WRPM 2010 Race Results
WRPMotorsports Driver Willie Phee starts the 2011 Pro-IT season with a podium at
American Road Racing Championship at Road Atlanta Raceway.
November 5-7, 2010 – Road Atlanta Raceway, Braselton, Georgia
WRPMotorsports driver
Willie Phee finished 3rd at
round one of the 2011
pro-IT Championship, but
carded a DNF in the
American Road Racing
Championship.
“To start to 2011 Pro-IT
season with a podium is a
great start and put me
ahead of where I started
to 2010 season,
unfortunately the DNF
(did not finish) in the
ARRC Championship was
a real set back. I believe
I had a top 5 car this year
and was looking forward
to having a great race,
but the transmission failed
on lap 9 and that ended
our day” said Phee.
Qualifying for the ARRC would be at 8:00 am on Friday morning with the Pro-IT qualifying just before lunch.
Phee would qualify 6th overall for the ARRC and 4th in class and 12th overall for the Pro-IT race. There would be
a second ARRC qualifying session after lunch however a rain/sleet storm would leave the track very slick so the
morning times would stand for final qualifying.
“I was please with my ARRC qualifying” said Phee. “I felt that the quickest time would be in the morning, but I
didn’t think we would get rain in the afternoon. I did expect Pro-IT qualifying to be a little slower and it was”.
Phee would qualify with a 1.44.5 for the Saturday ARRC race and a 1.45.2 for the Friday afternoon Pro-IT race.
In the Pro-IT race Phee would drive a steady race running consistent 1.45’s in the race and running as high as
8th overall until a full course caution bunched up the field for a one lap sprint to the finish. Phee would move up
one spot in class and 3 spots overall to finish 3rd in class and 9th overall.
“On the start I could see the third place car just a few cars ahead of me” said Phee. “We were running nose to
tail; a good pace and I could see that he wasn’t getting away, on lap 4 he bobbled and all 4 of us got by”. “I
put in a few good laps to get a gap and pulled out a 6 second gap on the 4th place car. I was comfortable in 3rd
as the 2nd place car was several seconds in front of me. On lap 20 a full course caution came out and bunched
up the field, but I had several lapped cars between me and the 4th place car. When the green came out it would
only be for one lap so I knew I could cruse to the podium spot” said Phee.
The start of the ARRC Championship race would take place at 8:00am Saturday morning so the track would be
cold and slick. Phee would line up 6th on the outside of row 3. At the start Phee would make a move to get to
the inside and jump into third position going into turn one. Phee would lose a couple of spots in the ensuing
laps but stayed within striking distance of the 5th place car. Then on lap 9 going down the back stretch the final
drive broke bring Phee’s race to an end.
“I had a great start, jumped into 3rd and stayed consistent with my lap times. I dropped back a few positions as
the track didn’t have enough heat in it for me to be comfortable going flat out. I was staying close to the 5ht
place car and felt that I could make up the distance late in the race, unfortunately the transmission blew up on
lap 9 and my race was done”. “It was really disappointing because the car was running well and I really felt
like the car would have carried me to and easy top 5 position”. “Oh well there is always next year”. “I do have
to thank the crew at OPM for their support this year and I look forward to their support for next year” said
Phee.
The next race is scheduled for March 19-20, 2011 at Road Atlanta Raceway in Braselton, GA.
October 9-10, 2010 Roebling Road Raceway, Bloomingdale, Georgia
WRPMotorsports driver
Willie Phee finished 3rd at
the championship and
final round of the SCCA
South Atlantic Road
Racing Championship
(SARRC) and finished 7th
overall in the final points
after competing in only 5
races. Phee would also
debut a new paint
scheme (see photo
below) with returning
sponsor Optima Batteries
on the second
WRPMotorsports Integra
and go on to finish 2nd in
the Enduro Championship
Finale and 5th overall in
the ECR Championship.
