Million Returns to Germany; Sachsenring Race Preview

Million Returns to Germany; Sachsenring Race Preview

JAS Rennsport race shop & our 318ti Cup

Fürstenwalde, Germany

After months of travel restrictions, I’ve been cleared to enter Germany and will contest the remainder of the 2020 BMW 318ti Cup with team JAS Rennsport!

The next race is at Sachsenring on September 25/26th. All information on timetables, social media links, and more is below.

After an official series test at Hockenheimring in late February, the series cancelled its opening three races due to the pandemic. The start of the season was delayed from March to July. I will join the series at the third round in Sachsenring after being forced to miss rounds at Lausitzring and Meppen. Rounds at the Nurburgring and Autodrom Most will follow after Sachsenring in October and November, respectively.

Based in the city of Furstenwalde outside Berlin, JAS Rennsport’s race shop has become my home leading up to my personal series debut.

Furstenwalde, Germany

It’s incredibly exciting. Myself, teammate Luca (Alpert), and team boss Lars (Winkler) have been working tirelessly to get me back since all of this started. I received the email a few weeks ago with excitement from Lars that I was granted approval from Germany’s border police. My entire year’s planning changed right there, I didn’t think I would be boarding a plane to until 2021!

Myself and Luca racing for virtual JAS Rennsport on iRacing. Photo: 12h Silverstone

The time away from Germany and the lockdowns have actually given myself and teammate Luca the chance to bond much faster and deeper than would’ve been possible before. We would do endurance racing together on iRacing each weekend, and not only has it been a lot of fun talking to one another, but we’ve learned more about our racing styles, strengths and weaknesses, and communicating how we work best. Coming back to Germany, we feel like we’ve known each other for years! It will be a serious help when we get into problem solving during the fast paced BMW 318ti Cup race weekends! Luca is a seriously quick and passionate young racer, the perfect co-driver for me this year.

JAS Rennsport isn’t new to motorsport or the series, but is new to running the full season in 2020. The extended time has allowed them to be better prepared, making improvements with the car setup, braking, and handling in the opening rounds. We’re prepared to jump straight into the action with competitive potential, shown by Luca scoring the team’s first podium in the last race.

Seat fitting, again!

I’ve only been here a single week, but it might be this week I look back on with fond memories as the next chapter of something truly special in my career and personal life. By the end of my time here, 10 weeks will have gone by before flying back home in late November. Definitely the longest I’ve been away from home, in a foreign country nonetheless! But right now, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Ask me as a 6-year-old in karts what my dream is, and I would respond ‘professional sports car driver in Europe!’ Well, I’ve spent each of the past 14 years in karts, competitive spec racing, and multi-class endurance events in America. I feel the experience and goals I’ve reached there have allowed me to enter this next phase. Seeking and finding an opportunity in the BMW 318ti Cup and team JAS Rennsport at the time I did couldn’t have been better. Delayed 7-8 months by the pandemic did little to affect an aspiration I’ve held for so long. Now the chance is here, the next chapter begins.

Below, you will find a timetable and information about following JAS Rennsport at the upcoming round at Sachsenring. I am working on providing a live onboard, but until that is finalized, please follow my social media links and stay up to date. Thank you so much for reading, reach out to me with any questions. Los geht’s! Tschuß!

2020 BMW 318ti Cup Round 3 - Sachsenring

(LOCAL TIME, CEST) (PDT +9)

Friday, Sept 25

Practice: 11:30 - 12:00 (30m)

Qualifying: 17:25 - 18:05 (40m)

Saturday, Sept 26

Race: 10:40 - 12:20 (100m)

FOLLOW MATT

FOLLOW THE BMW 318TI CUP

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Background on the Sachsenring

The Sachsenring is a 3.7km (2.3 mile) road racing circuit located in eastern Germany near the city of Dresden. The circuit dates its roots back to the mid-1920’s when locals organized a race around the town of Hohenstein-Ernstthal in Saxony. The old circuit, which ran on public roads in the area, gained most notoriety as a round of the European Motorcycle Championships for the decades that followed. In the early 1970’s, the East German authorities denied western teams and riders from the event and it continued behind the iron curtain. In 1995, a new multi-use facility was constructed by ADAC Sachsen and racing was revived at the track for touring cars and bikes. The circuit went through considerable changes to make the lap faster and safer and the current configuration has been around since 2003. It is most known today as host to the MotoGP German Grand Prix and ADAC GT Masters events.

