Race Recap: Million, Palomar Racing Complete World Racing League’s VIR 9 + 7 Hour
Alton, VA | July 7-9th, 2023
Palomar Racing’s fourth weekend in their 2023 World Racing League campaign saw mixed fortunes with an overall positive outcome. The team saw the checkered flag with both #14 and #15 BMW E36 GP1 cars in both the 9 and 7 hour races run on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Piloting the #14 this weekend was Matt Million, Nik Romano, and Austin Varco. The #15 was piloted by Ryan Keeley, Mickey Miller, and Connor Lydon.
Friday’s practice and qualifying set the pair up toward the rear of the field. Car #14 would start 7th with the #15 starting 9th from 13. Overall, improvements done the cars had helped at some tracks while others still struggled.
Saturday’s results saw the #15 take the team’s second podium of the season with a 3rd in GP1 after outlasting many troubled competitors. The #14, although with a strong first few hours, had electrical troubles see it miss a few hours of the race to finish 10th of 13 in class. On Sunday, the #14 came home a respectable 5th and the #15 finished right behind in 6th from 13 starters.
Matt Million contested the first two and a half hours of Saturday’s race in the #14 BMW E36 as well as the opening two and a half hours of Sunday’s race.
“This past weekend at VIR was a very good step in the right direction for Palomar Racing. Coming off the back of Road America where we only turned five racing laps, we needed to get back on form with reliability and consistency. I’m super happy both engines went through the weekend with no issues. Although the #14 had electrical gremlins which cost it 60% of Saturday’s race, everything else worked well and we finished Sunday strong. Our switch to Yokohama Tire and their AD09 compound was a massive improvement in grip and drivability.”
“I’m super happy with how the Palomar guys came together this weekend. A 7-week break was nice to end at one of the best circuits around. Again, to be the only team and group of people coming from West of the Rockies is a statement of intent for building our team into a better operation. It hasn’t happened quickly or easily, but we continue to sort out the car’s speed for GP1 as well as ironing out management challenges as a small group.”
“In terms of my on-track performance, I’m quite pleased. I stuck to the margins and drove hard as I could to stay within some sort of distance to the leaders. Our car is still unoptimized for the class and it shows, but I’m still giving it everything I’ve got behind the wheel! We dealt with electrical issues Saturday and a faulty power steering Sunday which took out some confidence from my stints. But these challenges are part of being a professional driver. Some weekends everything is perfect, others are not and it’s on you to manage it as best as possible.”
“I’m excited for the quick turn-around to Road Atlanta. We will be bringing in some updates to hopefully bring us closer in pace to the GP1 leaders. I haven’t been to Road Atlanta since 2018 and cannot wait to revisit one of my favorite circuits in the country!”
Million will next compete for Palomar Racing at Road Atlanta from July 28-30th in the World Racing League 9 + 7 Hour event. He is scheduled to drive the #14 Palomar Solar BMW E36 M3 in GP1 for the rest of the season.
Matt Million wants to thank all the volunteers and corporate partners who support Palomar Racing. The primary support of Palomar Solar and Roofing along with support by Apex Race Parts, Red Line Synthetic Oil, Ferodo Racing, AP / Essex Part Services, Yokohama Tires, BimmerWorld, Strom Motorsports, Bullet Performance, FastSideways, Enphase, Panasonic Solar, Swift Springs, MCS, AGA Tools, Rugged Radios, SignArt Graphix, and others.
Look for Matt’s ‘July Update’ to be published by the end of this month. Visit ‘Photos’ to view more pictures from the event.
Photography by Chance Hales.