“To finish on the podium in the SIC was very gratifying, especially since the final race has all of the best drivers
from the entire Southeast Division in attendance. The crew at OPM did their usual great job and gave me two
great cars for the weekend” said Phee. “I also have to thank Optima Batteries for providing sponsorship for the
Enduro car for next season”.
Qualifying on Saturday would be for the SIC Championship race and the Enduro Finale. The first session would
be for the SIC where Phee would qualify 4th in class and 13th overall. The second session would be for the
Enduro where Phee would qualify 2nd in class and 14th overall just behind the pole sitting ITA car. The Enduro
race would be held late Saturday afternoon.
“There was a second qualifying session for the SIC but I knew the track would be slower so I decided to save
the car and the tires for the Sunday race” said Phee.
At the start of the Saturday Enduro Finale, Phee would line up on the outside of row 7. “I was within 8/10’s of a
second of the pole sitting car and I knew the race would be an hour and a half so I just wanted to maintain a
pace until the first pit stop, plus I could see the first place car about 2 to 3 seconds in front of me” said Phee.
At the start and for the first 18 laps Phee would maintain his 2nd in class position turning lap times within 1
second of his qualifying time. “I was planning on making a late pit stop around the one hour mark so I could
maintain a consistent pace and I figured the first place car would make their stop at halfway.” Phee would
steadily move up through the field running as high as 2nd overall before his pit stop on lap 45.
Phee would rejoin the race 2nd in class and 11th overall after the 5 minute mandatory pit stop and had two cars
between him and the first place car. By lap 55 Phee had closed the gap and was running directly behind the
first place car. The race would end on lap 59 with Phee finishing 2nd in class and 10th overall.
“I just ran out of time” said Phee. “This was the first Enduro I’ve done all year so I wasn’t sure how difficult it
would be to run for an hour and a half, but I actually felt pretty good. Good enough to run for at least another
hour” said Phee.
The SIC race would be the first race after
lunch Sunday afternoon. The start was a
little slow but Phee would get a good jump
and move into second in class before turn
one. “The pole sitter missed a shift and was
backing up through the field, cars were
backing off and I managed to get to the
inside and make up several positions” said
Phee.
“I got hung up going through the final turn
and was shuffled back to 3rd at the end of
the first lap. I could see that I was opening
up a gap on the 4th place car, I had about a
5 second gap and then the course went
double yellow on lap 7 and I ended up
losing the gap I had built up”.
The race would be under caution for 4 of the 20 laps which allowed the 4th place car to catch right up to the
back bumper of the WRPMotorsports Integra. At the re-start Phee would hold off the challenge of the 4th place
car until lap 13 when he was passed going into turn one. “I could see it coming, there was a slower car going
into the final turn, I had to lift for just an
instant and he maintained his momentum and got by me going into one”. “I stayed close and tried to keep the
pressure on. With 5 laps to go I could see the he was braking earlier and getting a little loose in the turns.”
“With 3 laps to go he bobbled in the final turn and I got by him on the straight and into turn one.” “I knew he
was running out of tires so I put in 3 quick laps at the end to get a gap for the finish” said Phee.
WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee would go on to finish 3rd in class and 10th overall in the Championship race.
“It was a good weekend to finish on the podium in both races, especially with the competition that was here
this weekend” said Phee.
The next race is scheduled for November 5-7 at Road Atlanta Raceway in Braselton, GA.
September 4-5, 2010 – Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama
WRPMotorsports driver
Willie Phee finished 1st at
the final round of the
SCCA Pro-IT
Championship and is
crowned champion for
the second year in a row.
Phee would also go on
the finish 4th and 2nd in
the two scheduled
SARRC Championship
races on the same
weekend.
“To clinch the
championship with a win
and to do it two years in
a row was fantastic. I
really have to thank the
crew at OPM for all of
their hard work throughout the racing season. They always gave me a great car to drive” said Phee. “I also
have to thank all of the other sponsors that helped this year, especially Optima Batteries for coming on at mid-
year.
