Frisselle and Wilkins celebrate third consecutive podium
Bring the No. 61 Ford Riley from sixteenth to third

Sonoma, CA (08.24.2008) Putting in a fantastic drive from the back after having their pole taken away, Brian Frisselle and Mark Wilkins put in a stellar drive to put the Exchange Traded Gold No. 61 Ford Riley on the podium, taking third place. Brian had a extraordinary drive from sixteenth on the grid to lead the race for seventeen laps. He would hand the car over to Mark in the second round of pit stops and the No. 61 would slot in third. Mark kept pace with the lead pair but was not able to close the gap.

The team elected to take the mandatory pit stop on the first lap dropping them well back but giving Brian a clear track to work with. It was not an easy drive on the twelve-turn, 2.52 mile Infineon Raceway as he caught traffic but he would gain ground each lap and then methodically pick off cars. A number of passes were made in the final hairpin where Brian could carry the speed of the Ford Riley deeper into the turn to take the position. Once the leaders started to make their mandatory stop, the No. 61 started to cycle up the time sheets until Brian took the lead on lap twenty-eight.

"We were able to hold the lead for a while" commented Brian "but by the end of my stint, the 10-car on fresher tires was able to catch us and pass. I wasn't going to fight them at that point and risk anything with only a few laps to go before handing the car over to Mark"

The team brought the car in for fuel, a new set of Pirelli tires and driver change to put the car in sequence with the rest of the field. Mark was back on track in fourth place just as the caution came out for a car stuck on track. A short caution - the only one of the race, and the Exchange Traded Gold No. 61 Ford Riley would be in third when the green flag dropped with forty laps to go.

Mark was able to keep pace with the leaders over the remainder of the race but could not close the gap as the trio worked through traffic. The possibility of a late-race caution raised some hopes that Mark might get within striking distance, but the stalled car got going again and the race stayed under the green. Mark would bring the No. 61 across the line in third place.

"I had a solid run to hold third" said Wilkins, "but did not have a chance to challenge once everyone fell into a rhythm after the final stop. This has been the breakthrough we needed though, to prove that the No. 61 is strong and has been there all season long."

This is the third consecutive podium for AIM Autosport in the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 and the team has moved into fifth overall in the championship just two points out of fourth and ten back of third.

Team principal Ian Willis had this to say after the race: “After the disappointment of yesterday, being moved to the back, I am very happy for the whole team to finish on the podium. We had to take an aggressive strategy and the crew and drivers carried it out to perfection. At the end we just did not have enough pace to challenge the 10 and 99 but I think we came away with the best result possible.”

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