Ann Arbor, Michigan - July 7, 2013
Pole, Victory, Victory, and Second Place for Phil Mather Racing!
Race weekend number 3 of the Waterford Hills Raceway season was a great success for Phil Mather Racing!
After some more teething issues, the Half Baked Schemes Racing SpecNeon ran almost flawlessly the rest of the weekend. Saturday's qualifying session was Phil Mather's best yet grabbing pole position during the 20 minute session. However, on the cool down lap, the car lost coolant and began to overheat. Friends of PMR were attending this weekend's race, though, and they jumped on the car and began to diagnose the problem (it also helped that they are powertrain engineers for major car companies). It was determined that the cooling fan was not working properly due to a bad relay. One jumper connector later and the car was fixed enough to run the races.
Race one of the three race weekend was eventful for Mather, where he led flag to flag to capture his first victory in SpecNeon and at Waterford Hills! On the first lap of the 12 lap race, there was a major crash with a car ending up on its roof and the race was stopped while the track was cleared (no one was injured, thankfully). After the restart, he was battling the #37 of Sean Grogan the entire race, driving defensively when needed, but was able to hold the lead without much challenge until the last lap. Going into the last turn, the #37 made an attempt to pass, bumping Mather's car in the left rear wheel, sending him sideways. Mather was able to hold on and grab his first win of the season.
After discussing the cooling issues with Chris Childs of Angry Sheep Motorsports, some more cooling modifications were made for Sunday's two races.
Sunday morning, Mather started on pole again, thanks to winning on Saturday. This eight lap race was a bit closer than Saturday's. Mather was again turning fast laps while driving just fast enough to keep the #37 behind. Another passing attempt (this time there was no contact) was made in the last turn of the last lap, but it was Mather's race! Race win number 2 was his!
In the Sunday afternoon feature race, a 15 lapper this time, Mather started in second position after getting the second fastest lap in Saturday's race. Mather was again battling with #37 and was right on his rear bumper for the first five laps. The race was stopped, however, due to another crash that required significant cleanup (again, no injuries). On the restart, Mather got caught behind a slower, out of class car. Some minor contact was made entering the hill top turn. Unfortunately, this allowed the leader to pull out a gap on him. Phil started charging and gaining on the leader but there just wasn't enough time, landing him in second position for the feature race.
This weekend wouldn't have been possible without the help of several people. Corey O., Josh E., and Cory B. were key in helping diagnose the overheating issue and coming up with a solution quickly enough to get Mather ready to race. Danielle, Alex, and Steve O. were on hand for support as well as team owner Michael Occhipinti and Phil's girlfriend Mandy S. "I can't thank everyone enough for the help they provided this weekend. The results from this weekend were not possible with out all of their support!"
Thank you to CG-Lock and SeatSnug for their continued support.
Also, thank you to Mechanical Simulation. Mather has always raced rear-wheel-drive cars and has limited practice time in a front-whee-drive racecar. Their driving simulator has allowed Mather to practice driving techniques of front-wheel-drive cars at the limit without having to worry about wearing out tires or damaging a car. Some of the techniques learned on the simulator were employed during techniquesnd's races.
PMR's next Waterford Hills Raceway race will be August 10. Before that, Mather will be instructing with FasTrak Exotic Driving Experience at the Robert Bosch Proving Grounds, July 21. If you want the chance to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo or Ferrari 360 at speed or ride along with a professional racecar driver on a hot lap, go to their website and buy yourself an experience of a lifetime! Also, if you want to take your sports car out for some exercise, join Mather with the Rally Sport Region Porsche Club at Waterford Hills on July 23.
