Race Recap: WRL Finale at COTA Proves Strong with GP1 Podium for Million, Palomar Racing
Austin, TX | December 1-3, 2023
The 2023 season finale of World Racing League turned out to be a positive end for Palomar Racing and the driver’s of the #14 BMW E36 in GP1.
Team regulars Matt Million, Nik Romano, and Ryan Keeley piloted the #14. The team’s second entry, the #15 also in GP1, was entered but suffered a large setback in Friday practice.
The #14 finished a respectable 4th in Saturday’s 8 hour and 3rd in Sunday’s 8 hour race. With a 20+ GP1 field of strong entries and 80+ in the overall entry between all five classes, it was a job well done for Palomar Racing.
Saturday’s result was looking to be a 2nd place, or even the win, until the sixth hour. The throttle pedal had broken under Million as he had to limp back to the pits and spend 5 minutes with the crew repairing. They dropped from 2nd to 4th because of it.
However, it was an important discovery. The car had begun loosing horsepower throughout the day on Saturday to the tune of 10mph on COTA’s long back straight. When Million returned in the final hour, lap times dropped significantly from 2:36 average to 2:32 average. It is believed the throttle began failing in the second or third hour and progressively worsened, as well as raise water temperature by 20 degrees.
With this issue now solved, along with a host of other mechanical and aerodynamic improvements overnight, the #14 was set on a podium charge for Sunday.
Million started the opening few hours Sunday and moved from 6th on the grid to 4th and eventually the podium places. With a new PB of 2:30:1, consistency in traffic, and thoughtful strategy calls, the #14 was fighting amongst the podium for the last four hours with drivers Ryan Keeley and Nik Romano.
Unfortunately, an ill-timed full-course yellow came out with about two hours remaining that would snap the team’s strategy play for the win. Amongst the front runners, what would’ve been one more fuel stop for only the #14 instead of two turned out to be a single fuel stop for the others as well. This locked the #14 into 3rd, approximately four minutes behind the win and one lap behind second place.
Overall, it was a very impressive performance by everyone at Palomar Racing and one that should be held highly. At our first WRL event this season at Barber Motorsport Park back in March, we finished 6-7 laps behind the leader on both days. At our last event in Austin, we finished within 1-2 laps. We’ve learned a lot throughout our 8-event season through tireless failures, updates, and effort to be better.
Matt wants to thank his co-driver Ryan Keeley and Nik Romano for an incredible season with their camaraderie and support. Thank you to Andy and Mike Anderson with the support of Palomar Solar and Roofing, of which none of this season would’ve been possible without.
Special thank you’s as well to the crew, including the driver’s and the owner’s, along with Blair, Grant, BimmerSpeed (Ryan, Mike, Pete, Mark), Strom Motorsports, Mashore Autobody, and many others who have helped our season.
Matt 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, BIMMERSPEED, FastSideways, Enphase, Panasonic Solar, Swift Springs, MCS, AGA Tools, Rugged Radios, SignArt Graphix, and others.
Visit ‘Photos’ to view more pictures from the event and other pages on mattmillionracing.com.
Photography by Chance Hales.