WRPM 2013 Race Results
WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee Starts the 2013 Race Season at
Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
March 9-10, 2013 – Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas
WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee would finish 14th and 11th in the SCCA Super Tour STL
National races in a field of over 43 cars in class and 82 in the group.
“What a fantastic facility” said Phee, “I knew my car wasn’t competitive for the class but
the opportunity
to race at this
facility was too
good to pass up”.
“I was actually
pleased with how
I finished,
especially since I
was sick all
weekend and the
fact that there
was such a large
number of cars in
the class and the
group”.
It would be a
very difficult
weekend for
qualifying with so many cars on the track. Phee would qualify for the Saturday STL race
15th in class and 47th overall.
The Saturday race would be held on a damp track and Phee would steadily move up
during the eleven lap event and eventually finish 14th in class and 33rd overall. “Since this
was everyone’s first race here and with the first turn being very tight I knew I needed to
get to the inside
quickly to avoid
being pushed out
at the start” said
Phee. “I had a
good jump and
got to the inside
and just started
passing cars,
there was a full
course caution for
3 or 4 laps at the
end of lap 2, but I
did get a great
restart and
moved up a few
more positions”.
“I was having a
good battle with
one of the Miata’s
but I missed a shift in the final turn and gave up 13th by a couple thousand of a second”
said Phee.
Because of the volume of cars in the other classes, 5 of the 7 groups had 80 plus cars,
qualifying for
Sunday’s race
would be based on
fast lap from the
Saturday race.
Phee would end up
14th in class and
43rd overall.
Sunday’s race
would be in dry
conditions and
Phee would line up
on the inside of the
81 car field. “With
a dry track my lap
times were two
seconds faster than
Saturday and I was
able to move up
consistently during the 10 lap race”. Phee would gain eight positions and finish 11th in
class and 35th overall. “I wanted to try and make the top 10 but just missed out” said
Phee.
“It was a great weekend, to finish in the top 15 in a 43 car field with a car that really isn’t
prepped for the class was a great accomplishment. The OPM crew did their usual great
job of keeping the car set up the whole weekend. I don’t think we made any changes
other than tires the whole weekend” said Phee.
The next race is scheduled for May 18-19, 2013 at Road Atlanta Raceway in Braselton,
Georgia.
Race
Results
Two Races Two Podiums for WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee at the
May Road Atlanta National/Regional Race.
May 18-19, 2013 – Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia
WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee would finish 2nd in the SCCA ITA Regional Race, and 3rd
in the STL National race.
It was a mixed weekend with
dry qualifying on Saturday and
rain for both races on Sunday.
Phee would qualify 2nd in class
and 3rd overall for the Regional
ITA race and 3rd in class and
4th overall for the National STL
race.
“I was really hoping for a dry
track for the races but it
rained the night before and
continued raining for the first
race” said Phee. “The good
thing was getting to start in
row two for both races allowed
me to stay out of the spray and hopefully make some time in the first few laps”.
In race one Phee would move into 2nd overall and 1st in class as the field exited turn one.
Phee would hold onto the lead for the first lap but would fall back to second in turn seven
when the second place ITS car spun coming out of turn seven and Phee had to back off to
avoid hitting the spinning car. That allowed Phee’s team mate to get by down the back
straight. Phee would circulate on second for the remainder of the race.
“I had a great start, but when
the ITS car spun in front of me
I had to wait to get on the gas
and that allowed my team
mate to get a run on me down
the back straight. I tried to
stay with him but with the
spray from his car it was
difficult to see, so I just
maintained a pace and hoped
for a mistake that never came”
said Phee.
Race two would be run Sunday
afternoon and it appeared that
the track was damp but
drying. “The team considered sending me out on slicks but there was still some spray
coming up from the previous race. As I was sitting on the grid I though we made the
wrong choice to go out on wets, but on the pace lap it started to rain again, so the rain
tires ended up being the right call” said Phee.
Phee would get another good start and hold onto 2nd position until the car slid wide coming
out of turn 11 and fall back to 3rd where he would finish the race.
“It was an ok weekend, I just couldn’t get comfortable with the track in the wet. I think I
would have done better if the track had stayed dry for the races” said Phee. “Overall I
really can’t complain, I did end
up with two podium finishes”.