In addition to the Pro-IT win Phee also competed in two South Atlantic Road Racing Championship races and
collected a 4th and 2nd in the Saturday and Sunday races.
“I really should have had another podium on Saturday” said Phee. “I was battling with the 3rd place car all race
long and I think had him covered but I missed a shift on the last lap coming out of turn 3 and lost my
momentum. Totally my fault” said Phee. “Finishing 2nd on Sunday kind of made up for the missed shift on
Saturday. It was another great battle with 3 other drivers. The pressure was on all race but I managed to save
the tires and pull out a small gap at the end”.
Qualifying on Saturday would be in unusually cool weather for a September in Alabama. The first session would
be for Pro-IT where Phee would qualify 3rd in class and 15th overall with the top 3 ITA cars all together on row 7
and 8. The Pro-IT race would be held mid-morning on Sunday.
The second qualifying session would be
15 minutes later for the SARRC race and
Phee would qualify 3rd in class again and
11th overall for the Saturday afternoon
race.
The start of the Saturday SARRC race
Phee would line up on the outside of row
5. Going into turn one several cars went
wide forcing Phee off track and allowing
several cars to get by. “Going into one at
the start was a little sketchy but there is
enough run off room since the gravel trap
was paved over”. “I tried to make up a
few places in the hairpin and managed to
get back to 4th position. It took me until
lap 10 to catch and pass for 3rd place, the whole time I was holding off the 5th place car. The last 5 laps we
were nose to tail, I had a slight gap going into the last lap, but missed a shift going up the hill out of turn 3,
that killed my momentum and allowed the 4th place car to get by me”. “It was a good race but disappointing to
finish off the podium for the first time this year” said Phee.
A very short 12 minute qualifying session on Sunday morning would set the grid for the afternoon SARRC race.
Phee would qualify 3rd in class (again) and 7th overall.
The Pro-IT race would be the first race Sunday morning just before lunch time.
The first start was waved off so there would be a second pace lap. At the start Phee would jump into first place
by turn one and never relinquish the lead. “This time starting on the outside worked great for me as the inside
lane bunched up and allowed me to get a run around the outside and into the lead” said Phee. “I could see the
2nd and 3rd place cars about 2 seconds behind me for the majority of the race, I just tried to maintain consistent
lap times and managed to pull out a 6 second gap by the end of the race”.
The Sunday SARRC race saw Phee starting on the inside of row 4. “At the start I held my inside line and stayed
in 3rd place for the first 4 laps. On lap 5 I made a pass in the hairpin and moved into 2nd, I dropped back to 3rd
on lap 8 and stayed close to the second place car. I could see that I was faster on a few of the turns so I
decided to try and pressure the second place car and get him to use up his tires” said Phee. It worked as
planned as Phee would get beck into 2nd on lap 13 and open up a 4 second gap by the finish. “I could see that
the 2nd place car was over slowing for the corners and really sliding the car trough the turns so I knew he was
running out of tire”. “I out braked him in the hairpin and slowly pulled away”.
“Not a bad weekend, to clinch the Pro-It championship and finish on the podium in the second SARRC race
made up for finishing off the podium in the first SARRC race” said Phee.
The next race is scheduled for October 9/10 at Roebling Road Raceway in Savannah, GA.
July 17-18, 2010 – Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia
WRPMotorsports driver
Willie Phee finished 1st at
round 5 of the SCCA Pro-
IT championship, 2nd in
race one and 3rd in race
two of the SARRC
Championship at Road
Atlanta Raceway in
Braselton, Georgia.
“It was a great weekend,
and to be on the podium
for all three races,
especially after starting
next to last in the Sunday
SARRC race was very
gratifying” said Phee.
Two races on Saturday
meant qualifying in the
morning and racing in the afternoon. The first qualifying session would be for the 15 lap SARRC race at 8:00
am in the morning. “I knew with 20 minutes I would have enough time to get the tires warmed up and get at
least 2 or 3 good laps in” said Phee. Phee would qualify 1st in class and 7th overall for the Saturday SARRC race.