Today, the track consists of 12 corners and is popular among drivers for its tight corners and steep elevation changes. Notably, it is run in the anti-clockwise direction which is unusual compared to other circuits in the country. 9 left hand corners and 3 to right give drivers a unique tire management challenge and provides a sensation of constant right pulling G-forces.

Race Recap: Enduring the NASA Utah 6 Hour

MATT REVIEWS HIS WEEKEND AT THE 2020 UTAH 6 HOUR

August 5th, 2020

The NASA Utah 6 Hour is an annual event put on by NASA Utah and is a championship round of the NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship. This year, it was the third round following Willow Springs and Buttonwillow in February and June, respectively. As this championship has seemed to be my home in the recent year or so, the one race I was yet to drive or visit was this one. With my plans to compete in Germany’s BMW 318ti Cup on an indefinite hold due to travel restrictions, the opportunity was presented to race the Utah enduro for the first time. Always eager to test myself at unfamiliar places or environments, I had to compete in it this year. With two weeks to spare, I confirmed my entry. The story of that and our race is below!

I came into the weekend with goals of growth. Similar to other race weekends, but because it would be an all new circuit, car, and team this time, my expectations were tailored to match that. Get what new experiences, new information, and newly found areas of improvement that I could out of my 3 days in Utah! To quickly recap what I’ve written about in the preview, I would race this weekend with local San Diego based team Racing Ruined My Life / Oceanside Motorsports in their E2 class BMW E30. A team and car that I raced against in June I’d know be racing for! It was a shame the Technik Competition team couldn’t make it, but it gave me an opportunity to expand out to new people within the paddock. And the chance to race with team owner Neil Daly, who is arguably the most unconditionally nice and happy man in the paddock, sounded like a great time to me!

Friday was testing day, and it was uncomfortably warm. I was able to get a little over a half-hour behind the wheel, enough to familiarize with the controls of this new car and understand the basic characteristics of the long, fast Utah Motorsports Campus circuit. We discovered a bit of a fuel issue, where because of the 4,200ft altitude (and our car wasn’t adjusted for it), our car was spewing out a small trail of fuel and affecting fuel mileage. We fixed what we could, and the rest we simply had to keep an eye on.

Saturday. Race day! I was elected to be the qualifying and starting driver, tasked with putting us in a good position early! Qualifying looked to be promising as soon as I rolled out, being first to the first-come-first-serve grid positions. I was able to run 2-3 clean laps after allowing the faster class cars by, but I felt my lack of overall seat time in the car and track affected my lap time potential. Starting P4 of 7 in the class wasn’t optimal, but didn’t bother me much. Racing for 6 hours has many more variables in play than just your starting spot!

The race got underway at 6:00 PM local time and ran relatively clean and straightforward for awhile. I noticed my car cutting power about a half-hour in, feeling a lot like fuel starvation but was happening way earlier than expected. Within a couple laps, it subtly went away but my concerns of it did not. In the meantime, I was up one position in class and hitting lap-times that were many tenths up on my qualifying time. My comfort in the car/track combo was rising and I had more to gain!

Before the end of hour 1, the fuel issues returned and I decided to give the crew an extra lap of time to prepare the pit stop. It was nearly a fatal flaw, and the engine gave up as I entered the lane! Luckily I made it to the box, refueled without issue, and returned to the circuit. Data for the next time to not extend our fuel range that additional lap!

