WRPM Race Update

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WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee doubles up with two wins and a new track record at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Round’s 18 and 19 of the 2022 SARRC Championship series was held at Barber Motorsports Park and WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee would finish on the top step of podium in both races. There would be two qualifying sessions, one held each morning. Phee would qualify third in class and ninth overall in the Saturday session. The race organizers made a late change to the race order and instead of Group four Phee’s class was mover to Group one. “I was sitting in the paddock when I was told that the run group had changed so I scrambled to get ready and missed the first couple of laps of qualifying” said Phee. Phee would move from third to first by the turn five horseshoe and maintain the lead in class until the end of the shortened race on lap five. “I managed to get a great start and got down the inside of the first place Miata in the horseshoe. I was racing with an out of class Miata for the entire five laps plus I had the second place in class Miata to worry about” said Phee. The race was called early when the ITR BMW of Mary Ronnie was tagged in turn 15 and she ended up in the wall with debris scattered through the turn and down the front straight. In Sunday qualifying Phee would make it to the grid on time and finish first in class and seventh overall with a time that was 1.5 seconds faster than his Saturday qualifying time. “I guess it helps to get to the grid on time to take advantage of the full qualifying session, “said Phee. “The crew kept me informed on the radio of where the pole sitter was on times and I managed to just beat him by .039 seconds on the last lap of qualifying”. In race two Phee would drop back to second in class for the first six laps but Phee would remain close to the Miata of Ron Munnerlyn and would move into the lead of the class on lap seven with a inside move going into the museum turn seven. Phee would steadily pull away to the tune of an average of .56 seconds per lap and would end up 3.08 seconds ahead of the second place Miata at the finish. “Ron had a good jump at the start and we were racing with several out of class cars for the first five or six laps but I managed to stay close and got a great drive out of turn five and made the pass going into turn seven. Once I got by I just tried to put in qualifying laps to stay ahead” said Phee. Phee would run his record setting lap (1.43.988) on lap six of the 15 lap race and would lower the record he previously set in 2020 by .192 seconds. “I was surprised when I saw the times at end of the race I never thought I would lower the track record in the heat of the day and to run 2.026 seconds faster than qualifying was truly special” The in-car video can be seen here: https://youtu.be/c5oo3UpYcpA The next race is scheduled for October 22-23, 2022 at Roebling Road Racewayt in Bloomindale, Georgia. The WRPMotorsports team is sponsored by GLoc Brakes, Sparco USA, Total Lubricants, MCS Suspension and OPM Autosports. Photos courtesy of Clark McInnis https://cmcinnis.wordpress.com/