“I have to thank the OPM crew
for all of their help and support
over the weekend, as usual
they did a great job in setting
up the car”
The next race is scheduled for
August 31, September 1, 2013
at Barber Motorsports Park in
Birmingham, Alabama.
Race
Results
Three Wins and a Second Place for WRPMotorsports Driver
Willie Phee at the September Barber Motorsports Park
Regional Race.
August 31, September 1, 2013 – Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham
Alabama
WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee took two wins in the SCCA ITA Regional
Race, and a first and second in the STL Regional race.
Four races over two days in 90
degree plus weather was
challenging but
WRPMotorsports driver Willie
Phee would nearly sweep all
four races, winning three of
four and finishing a close
second in the first STL race.
Qualifying for the Saturday
races would be in the morning
with the races in the afternoon.
Phee would qualify second in
class and seventh overall for
the ITA race and third in class
and 10th overall for the STL
race.
“The sessions were only 15 minutes so it was critical to get a good time in
early but the track went full course yellow after just one lap, so I really only
had one flying lap to get a time in” said Phee.
In the ITA race Phee would
maintain a close second for
the first half of the race and
get into the lead on lap eight
of the 15 lap race. He would
finish with a four second gap
on the second place car by
race end.
“There were a couple of ITS
cars between me and the ITA
pole sitter at the start and I
managed to get right on his
bumper as we got to turn
five. I stayed just behind him
for the first few laps just to
see where he might have
more speed than me. Once
the tires came up to temperatures I made several attempts to get by but he
did a good job of holding me off” said Phee.
“On lap seven I got a good run out of turns three and four and made the
pass in the turn five horseshoe. After that I put my head down and tried to
run consistent laps and get a gap on the second place car”. Phee would turn
his quickest laps of the race in the last 5 laps and cross the finish line first in
class and fourth overall finishing ahead of several ITS and ITR cars.
Race two would be another exciting race as
Phee would start third in class and 10th overall in another mixed class of much
faster cars.
At the start Phee would get
passed by a couple of the
faster out of class cars but
managed to get back by in
the tighter sections of the
track and get back to the
cars in class. A double
yellow would come out on
lap two and shorten the
race by four laps.
At the restart Phee would
get a jump and move into
second position in turn one
but would drop back to
third by the end of the lap.
Four pas later Phee would
move back into second with
an inside pass in the turn five horseshoe. With two laps to go Phee would
move into first place with yet another move in the turn five horseshoe. Phee
would lose the lead going into turn one and then got held up on the last lap
but would cross the line second in class and seventh overall.
“The STL race a really fun race especially with the out of class cars we had to
deal with for the entire race. It really kept the top three STL cars very close.
It seems like none of us could really get away so it kept the racing very
close” said Phee.
The Sunday schedule would be the same as Saturday with two qualifying
sessions in the morning and two races in the afternoon.
In ITA qualifying Phee would end up second in class and fifth overall. At the
start Phee would drop back to third but would move back into second at the
horseshoe and on lap three would take over the lead with a pass, you
guessed it, in the horseshoe.
Phee would hold off a strong challenge from the second place Miata for the
next seven laps when he would gap him by several seconds after he
developed an overheating problem. Phee would remain unchallenged for the
remainder of the race and would take first in class by eight seconds.
“It was another exciting race and I managed to hold off a hard charging
Richard Pannell in his Miata. I really wasn’t sure I had the pace especially
after he set such a solid time in qualifying, but I managed to keep pace and
make almost all of my passes in the horseshoe all weekend. Unfortunately
he had a problem near the end of the race at that allowed me to get a little
breathing room to the finish” said Phee.
For the second STL race Phee would qualify first in class and eighth overall.
After all of the excitement of the first three races the final STL race was
rather boring, Phee would hold onto the lead for the entire race and finish
several second ahead of the second place car.
“Overall I’m really happy with how the weekend turnout. To come away with
three wins and a second was absolutely fantastic, and three of the four races
were very competitive. As usual the OPM crew did a great job of setting up
the car and keeping it running flawlessly for the entire weekend. Rickey
Downton was my crew chief and did a great job of keeping updated on the
radio and keeping the car perfect all weekend” said Phee.
Race
Results
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