My second stint embedded my mind deeper into the race. I came out of the pits a few seconds ahead of the class leader, and gradually watched him fade out of my mirrors and pulled away in the following laps. Good encouragement for our pace! I began to feel the limits of our BMW E30 better, taking more entry speed and applying the throttle earlier and smoother. I was averaging a second faster than my qualifying time! You truly know you’ve entered the endurance flow state when you’re giving faster class cars behind a no-loss opportunity to pass you without losing any time yourself. The race giveth, and the race taketh away!

The car was soon struggling for fuel again, quicker this time. Better radio communications made this stop feel more planned, and I made it in losing less time than the previous stop. I was handed my drinks bottle this time, which funny enough, literally flipped my mental strength to full power again. It’s incredible how much water is lost by racing and focusing for upwards of two hours, and when I got back out on circuit it felt like a new race! This time I exited the lane directly behind our class leader, the BMW E46 of Wake Ballast SRC. By start-finish next lap, I made the pass and set sail once more. If we kept this up, we were in for a shot! My third and final stint was easily the most fluid, engaging, and rewarding. Our in-car data system had run out of battery, so I had no idea what times I was running. The RPM needle in the gauge cluster was broken, so I was running on nothing but direct tactile input and noise from our M52-powered machine! I’ve always prided myself on my lap consistency over anything else, and the data showed. By this point, I dropped two seconds below my qualifying time and was hitting that number regularly. I was comfortable, confident with the platform, and erking little by little more ability out of our tires through quicker mid-corner speeds and giving better precise inputs to smooth out the weight transfers. Not to mention aiding the aero load our wing was feeling entering T1!

Another 40 or so minutes gone by, fuel sputters, and I’m into the pit lane with nearly no time lost this stint. I wrongly assumed my time in the car wasn’t up yet and didn’t plan on jumping out. We should’ve cleared that on the radio communications, but I saw my co-driver hopping over the wall and I snapped into action to unbuckle, loosen, and set up the belts. It was actually a quite clean stop once again. I watched Andre set off from the pit wall. Apparently two and a half hours had gone by, felt more like a couple laps! Here is a 2-lap onboard from me during a couple of those magic laps!

After an hour and half of driving, Andre unfortunately caught a bit too much kerb and was sent off into a wall and our radiator was damaged. He made it into the pits, but a quick assessment determined it could go no further. Errors are a part of racing. Without them, there is no learning or improving. Sometimes they come at more opportune times, and others they come when you least expect. We still gathered plenty of good, usable data over the 4 hours run and had a good experience for all of it!

I am not returning home with any new ‘hardware’, but I do return with a healthy respect and a clear picture on the challenges that the NASA Utah 6 Hour gives, and better data on how to achieve top step for next time! The race attracts an impressive amount of quality teams and I was able to take in what worked for some of them. The Utah Motorsports Campus is a lovely facility, a differentiated circuit design, and a perfect place for a NASA WERC 6-hour. It was a great challenge and I feel grew my adaption skills. “You never know the next time you get to drive a race car”, and each time is a blessing that I’m grateful to have the opportunity to work at time and time again.

Thank you to Neil and team Oceanside Motorsports / Racing Ruined My Life for the opportunity to race this event for the first time. I hope to see you again soon!

My next weekend at a race track will come in three weeks at Sonoma Raceway. I won’t be racing, but I will be helping a good friend as I take on a driver development role to aid his weekend. Beyond that, there is a chance I will be competing in the Lucky Dog Racing League at Chuckwalla next month. Stay tuned! In October, I will be racing in the NASA WERC series finale at Buttonwillow. Looking for to being at a race track more again!

Cheers, Matt

Race Preview: NASA Utah 6 Hour

MATT MILLION PREVIEWS HIS NEXT RACE, THE UPCOMING ‘NASA Utah 6 Hour’

Photo: roadracingworld.com

July 23rd, 2020

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.

Win for Million, Technik Competition at Buttonwillow 3-hour

BUTTONWILLOW, CA - JUNE 14, 2020

Matt Million and teammate Sean Neel take Technik Competition to an E2 class win in the NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship (WERC) 3-hour round at Buttonwillow Raceway.

