Final Stop with 40 Minutes Left, Million Swaps with Oneppo - July 31st, 2021 - Utah Motorsports Campus
TOOELE, Ut - After a race marred with rain storms and lightning strikes, GOneppo Racing with drivers Matt Million, Peter Oneppo, and Sean Neel take victory in the E2 class.
Thumbnail by Chance Hales Photography. More to come…
Photo: roadracingworld.com
On August 1st, the NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship will race in Utah for the third of four rounds this season. The only round outside of California each year, the ‘Utah 6 Hour’ has become a staple race of the series and often attracts additional entries and attention. The race runs from 6:00 PM to midnight on Saturday, meaning a full day-night transition for competitors to endure. Although with sunset at 8:52 PM, the day and night are roughly equal.
This will be my first time at Utah Motorsport Campus, or visiting the state of Utah even! I’m always excited to drive and learn new circuits, especially one like Utah which I’ve wanted to visit for some time. Must be the old ALMS broadcasts!
As team Technik Competition decided to forgo this event for 2020, I’ll instead be joining local San Diego squad Racing Ruined My Life (Oceanside Motorsports) in their #69 BMW 325i E30 tuned for the E2-class that I’m familiar with. My partners in it are team owner Neil Daly and their WERC driver Andre Eisenbach. I’m looking forward to working with these familiar friends from across the paddock. Both by seeing how my background could offer insight to improving their racing program and by extracting the experience gained in a new environment and race car that I can translate back to myself and Technik. We are expecting to face regular E2 competitors HQ Autosport, Team Wake Ballast, and more in (what I believe is) the most exciting, close racing on the WERC grid.
Photo: racingcircuits.info
The layout we run is UMC’s popular Outer Loop. The 3-mile (4.9km) circuit is characterized by fast speeds and swooping corners. The opening corners of the track are especially quick, with a lot of speed-carrying potential into T1 setting up the fast right-left flick into the back-straight. Two different radius hairpins follow soon after, balancing the challenge from high to lower speeds. Elevation doesn’t factor in too much around here, but the next run from ‘Witchcraft’ up to the chicanes sees a gradual rise-and-fall along with a transition in the grip which you need to be ready for. One must make sure to maximize corner exit from ‘Release’, the final corner leading onto the very long main straightaway. With the circuit 30 miles away from Salt Lake City means an elevation of 4,300ft above-sea-level means reduced power potential for most cars. The track is also counter-clockwise, which is fairly uncommon in racing circuits that aren’t based on ovals, and applies additional wear onto the right-side tires.
You can follow the race LIVE on the RaceHero app beginning Saturday, August 1st at 6:00 PM MDT. Make sure to follow @MattMillionRacing on Instagram or ‘Matt Million Racing’ on Facebook for live weekend updates, photos, and reports!
See you in Tooele, Utah
- Matt M.