“I had a good start, but got held up when a couple of the faster ITS cars got a run on me down the back
straight. I’m faster than they are in the turns but they have the speed down the straights”. “By the end of lap
3 I had dropped back to 12th overall and 3rd in class”. “I moved back up 2 spots by lap 6 and could see the
second place car about six seconds ahead”. “I knew I had to try and run some quick laps to close up the gap
and closed in with 3 laps to go”. “As we entered turn 6 he made contact with a lapped car and spun so all I had
to do was maintain a good pace to finish 2nd” said Phee. Phee would end the race 2nd in class and 8th overall.
Qualifying for the Pro-IT race was held at 11:00 and the times would be a little slower than the first session.
Phee would end up qualifying 2nd in class and 11th overall in the 20 minute session.
The 45 minute Pro-IT race would be the last race of the day, typically late in the afternoon so track conditions
would be less than ideal. “My main competition was just in front of me and I knew I needed a good start to try
and get by in turn one” said Phee. Phee would get the start he was looking for as his main competition was
held up and dropped back several positions. Over the course of the 26 lap race Phee would average a 1.5
second faster lap time than the second place car, finish 1st in class and 9th overall. “Even though I qualified 2nd I
knew I had the race pace to finish on top” said Phee.
Sunday started out overcast with a threat of rain throughout the day that never materialized. Unfortunately the
qualifying session would only be 10 minutes, so getting a good lap early would be crucial. “It usually takes me
a couple of laps to get up to speed and with only 10 minutes to qualify managing traffic would be critical”. “I
had one decent lap but started to catch traffic so I backed off hoping to get one more try at a fast lap but the
session ended just when I was going to put a flyer in” said Phee. In spite of the short session Phee would still
qualify 2nd in class and 13th overall.
“The second SARRC race would start just after lunch time, unfortunately the grid workers never announced the
formation signal and several of us were late to the grid. That meant starting 25th overall and last in class
instead of my qualifying position” said Phee. “That meant being extremely patient on the start and for the first
couple of laps because of the speed differential of as much as 10 seconds per lap between my qualifying time
and the cars at the back of the grid” said Phee.
Phee would make up 6 positions by the end of lap one (so much for being patient) and steadily moved up in the
short 15 lap race. By lap 8 Phee had moved into 3rd in class and 13th overall where he would finish the race. “I
waited just a little too long to get going” said Phee. “I was trying to stay out of trouble and not get into the in
class battles that were going on in the slower classes, and I didn’t want to ruin their race by stuffing up the
inside in a turn and causing them problems”. “Besides the 2nd place car was long gone by the half way point so
there was no sense in abusing the car” said Phee.
“To make it to the podium after starting at the back was something I wasn’t sure I could do, but the car
performed great and the team kept me motivated and moving forward” said Phee.
The next race is scheduled for September 4/5 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL.
May 23, 2010 – Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia
WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee finished on the
top step of the podium at round 4 of the SCCA Pro-
IT championship at Road Atlanta Raceway in
Braselton, Georgia.
Qualifying for Sunday’s race would be early Sunday
morning and with only one session it was important
to try and get a clear lap. Phee would qualify 2nd in
class and 11th overall just 5/10’s of a second behind
the 1st place ITA car. “Since there wasn’t any
practice and I hadn’t been in the car since March it
took me a few laps to get up to speed” said Phee.
The race would start at 3:30 in the afternoon so
track conditions would be less than ideal. “The
start went smoothly and I settled in a couple of cars
behind the ITA leader” said Phee. “I had a strategy
in mind before the race and felt that I could catch
up to the leader whenever I needed to.” “I knew the race would be 27 laps so I wanted to be patient and make
my move after the traffic sorted itself out”.