NASA SoCal returned to racing for the first time since March, and one of the feature races was NASA’s 3-hour WERC race during Saturday evening. The beginning half would run in the fading daylight, and second half into the darkness. This was effectively the second race of the season, with race one occurring at Willow Springs in February. It was Matt’s first race with Technik Competition this year.

Technik Competition competed with their same BMW E46 that took E2-class honors at the 2019 25 Hours of Thunderhill. Supporting Matt and Sean this weekend was longtime Technik mechanic Spencer Wright (car chief), Jesse Rugge (fuel and crew), Owen Oliver (fuel and crew), and Peter Czajkowski (spotter).

Both drivers took turns getting re-acclimated to the car on Friday afternoon testing. With lower temperatures scheduled for race day, the data collected was ‘worst-case scenerio’ in terms of driveability and times, with both drivers happy with the balance and the car performing well despite minor engine compression loss sustained in prior races.

The first on-track running for Saturday was the NASA WERC qualifying session. With Sean scheduled to start the race and complete the first stint, Matt had a few objectives as the qualifying driver. “Obviously aiming for pole is priority. But feeling that I could leapfrog cars in E1 and E0 on the grid gave me an extra push. I wanted to give Sean the best starting spot possible as well as separate him from the rest of the E2 class”. Matt took class pole position in the session and P8 overall, with the nearest competitor in P12 overall.

The enduro began at 6:20 PM local time, with the sunset scheduled at around half-distance. Sean ran a clean opening hour and maintained the class lead with a couple second gap behind. Second in-class was able to close the gap and make a pass but Sean was able to take it back and retain the lead.

Sean entered the pits a little before half-distance for routine driver swap and fuel. The stop took about one minute and was nearly flawless. No penalties for fuel spill or pit speeding meant the race was still on. Matt ran behind class rivals HQ Autosport (with a BMW 128i) and Racing Ruined My Life (with a BMW E30) for the first half of the stint as they were on a different pit strategy. Matt overtook one until a pass on a lower class car put Matt on the outside of a dirty Riverside corner and had to take evasive action. “I didn’t think the grip would be that low around the outside of there! I had to do a bit of dirt driving but kept the car fully under control and rejoined to only loose a couple seconds. Frustrating but it happens sometimes when pushing, I learned from it and kept my head together!”

Matt closed the gap again within a few laps, but both cars were now within striking distancing of the leading HQ Autosport car. The Racing Ruined My Life car went for an unsuccessful move into Phil Hill, slowing both. Matt performed a three-wide pass for the lead into Sweeper and retained the lead for the final 40 minutes. Both competitors ran into issues with fuel; one with fuel mileage issues and the other serving a fuel-related penalty.

Matt eased to victory in the E2 class by one lap over HQ Autosport. This marks Technik Competition’s 3rd win in its past 4 consecutive starts.

“It’s very cool to return to racing with a win for Technik. As a team, we prioritized fun and organization this weekend. I knew we had the ability to find success if objectives were clear and met while we had a good time doing them. It worked, can’t ask for much more! It was a rad weekend!”

Thanks to the people at Technik Competition, as well as NASA SoCal, Hankook Motorsports, Aether Apparal, and Racetech USA.

'Another World' - Report from 2020 BMW 318ti Cup Official Test

‘Another World’ - Report from 2020 BMW 318ti cup Series Test

Frankfurt, DE / 23 Feb 2020

As I begin to write this on a 12 hour flight back to San Diego, my first trip to Germany has come to a close. Meeting my new team JAS Rennsport, lapping the Hockenheimring, and the culture shock that comes with seeing Europe in person. One of those cultural aspects struggles to leave me; sparkling water in Germany. It was like the national beverage, closely behind beer! While this was rather amusing, let’s dive into das Fleisch (the meat) of the report!

