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Bowlin Claims Star Mazda Expert Win in Baltimore
The Baltimore event was run to a compressed schedule as the new street circuit required some last-minute work. As a result, the opening practice session was cut to just 15 minutes and the qualifying session was eliminated. Drivers used the short opening practice to locate the track's bumps and other surface hazards, leaving just one practice to try to get up to race pace. The second practice session allowed Walt to do some useful lapping, but Learic was hindered by a lack of power, traced to a damaged vacuum line. With the qualifying session scratched, the starting grid was set by championship points. Walt, having entered selected races, and Learic, making her season debut, filled the last two spaces on the grid. Walt's goal for the race was to stay with Expert Class points leader, J.W. Roberts, while Learic, making not only her series debut, but her street course debut, simply hoped to keep up with the field. Walt, who has a bit of a reputation for quick launches, was away very quickly, got inside J.W. on the approached to turn one and took the lead. J.W. appeared startled to see Walt zip past and clipped the wall, ending his race. Learic made a good start and then tried to build her pace as she accumulated track time and worked on her left-foot braking technique. Pushing harder with each lap, she overstepped her braking zone and the car nosed into a tire barrier ending her race on the fifth lap. With J.W. out of the race, Walt concentrated on consistent, mistake-free laps while crashes among the Championship Class competitors saw him climb up the overall rank. While taking the Expert Class victory, he finished fifth overall. An excellent effort. Next on the Star Mazda calendar is Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, September 16–18.
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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. |
Woodbridge, Ont. (September 7, 2011) — AIM Autosport's Walt Bowlin drove his Tampa Bay Jaw Surgery car to the Star Mazda Expert Class win in Sunday's race on the streets of Baltimore. The win, Walt's second this year, is AIM's fifth Expert Class victory of the season. Walt was teamed up for the weekend with Learic Cramer, who brought her own crew and marketing support from Northrop Grumman, to work under the AIM Autosport canopy for her Star Mazda debut. Learic thoroughly enjoyed the experience of competing at a major event despite making an early exit from the race.