett

WRPMotorsports Driver Willie Phee Wins the Sunoco Hard Charger Award at the SCCA Runoffs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee wins the Sunoco Hard Charges Award at the SCCA Runoffs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after moving up 14 positions and finishing 16 th in the 33 car field in the STU class. The SCCA Runoffs is amateur road racings top motorsports event and was held for the first time at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Nearly 1,000 entries in various classes would make up the 10 day event. The qualifying process for the Runoffs consists of four qualifying days and a single race to determine the National Champion in each of the classes. Phee would elect to utilize the first two qualifying days, as a work commitment would prevent him from attempting a qualifier in each session. Unfortunately, the first two days of qualifying would be in unseasonably warm temperatures and while Phee would initially qualify in 18 th position, he would drop down to 30 th as the temperatures cooled in the later sessions. “I knew it would be a gamble by just running the first two days of qualifying but I really didn’t have a choice as I was committed to a work project later in the week. I didn’t expect the temperatures to be so hot and really didn’t expect them to drop so much in the later sessions,” said Phee. “I really struggled with the car in qualifying due to the layout of the track. I had a problem with the right rear locking up in several turns. The team tried to adjust the problem out of the car but it continued to be a problem throughout the sessions and in the race,” Said Phee. Phee would start in 30 th position for the National Championship race. At the start, Phee would have contact with another car in turn one but still managed to move up a few spots. “Going into turn one was a tight 90 degree right followed by a tight 90 degree left and starting so far back meant that there was a big jam up on the first lap. Another car hit my left rear wheel but I managed to continue and moved up a few spots by the end of lap one”. Phee would continue to move up and was up to 16 th by the midpoint of the race. Phee would battle back and forth for 15 th position for the remainder of the race and actually moved into 15 th with two corners to go but would slide off in the next to last turn and end up 16 th at the finish Phee would be awarded the Sunoco Hard Charged award for his run through the field moving up 14 positions from the start to the end of the race. “I was shooting for a top 15 at the finish and had it with just one turn to go and ended up 16 th . To win the Sunoco Hard Charge Award was an unexpected bonus and makes up for just missing out on my top 15 goal. I had a great battle for the last few laps with Steve Rose in an RX-7 and Christopher DeShong in a BMW and it was great racing with them”. A video of the complete STU race two can be seen here: https://www.scca.com/videos/2033635 “It was great to have the opportunity to race at Indy and while I just fell short to my goal it was a great race. I have to thank the OPM Autosports crew for all of their help with the car over the week. They did a fantastic job as usual. The next race is November 4 th for the SCCA American Road Racing Championship at Road Atlanta Raceway in Braselton, Georgia. The WRPMotorsports team is sponsored by G-LOC Brakes, Optima Batteries, Sparco USA and OPM Autosports.

WRPMotorsports Driver Willie Phee Finishes the 2017 Season with a Second Place Finish at the SCCA American Road Racing Championship at Road Atlanta Raceway WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee finished on the podium in second position for the second year in a row at the SCCA American Road Racing Championship at Road Atlanta Raceway. The SCCA American Road Racing Championship is the season ending Championship for regional classes and is attended by drivers from all over the United States. Qualifying would take place the day before the Championship races. Phee would qualify second overall in the ITS class behind the BMW of Matt Reppert. “The weather was unseasonably warm but the car was running good and I was able to put the fastest lap I’ve ever run at Road Atlanta but it was only good enough for second on the grid” said Phee. “Matt’s car was on rails and he definitely has the track knowledge here”. Phee would get a jump on the start and lead the first lap but the BMW would get by going into turn one on lap two. An early full course caution for a car in the gravel in turn 10a would bunch the field back up for a restart. After two laps under caution, Reppert and Phee would continue their battle and pull away from the third place Nissan. I just didn’t have anything for Matt this weekend his car was well set up and well driven the entire weekend. Hopefully I’ll have something for him next year” said Phee. As always, I have to thank the OPMAutosports crew for all of their help with the car over the week. They did a fantastic job as usual. The next race is March 17-18, 2018 for Round three of the SCCA South-Eastern Majors Championship Series at Road Atlanta Raceway in Braselton, Georgia. The WRPMotorsports team is sponsored by G-LOC Brakes, Optima Batteries, Sparco USA and OPM Autosports.