Phee would make his move on lap 10. “I was slowly closing in and had a good run down the back straight and
made the pass going into turn 10, unfortunately I caught a slower car in turn 12 just before the finish line and
he got back by me in turn 1” said Phee. “I managed to stay close through the esses and got another good
drive out of turn 7 and made the pass again going into turn 10. I made it stick this time and opened up a 9
second gap by the end of the race”
So consistent was Phee during the race that 20 of the 27 laps would be within 7/10’s of a second of each other.
“I think the only time I was off of my pace when I caught traffic. You know it’s great when a plan works out the
way you want. I knew I would be able to just run a pace that would be slightly quicker than my main
competitor and to be able to make it happen was just great” said Phee.
“I have to thank the crew at OPM Autosports for giving me a great car and keeping me motivated on the radio
during the race” said Phee.
With 4rounds of the Pro-IT championship completed Phee continues to lead the points chase. The next race is
scheduled for July 17/18 back at Road Atlanta for round 5 of the SCCA Pro-IT Championship race.
March 20-21, 2010 – Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia
WRPMotorsports driver Willie
Phee captured 1st and 2nd in
rounds 2 and 3 of the SCCA
Pro-IT championship at Road
Atlanta Raceway in Braselton,
Georgia.
For the 2010 season the race
format for the Pro-IT
championship changed from
a 20 lap race to a 45 minute.
That meant that the race
would go an additional 7 laps
under the new format.
Saturday’s race was held in
bright sunshine and near
perfect temperatures. With
two qualifying sessions on
Saturday the chance for a
good time would be in the morning session. “Since our group was the first session on Saturday I knew I had to
get a good lap in early” said Phee. “I had a clear track and managed to put in the fastest time and start 1st in
class and 16th overall”.
“At the start Craig Foster starting 7th in his Spec Miata had a wardrobe malfunction and started backing up
through the field, this caused the cars to bunch up before turn one. “It got a little tight at the start through
turn four but I was able to make it through with no contact” said Phee. “I settled into a pace because I knew
the race would be seven laps longer than normal, plus I had my spotter radioing me the gaps to second place
throughout the race” With traffic and some other cars spinning in front of me the gap would come down to two
seconds, but I could extend my lead whenever I needed to”. At the end of the 27 lap race Phee would cross the
finish line first in class and 6 seconds ahead of 2nd place.
What a difference a day makes. Sunday would be rainy and cold with one qualifying session and a race late in
the day. Qualifying on Sunday morning was about keeping the car on the track and not worrying about setting
a super fast time, smooth and consistent would be the order of the day. Phee would qualify 1st in class (again)
and 8th overall for the Sunday race.
The race would start on a wet track that was slowly drying until the midway point when it started to rain again.
“I got a little caught out when the rain came down, even though I was on full wet tires” said Phee. “Going into
turn one the brakes locked up, I got off the brakes and tried to keep the car out of the gravel but I was carrying
too much speed and ended up in the gravel. Now it was
about keeping the car off the wall, I managed to keep my
momentum and get to the back edge of the gravel trap
and get the car back on the track”.
“I only lost about 30 seconds but dropped back to 2nd in
class. The rain continued to fall and the track was
starting to get some large puddles in some critical areas,
but I was determined to get back to the front. I closed
the gap each lap and got it down to two seconds at the
finish but ran out of laps and had to settle for 2nd in class
and 6th overall.
“The off in turn one was totally my fault” said Phee.
“When it started raining I should have backed off a bit
and cruised, luckily I got through the gravel and closed on
the leader but came up about 2 laps short. With all of the crashing that went on today I’m happy to finish 2nd
and bring the car back with no damage.
With 3 rounds of the Pro-IT championship completed Phee is leading the points chase. The Pro-IT point’s battle
is shaping up between Phee and Miata driver Joe Tenny and should be close throughout the 6 race series.
The next race is scheduled for May 22/23 back at Road Atlanta for round 4 of the SCCA Pro-IT Championship
race.
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