Intro

For those unfamiliar, here is a quick introduction to myself and the season. I’m Matt Million, a 19-year-old racing driver and college student from San Marcos, California. I began in karts at age 5 where I competed around the state for the following 8 years. At 13, I transitioned to car racing in the popular grassroots category of Spec Miata. The next 4 seasons were spent primarily in the Teen Mazda Challenge West, along with various NASA/SCCA club events. In 2017, I finished runner-up in the series capstoned by a podium at the Western NASA Nationals, helping me to a Mazda Road to 24 Shootout invite. In 2018 I transitioned to the emerging national Spec MX-5 Challenge series with 2 wins on the season. 2019 saw a shift toward college studies, but became a 25 Hours of Thunderhill E2 class winner in December. For 2020, I’m competing in the DMV BMW 318ti Cup in Germany, a growing touring car series in the region.

Back in 2018, I began my ‘Weekend Reflection’ reports to chronicle my results and thoughts from each event. It’s been a fun way to reflect on my races, and reach out to new and old friends through storytelling my tales as an aspiring professional driver. If you’d like to receive my updates for this season (or continue to), let me know and tell a friend! If not, that’s fine too!

To Germany

The title ‘Another World’ comes as a combination of all the unknowns I face traversing the Atlantic this year. Searching for a viable and unique option to keep me in the seat for 2020, I came across the BMW 318ti Cup. Everything I’ve done in motorsport has been with Europe in mind. To come across an emerging series of spec touring cars, with a bumper grid of 25 cars that visited major circuits across Germany, I had my target! It followed a 6 race, 6 weekend calendar of 2-hour long races with a 2 driver format. Months of logistics, costs, and feasibility research led to the realization that I had to go for it. As an American, it was a tough sell convincing a team I’d be a better choice than a native European. However, stars aligned after receiving one vital response. One from a fellow young driver, excited at the prospect of getting me onboard as his teammate.

JAS Rennsport was excited and adamant that I become a part of their group for the season. They’re a small auto and race shop located near Berlin and transition into the BMW 318ti Cup after years of regional club racing. Luca Alpert, my now teammate, responded quickly after my request was received. Laying out the details and translating for team owner Lars, they expressed a serious desire to work together, and we bonded through a common passion. Luca and I shared many traits and desires, making for a strong pairing. JAS Rennsport is very much a family-style operation instead of an outright motorsport business; a fun and honest group with a big heart. After our successful series test though, I know now they’re brutally competitive and quick as well. They were the only team to take my request seriously, and looking back I wouldn’t have gone anywhere else!


The Task

With the first race at the Hockenheimring in March, the championship organized an official test for Saturday, February 22nd. JAS and I agreed this would be the best option for me to acclimate myself with the lay of the German lands before returning to compete. I’d meet Luca and the team, settle into the car and circuit, and have a better grasp of the unknowns.

Right then, take-off from San Diego to land in Frankfurt on Friday morning, receive a lift to Hockenheim with our mechanic, spend Saturday testing and fly back early Sunday. These were the ‘hard’ details of the trip, set and planned. But the rest? I’d be going to figure those out! Hours spent building a digital ‘phrasebook’ of German might be of good use, or have little effect. Doing my best to study videos and drive simulator laps of the circuit, when it could feel totally foreign. Only way to know was to go!

Friday

The first challenge to tackle was travel time. Getting myself there came courtesy of a Lufthansa, direct to Frankfurt. Turns out February is a great month to score on nonstop flights! Surreal moments to be greeted with ‘guten Tag’ as I boarded as well. Quite a pleasant flight it ended up being, especially with an unoccupied passenger seat. But those lingering unknowns kept my mind running laps and sleep was difficult. The most important note headed into March; maximize sleep!

Gazing out during the landing, winter was very much still the season draping over the German state of Hesse. The landscape expansively grey, but it did little to damper my smile! We boarded a Mercedes bendy bus to baggage and customs, my body clock not having a clue what hour it was. Passport stamped, welcome to Germany! My hands working feverishly to translate messages of location, I connected with my mechanic Kai. The magnitude of this pursuit this was quickly felt as my German was more fluent than Kai’s english! No big worries though, as hand motions and expressions speak a common language (and so does Google Translate). My first autobahn experience was a fast one, reaching Hockenheim within the hour. Sitting passenger in a mid-90s Mercedes C-Class, doing well to showcase how these sedans were made for 160+ KPH!

