Star Mazda: Sebring Qualifying
Ostella 5th, Furfari 13th

Sebring, Florida (2010.03.18) Qualifying results for the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear are now official. David Ostella (#16) starts on the inside of row three (5th) with a time of 1:59.030 @ 111.905 mph. Michael Furfari will start on the inside of row seven (13th) with a time of 1:59.830 @ 111.157 mph.

The session started with David out front early and turning some quick laps with Michael close behind. As yesterday's front-runners hit the track, David was on pace and trading fast laps in the first group to get into the 1.59's. Michael had recorded a good lap early but was not able to capitalize on that in the early going.

After six laps, David brought the Global Precast No 16 to the pits for a fresh set of Goodyear tires. Series rules dictate that you must start the race on the same set of tires you qualify. This meant that David's fast laps was now thrown out. Of course, the rest of the field, especially the lead group, would be following a similar strategy. David returned to the track with eighteen minutes to go in the session and by the third lap was back up to second position with a lap of 1.59.883 and within eight-tenths of the leader.

Meanwhile, Michael brought in the Furfari Paving No 13 in for new tires after nine laps. He was sixth at the time.

"We did a spring change on Michael's car overnight", commented team manager Keith Willis. "Unfortunately, over the course of the session he reported severe understeer and was losing time in two critical corners. This made it difficult for Michael to improve on his time." Willis continued, "We are looking at Michael's car now and will work on a setup similar to what's on the No 16. Michael did a great job though and we are confident that with the new setup, he will have a strong run in the race on Friday."

David continued to have good run through the rest of the session and improved on his time, closing the gap to the front. "David had a great run", noted Willis. "He had good speed and control and with a few more laps laps we might have moved up to fourth - but we are very happy with fifth and David is in a good position for the race. The speed and consistency are there and David is within a second of the leader. That was the number we were looking for... get within a second and work the race for position."

This is David's best road course qualifying position in the series. (He qualified 5th at the Iowa Speedway oval in 2009)

The team now prepares for the race on Friday (19th) afternoon. The green flag flies at 12:45 pm ET

Star Mazda: Sebring Practice - day two
Ostella and Furfari continue to improve

(2010.03.17) Report from Sebring on this morning's practice sessions and both David (Ostella) and Michael (Furfari) have shown steady improvement.

David made a big jump in the morning session posting a 1:59.219 taking one second off his best time from yesterday. He would also close the gap on the leader. In the today's second practice he would shave another three-tenths off his best lap to post a 1:59.923 and close another tenth on the leader. David was 7th-quickest in both sessions. David's Average lap speed was 111.997 mph

Meanwhile, Michael picked up where he left off yesterday and started the day with a best lap of 2:00.535. He improved by nine-tenths in session two posting a 1:59.695 which also bettered his fastest lap on Monday by three-tenths. Michael's average lap speed was 111.283 mph

"We are pleased with the progress both Michael and David have made", commented team manager Keith Willis. "We are still chasing the setup on Michael's car so that he feels comfortable. That said, he has done a good job and it is just a matter of tweaking the car right for tomorrow's qualifying run."

Willis continued, "David made significant moves today, getting his times well up the charts. We are close and David should have a good qualifying run tomorrow morning."

One thing the team must keep in mind for qualifying, even though the goal is to be at the front, is conservation.

"We have to start the race on the qualifying tires", noted Willis "so it is imperative we get the most out of the car and driver without risking tire wear. With these short, 45-minute sprint races, any time spent in the pits during the race means you quickly fall out of contention. Ultimately, the goal is to qualify well but focus on having a good run, getting to the front completing the race"

Qualifying takes place Thursday morning at 8:45 ET. Temperatures are expected to be around 52F (11C) at that time. Cooler temperatures affect both tire wear and engine performance.


Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear season begins today (16th) with official practice at Sebring

(2008.03.16) AIM Autosport Star Mazda Championship drivers Michael Furfari (#13) and David Ostella (#16) take to the track this morning for the first practice sessions ahead of this Friday's opening round in the series. There are two forty-minute sessions today, two more on Tuesday (17th) with qualifying on Thursday morning (18th) The race will be run on Friday (19th) at 12:45 p.m. ET

UPDATE Session 1: Results from session one are in and the AIM Autosport duo of David Ostella and Michael Furfari are 9th and 10th respectively. David turned a lap of 2:01.482 @ 109.646 mph while Michael had a lap of 2:01.787 @ 109.371 mph. Both drivers hit there mark about the same time - David on lap 8 and Michael on lap 9. The next practice is at 5:20 this afternoon.

UPDATE Session 2: AIM's Star Mazda team manager Keith Willis reports that Michael and David are coming along and everyone on the team is working together to find extra speed in each session. Testament to that is that both drivers improved quite a bit over the morning session. Michael was 7th fastest this afternoon with a lap of 1:59.911 @ 111.082 mph while David improved with a 2:00.176 @ 110.837 mph.

First practice tomorrow (Wednesday, 17th) is early at 8:45 am. ET. Keith believes they can improve some more and overnight the crew will work on the cars while the drivers review video and data looking to find those few tenths that will move them up the field.

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