Star Mazda squad endures troublesome weekend in Iowa
Engine trouble, tire failure, penalty and more tire trouble

Newton Iowa (2010.06.20) AIM Autosport's Star Mazda driver, David Ostella, will want to forget about this evening's race at Iowa Speedway as soon as he can. A series of problems held him back and eventually contact with the wall damaged his suspension and forced him to retire.

AIM's weekend began with troubles. A new power plant installed in David's car proved troublesome and the crew only got it sorted out in time to get good running in one practice session. David got 70 trouble-free laps in the final session, but top speeds proved slower than in previous years.

For qualifying they went with a conservative set up and David guided his Global Precast car around the famous 7/8-mile Iowa Speedway in 22.434 seconds at 140.412 mph. Just half a second off the pole time, he grabbed tenth place to start the race from the outside of the fifth row.

Following a decent start that saw him gain one position and then hold his ground in the early laps, the team was optimistic that the new motor might break in and give David an opportunity for gains later in the race as it loosened up.

Just a quarter of the way through the 100-lap race, however, David could feel the car's handling begin to go off. The source of the trouble was a blistering tire and on lap 30, he pitted to replace the rapidly deteriorating rubber. David's race took another setback when when he left the pit and was caught speeding along the pit lane. Ordered to take a stop-and-go penalty, David was soon back in the pit lane and by the time he served his penalty, he'd tumbled down the order.

Upon rejoining the race, David enjoyed a period of good running. Driving laps on par with the front-runners, he held station behind leader, and eventual winner, Conor Daly, though several laps adrift. Sadly, his strong pace began to wane as the replacement tire—a practice tire that was past it's peak—began to lose grip.

Hoping to nurse the failing tire to the finish and salvage something from the race, David kept his Global Precast car on a low line, trying not to interfere with drivers in the heat of competition. This further stressed the tires and on lap 64, David slithered up the track and into the wall. The contact was not heavy, but was enough to damage a wishbone and put the car out of the race.

David now sits 11th in the Star Mazda Driver Standings with 122 point, just 1 point behind 10th place. AIM Autosport is 5th in the Team Championship.

Looking to put their Iowa outing out of their minds, David and the rest of AIM Autosport's Star Mazda squad now look forward to their next outing, a pair of races at New Jersey Motorsports Park, June 26-27.

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