We met Lars in the paddock thereafter, another surreal occasion! Turns out Hockenheim’s fancy pit garages didn’t open until evening, so we were the only people there! I took the 318ti Cup for a quick spin through the paddock getting a taste of what to expect, as well as taking plenty of track and group photos with my new German extended family! We stayed in Hockenheimring’s small hotel located on the backside of the main grandstands and I took advantage of my quaint room early to nap away some jet lag!

Waking up in a daze like I was in a foreign country, reality hit harder than dreams realizing I was! Helping JAS unload just beyond dusk, Luca and his father arrived at the circuit for their first time. Funny to think I saw Hockenheim in person before him! With the best English of the group, Luca and I had a great chat. All eyes forward to tomorrow!

Saturday

From a day where everything felt new to one that felt more familiar. Saturday was the single-day official test for the 2020 DMV NES 500 endurance series, of which BMW 318ti Cup runs with. 19 of the 24 confirmed teams opted to test, meaning we had plenty of competition to compare with.

With an obvious hurdle of quick and clear team communication, we decided it was best to focus on the larger picture that day and dissect smaller details during the lead-up into the first race. Lots of track time, make sure we’ve got plenty of video and mental data, and sort it out after!

The driver’s briefing was quick, essentially telling us it was a test day and we knew the rules. My kind of efficiency! Good thing it was quick because we had lots to do. Maximizing our track running, we entered in two run groups with Luca and I taking one each. With only three groups, 40 minutes of every hour was spent driving and the other 20 minutes was for fuel and a quick debrief! Other rival teams did the same, giving both of us time to run with competitors while also learning the circuit and car.

It took me two sessions to wrap my head around the dynamics of the 318ti Cup! Being similar in speed to Spec Miata was about the only commonality. First to note was driving with the windows up, which seems to be more common in Europe, making it oddly quiet as I’m used to wind and engine revs behind the wheel! Power steering and mild ABS gave a sensation I was accustomed to from Spec MX-5, but managing consistency with an open differential was all new! It demanded quick inputs to pivot the front on turn in, yet required a fine balance on corner exit to plant the rear down into the asphalt and gather a jump of traction! Expecting to wrangle an oversteer-happy car, the BMW 318’s slight length disadvantage (to a regular 3 Series) did little to unseat my confidence! I was faced with the opposite; an abundance of grip pushed my trust of the platform deeper into corners, still feeling I’ve got more to find. The Goodyear semi slicks are fantastic. I learned so much, and have plenty to gain! 

Hockenheimring, for being an F1-grade circuit, surprised me in a positive way. Mixing high-speed, high commitment zones like the kerb hopping T1 and blind T12 with sequences of left-right flicks like the tricky T8-11 section or balancing the banked Sachs Kurve down and around to start-finish. At 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) in length, it’s inline with many US circuits I’m accustomed to. Instead of being obstacles, the kerbs here play a key part in lap times. Exit kerbing in T6 and T16 enable a nice ‘hook’ to plant the car for throttle down as well as settling the rear. Entrance kerbs on the high speeds are a big deal in front rotation, setting up bigger speed on the long straights!

Luca and I found our driving styles to be similar with small differences in how we found lap times. He’s a major reason why I decided to join JAS; a similarly passionate teenager with quick hands, speed on tap, and a desire to learn. After nonstop running from 9am to 4pm, our fastest laps were separated by a mere two tenths and each session followed a consistent pattern in our gains! We collected up our onboard footage and the day was done.

Ending the day, I spoke with series marketing manager Alex to do an interview for their social media (which you watch on their Instagram and Facebook pages!) Humbling to speak about the origins of this endeavor and my racing journey thus far on the pitwall at Hockenheimring. I can hardly imagine telling 5-year-old Matt, on the Kid Kart grid at Apex Racing Center near Lake Perris, what dream would be realized in 15 years! I’d like to think I would’ve believed myself, a driven little kid I was back then!

