<< Fountain, Colorado.  The Aim Autosport Star Mazda team came away from the only oval race in 2005 with all three drivers safe and sound on the high speed flat-out track.

The weather at the Pikes Peak International Raceway was hot during practice and qualifying with a strong wind picking up before the race. “The wind was at least 25 kph which makes a huge change in the way these cars handle” said Ian Willis, team manager.

Throughout practice and qualifying the team made many setup changes and aerodynamic adjustments based on private testing held at the raceway earlier this season. These changes enabled AIM Autosport rookie driver James Hinchcliffe to post the fastest time in qualify, claiming his first pole position of the season. AIM Autosport teammates Mark Wilkins and Brandon Thomas also had great qualifying efforts, lining up on the grid for the race in seventh and twelfth respectively.

The race got underway cleanly with pole sitter James taking charge right away. Mark slipped back a bit and Brandon moved up a few spots. James would dominate the majority of the race, leading the first 60 laps until the handling of his Formula Mazda began to change, possibly due to a tire wear issue, ultimately coming home in fourth place.

Mark had a difficult time running with traffic and the windy conditions slipping back to thirteenth by the end of the race. Brandon had couple of close calls almost brushing the wall part way through the race and battling hard with several competitors during the 75 lap event en route to an eleventh place finish. All three AIM Autosport drivers finished on the lead lap.

#96 Mark Wilkins (AIM Autosport/Trizec Canada)
Qualified: Seventh / Finished: Thirteenth
Quotes from Mark:












#97 Brandon Thomas (AIM Autosport/Western Union)
Qualified: Twelfth / Finished: Eleventh
Quotes from Brandon:
“This was my first oval race and it was very exciting- running flat-out completely around the track lap after lap is pretty cool.” “It is frustrating though trying to make up time on the car ahead of you when your foot is flat on the floor.” “I’m definitely looking forward to returning to a road racing circuit where I can push the limits.”








#98 James Hinchcliffe (AIM Autosport/Emexis/Noco/Mobil 1)
Qualified: First / Finished: Fourth
Quotes from James:
"I'm crushed because everyone at AIM Autosport really wanted this podium today," Hinchcliffe said. "The car was really strong but in the closing laps the front end lost something and I would drift up the track as we went into the corners. The team deserves better, they gave me an awesome car for the race.”

Race Results:
1 Robbie Pecorari
2 Graham Rahal
3 Sean Guthrie
4 James Hinchcliffe #98 AIM Autosport/Emexis/Noco/Mobil 1
5 Michael Potekhen
6 Jonathan Klein
7 Pablo Donoso
8 Adrian Carrio
9 Marco Andretti
10 Ryan Justice
11 Brandon Thomas #97 AIM Autosport/Western Union
12 Raphael Matos
13 Mark Wilkins #96 AIM Autosport/Trizec Canada
14 Mickey Gilbert
15 Mike Anderson
16 Dan Tomlin III
17 John Faulkner
18 Ross Smith
19 Jonathan Branam
20 John Pew
21 Dan Tomlin Jr.
22 Jim Malackowski
23 Jon Brownson
24 Doug Peterson
25 Steve Cook
26 Scott Jenkins
27 CR Crews
28 Mark Patterson
29 William Daniel

AIM Autosport Notes:

- Round Four from Montreal will be televised on Speed Channel on August 7 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.

- The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear now heads towards Infineon Raceway for a double-header weekend on July 14-17 as part of the American LeMans Series activities at the Sonoma road course.

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