|
Electrical Issue Ruins AIM's Mid-Ohio Race 2007.06.23: AIM Autosport had a strong start to the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday evening, but an electrical gremlin zapped the rookie team mid-race. Brian Frisselle of Lynchburg, Va., drove the first stint, moving from seventh to sixth on the first lap. After a mandatory stop during the first 45 minutes of the 2.5-hour race, he regained sixth place, but lost power steering and dropped a position. Mark Wilkins of Toronto took over at 1h41 with a fresh battery, but was also hampered by electrical issues that forced an additional pitstop for a third battery just past the-two hour mark. The pair finished 14th, two laps behind the winner. Brian Frisselle: "It's a bittersweet race. The car was great, had so much potential, and we were running well. We had a bit of a hiccup on the first pitstop that cost us some positions and one of the positions really hurt us because we were getting held up quite a bit. Once we got by, we were one of the quicker cars on the track and it showed how good a car these guys put under Mark and me. The Exchange Traded Gold car was awesome and we'll be coming back strong at the next one." Mark Wilkins: "The car was good, but the power steering would kick on and off and then towards the end it would shut right off. I was fighting my hands – when the steering tightened, I didn't want give it too much wheel because when it loosened up, I was going to go around. It was close a few times. We couldn't run anything electronic because of the battery, so no fan, no cool suit, no air conditioning, no creature comforts. I'm just happy to bring the car home and collect some points."
|
Established in 1995 with a mandate to identify, train and manage emerging motorsport talent AIM operates multi-car teams competing in the Formula BMW USA Championship and the Star Mazda Series North American Championship. Among those drivers who have graduated from AIM Autosport are former series and rookie champions james hinchcliffe, Andrew Ranger, Andrew Bordin, J.F.Veilleux, Jonathan Macri, L.P. Dumoulin, Anthony Simone and Dan Burchill. Other notable AIM graduates include, Sam Hornish Jr., Billy Asaro, mark wilkins, Ashley Taws, Paul Dana, Tom Dyer, Josh Schreiber, Dan McMullen and Antoine Bessette. |