Sunday

Dark and early on Sunday morning, I had myself a complementary kaffee was back flying down the autobahn to Frankfurt with Kai. Arriving before sunrise gave me ample time to reflect on a rapid, yet truly important few days of self-growth - as well as how exhausted I was!

An international journey of just 70 hours from takeoff to final descent in San Diego. It’s a humbling taste of what the professionals do multiple times per month! With my ‘day job’ as a global business student, It’s rather amusing that I didn’t miss a single class in the 12,000 mile scramble. Greeted with plenty of coursework on return however!

Reflecting

It’s been about two weeks since, now grasping the challenges and motivations for the year ahead. I can’t say enough good things about JAS Rennsport, their drive to put Luca and I in the best possible position to fight for top spots has been well noticed. I’ll be doing everything possible to trade results for the opportunity they’ve given me! It’s been a seriously fun exchange of cultures already, and I’m loving it.

In total honesty, this trip was always going to be less about the driving and more facing culture shock learning from all the small nuances. It was fantastic diving into the unknown to extract a more complete perspective of how to better prepare for March’s first round. Sleep and proper nutrition are vital for racing drivers, and the challenge of them is exaggerated driving overseas. Combined with a better grasp of language obstacles, team bonding, and track knowledge, the upcoming race should now feel more similar to my past weekends. 

The theme was to cut down unknown variables for March and I feel well achieved!

Looking ahead

In two weeks, I (hope) to return for the first race on March 29th. Amidst the escalating virus containment efforts, the likelihood of this is fast changing. It would be disappointing but understandable being forced to miss the race, or the event be abandoned altogether. Whatever happens, when that first race and reunion for myself and Luca to put JAS Rennsport on the map as title contenders, it will be even more special.

I’ve planned to be there with two familiar faces - my parents! As I continue making more of my own racing and career choices, their trust and support has been incredible. I still remember their reactions as I delivered the “you’ll never believe what I just found” spiel for this season to happen… and while it must’ve felt far out of their comfort zone as my parents, their faith in me has meant the world. I’ve just promised that I won’t scare them as autobahn passengers!

Sitting in the hotel bar following the test, Luca and I sat aching with ideas. Realizing smoother ways to attack a corner, carry more speed through a section, as well as fun discussions on the strange differences between German and American life. Since returning, our team group chat has been alive with positivity and plans for a strong, memorable season. This next chapter in my motorsport journey might become an important building block of my life for years to come. But for now, I’m focused on writing the first German pages!

Thank you so much for reading.

Cheers, Matt Million

Season Announcement - 2020 BMW 318ti Cup

JAS-Rennsport at the Nurburgring in 2019

JAS-Rennsport at the Nurburgring in 2019

SAN MARCOS, CA - Million is excited to confirm that he will be competing in Germany’s DMV BMW 318ti Cup for 2020. Matt will join team JAS-Rennsport and teammate Luca Alpert for the full season of six rounds, which spans six different circuits across Germany and The Netherlands.

“Having a chance to compete and move my career ahead in Europe, especially Germany, has been a dream of mine since the early days of karting. I can vividly remember stories of fellow karters going on to compete in European touring cars, and I’ve been captivated by it since.”

“When I first came across this championship last year, I tried everything in my power to put something together for 2020. Before this point, I never felt it was the right time to pursue my dream of Europe. I often felt I had more to learn in America, and that the budget to compete overseas was just too much to justify. The BMW 318ti Cup entered my vision at the right time. It offers the tight ‘spec’ racing I’ve become accustomed to, it’s heavily cost contained, and the series is fast growing with double the entries from 2019. However, I likely would not be racing in it without JAS-Rennsport. They were enthused and supportive in taking me as an international driver. I’m seriously grateful for their commitment to myself, and I look forward to our progress this season!”

The championship begins at the Hockenheimring in February for an official series test, with the first round at Hockenheimring in March.

More to come…

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