AIM Bounces Back at Salt Lake City
Third-Place Finish Puts Formula Mazda Team Back On Track

2006.07.17: Following a disastrous race in Montreal where the AIM Autosport Formula Mazda Team saw all three of their cars wrecked in a first-lap crash, the squad bounced back at Salt Lake City. Led by Rob Bunker who broke out of a midfield starting spot to take third place, the team's spirit was buoyed as Daniel Herrington came home eighth and Jay Poscente climbed from twentieth to twelfth before running into trouble late in the race.

Thirty-two cars showed up to race on the impressive new road course at Miller Motorsports Park. The 7.191-km (4.468-mile) track boasts an incredible 24 turns including multi-apex and variable-radius corners.

With key crew members absent for several days for AIM Autosport's debut in the Rolex Sports Car Series, those back at the shop faced a titanic task: from the wreckage brought back from Montreal, they had to have three race-prepared cars ready for Salt Lake City. Parts were stripped from the mangled cars then separated for reuse, repair or the scrap heap. Unfortunately, the scrap heap grew rapidly. Rob's car required a lot of parts, but the tub was saved thanks to some impressively quick repairs by Multimatic. Jay would drive a rented car until a new tub arrived, but Daniel's car was a complete write off and had to be replaced.

Testing and Practice
The team arrived in Salt Lake City for a two-day promoter test several days ahead of the race event. While the crew worked on Daniel's new car which had been picked up on the way to the track, Jay put some laps on the rented car and Rob took the load of the testing duties, setting times among the fastest drivers at the test. Daniel arrived at the track after a daily physiotherapy session to aid the recovery of his thigh which was injured in Montreal. Hoping to get some laps under his belt, he was disappointed to hear the new car required a lot of work and would not be ready until the following afternoon. Late on the second day, Daniel was able to run four laps, enough to give the car a good shake down and make sure all felt right.

As there was a three-day break before the race, AIM flew wives and girlfriends to Salt Lake City to spend some time with the road-weary crew, enjoy the sights and watch the race.

The team returned to the track refreshed and relaxed for official practice sessions on Thursday and Friday. Daniel soon overcame his lack of laps and, along with Rob and Jay, was setting promising times among the top ten.

Qualifying
Daniel was the top AIM driver in qualifying, completing a lap in 2m 37.491s at an average speed of 165.542 km/h (102.863 mph) to grid sixth. Jay was next among the AIM trio, stopping the clock at 2:39.258 to qualify fifteenth, while Rob was sixteenth with a time of 2:39.660. The closely-matched competition in the Star Mazda Championship was highlighted by the top fifteen cars which were separated by just 2 mph even though Miller Motorsports Park is a new venue.

The Race
Unfortunately, caution periods restricted the race to just five laps of green running so gaining ground was difficult. Jay further handicapped himself by spinning on the pace lap while warming his tires. He lost five spots before the race had begun.

Following an aborted start, the race began with a single-file line up. Rob attacked aggressively, promoting himself to seventh by the end of the first green lap, while Daniel worked his way from sixth to third before a spin dropped him to eleventh. Jay also made passing look easy and quickly cut a path to the midfield.

While Daniel recovered from his spin, Rob continued to storm through the field and was soon eyeing up a top-five finish. Jay, all the way up to twelfth place, went off the circuit when he was momentarily blinded by a cloud of dust kicked up by another driver's spin. He quickly rejoined the race, but his radiators were clogged with dirt and the engine soon began overheating. He soldiered on but fell back to finish 21st with a rapidly fading motor.

Daniel managed to haul himself back up to eighth, while Rob had a fantastic race and finished fourth. Rob was gifted another position after the race when the second-place finisher was disqualified because his car was not taken directly to the technical inspection area.

Afterthoughts
The race at Salt Lake City was a good recovery following the disastrous outing in Montreal. The AIM Autosport crew had worked tremendously hard to repair and prepare the cars, so seeing them driven quickly and confidently was surely rewarding.

Rob scored his best finish of the year with an exciting charge through the field; Daniel's result boosted him back to second in the championship which he had led until the crash at Montreal; and Jay, although ultimately disappointed with his 21st-place finish, seemed quick on the track and happy with his crew's preparation of the rented car.

The team will head directly to Portland International Raceway for round seven of the Star Mazda Championship on July 22.

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