Another pole for AIM Autosport
Second pole for Wilkins in a strong effort
Millville, NJ (08.30.2008) Mark Wilkins drove the Exchange Traded Gold
No. 61 Ford Riley to the front row this afternoon with a time of 1:11.761
at 112.875 mph to record his second pole in the Rolex Sports Car Series
presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16. Mark also earned the pole in at
the Brumos 250 in Daytona.
While teammate Brian Frisselle posted the fastest lap time in Saturday
morning practice, Mark was mired in traffic and unable to get a good
run. Only Daytona Prototypes would be on track during the fifteen-minute
qualifying session allowing Mark to get open track and have a shot at
the pole. The No. 61 Ford Riley would sit first halfway through the
session yet others were closing. Mark broke into the 1:11’s then
held back as he caught traffic in an effort to create a gap for a final
run. On his final lap, Mark would run a 1:11.761 picking up two-tenths
on his own time and opening the gap to second place.
“The car was awesome,” exclaimed Wilkins as he exited the
No. 61 “The crew did a fantastic job especially as we did not
roll off the trailer fast this weekend and it is a new track. But everyone
at AIM Autosport works hard for this and Ford gives us a great engine.
It is a total package that Brain and I are happy to be a part of.”
He continued, “This is an interesting track and is a lot of fun
with just the DP cars out there. With the GT’s out there tomorrow,
it will be a matter of picking your spots and being careful. The car
is quick and Brian and I will focus on bringing the car home safe and
hopefully with the win.”
This is the fourth pole for AIM Autosport in the last five races. Unfortunately
at Infineon Raceway last week, a technical infraction moved them to
the back of the starting grid. The Exchange Traded Gold No. 61 Ford
Riley would go on to lead seventeen laps and take the final step of
the podium for that race. This followed back-to-back wins at Montreal
and Watkins Glen.
“The boys are doing a fabulous job getting the most out of the
car,” commented team principal Ian Willis. “Mark and Brian
have been working very well together to help us find a fast and well-balanced
car. We seem to like the tracks with fast flowing corners and both drivers
have great confidence in the car. Just like Brian did last week, Mark
really pushed the car to the limit and a well deserved pole was the
result.
The team currently sits in fifth place in the championship, just ten
points out of third place with two races to go.
New Jersey Motorsport Park: Saturday morning report
No. 61 Ford Riley sits atop the time charts
(08.30.2008) Friday presented a new day for the Daytona Prototypes once
changes were made to the track following the crash of the 01 car on
Thursday. Pit entrance had new guardrail further up into the final turn
and cars were required to keep on the pit lane limiter further into
the exit.
Taking data from Thursday's lone session, the AIM Autosport crew would
use practice 1 on Friday to test various setups on the car for aero.
Times improved overall for the DP cars and the No. 61 ended P2 with
with a 1:12.847 @ 111.192 mph.
The Ford Riley would move up to P2 in the afternoon session with a 1:12.617
@ 111.544 mph. "We made a few changes that brought us a bit extra
speed" commented Ian Willis, "but I think the track was faster
this morning and we'll make some more changes going into Saturday practice."
On Saturday, Brian would record the session's fastest time at 1:12.009
@ 112.485 mph. Mark, who will be qualifying the No. 61 later this afternoon,
did some setup laps on sticker tires. DP and GT traffic was spread out
which prevented him from turning a clear lap but he was able to age
how the car will perform this afternoon.
The fifteen-minute qualifying session takes place this afternoon at
2:15 p.m. ET. SPEED will have line streaming of qualifying on the web
at speedtv.com
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