Rain was the name of the game Friday morning during the final Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered By Mazda race of the 2014 season. But wet conditions did not stop Jerome Mee of Alta Velocita Racing from picking up a third-place finish.
“The off-and-on rain and conditions were horrible,” Mee said. “The car felt better today, and I was just happy with keeping the car intact and coming home clean.”
Round 13 of Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda competition was cut short for Mee on Thursday, Oct. 2 after the No. 95 AVR machine encountered electrical problems on the opening lap.
After two sprint races through Road Atlanta’s famed 12-turn, 2.54-mile circuit, Mee secured third place in the Lites 2 season championship.
“It’s been a great experience for me to participate in five of the seven Prototype Lites races this year,” Mee said. “Some races were tougher than others. The win at Watkins Glen was great, and Brian (Alder) and I had a great race in Canada. It was a good learning experience, and it’s a great platform to advance as a driver. There’s a lot of great people in this series, and it’s been fun.”
Alta Velocita Racing’s Mee will switch gears Saturday, as he prepares to race in his first career TUDOR United SportsCar Championship event, the famed Petit Le Mans.
Mee will co-drive the No. 38 Dash Neighborhood/Phillips 66 Prototype Challenge (PC) car for Performance Tech Motorsports. He experienced valued seat time through three TUDOR United SportsCar Championship practices Thursday.
“Practicing with Performance Tech has gone very well,” Mee said. “I’m being coached well, and they are having me go out on bad tires so it replicates what race conditions will be like. It’s busy out there, but at the same time you have to be appropriately assertive to get around traffic as efficiently as possible.
“I’m spending time finding the right places to pass, knowing where to draft, how to brake in certain turns and get around. Overall I feel very comfortable and confident in the car.”
The 10-hour endurance event is scheduled to start at 11:15 a.m. (ET). The race will be broadcast live on IMSA.com and at 3 p.m. on FOX Sports 2. FOX Sports will broadcast a highlight show Sunday, Oct. 5. Check local listings.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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