AIM Wins Pole at Mosport
<< AIM Autosport's James Hinchcliffe claimed pole position and finished fourth while team mate Brandon Thomas finished tenth in at 31-car field at Mosport International Raceway. James now sits third in the points standings, still within striking distance of the championship, while Brandon who joined AIM and the Star Mazda series at round three in Ohio continues to add points to his tally.

As at Road America, AIM fielded only two cars this weekend as Mark Wilkins continues to recover from a foot injury.

Practice & Qualifying:
Although he considers Mosport his home track, James has raced there only once before. However, his lack of familiarity meant little as he set the fastest time of the test sessions, then set the fastest time in the official practice sessions held on Friday. Brandon ran as high as fourth in test sessions and was eleventh in both practice sessions.

In the qualifying session on Saturday morning, James upped the ante again with the fastest lap of the weekend. Posting the a time of 1:15.095 to lap Mosport's 2.49-mile (4 km) 10-turn road course, he claimed pole for the race. Brandon, with a time of 1:16.183, took tenth in a closely-matched field.

Race:
Starting from pole, James and his AIM Autosport crew were looking forward to having a good shot at the win, but second-place starter Jay Howard stole everyone's thunder and led the way to the checkered flag. James was left to battle with Robbie Pecorari and Raphael Matos, with whom he is in a battle for the season championship. Unfortunately, while James had the upper hand last time out at Road America, his challengers got the better of him this time and he finished fourth, chasing Matos across the line.

Brandon, starting from tenth, quickly made up a spot by passing Jonathan Branam. However, Branam was running a lower downforce set up and took back the place once they hit Mosport's long straight. They ran nose to tail for the rest of the race, with Mickey Gilbert joining the battle from behind. Lap after lap, Branam eeked out a gap on the straights, but in the corners, his mirrors were filled with Brandon's car. Despite the advantage in the turns, Brandon was unable to overtake Branam who was careful not to present an opportunity. Brandon also had to keep an eye on Gilbert who was looking for an opportune moment. No-one slipped up and they ran to the flag with no change in order.

Championship:
After ten of twelve races, Matos leads the championship with 387 points. Pecorari and Hinchcliffe who were tied for second coming into this race, are now separated by six points, holding 362 and 356 respectively. Fourth is Graham Rahal with 293.

#96 Mark Wilkins (AIM Autosport/Trizec Canada)
Qualified: N/A
Finished: N/A

Mark did not race at Mosport, missing his second event due to a foot injury.
We hope to see Mark back in the car at Road Atlanta later this month.

#97 Brandon Thomas (AIM Autosport/Western Union)
Qualified: Tenth (1:16.183)
Finished: Tenth (-21.109)

Brandon:
"Before the race, I made a decision with the team to run a higher downforce set up. Unfortunately, that did not work out for the race. My car was faster than the one ahead, but I could not pass.

"It was a good learning experience and something I can use next time I race."

#98 James Hinchcliffe (AIM Autosport/Emexis/Noco/Mobil 1)
Qualified: First (1:15.095)
Finished: Fourth (-6.145)

Quotes from James:
"This was only my second race at Mosport. I've raced more times at Road America and the other tracks that the series visits, but this is still a special track for me. My first time here, in a Formula Ford, I was on the pole, so now I am two-for-two as far as qualifying here.

"I had a good start in the race and a good first few laps, but Jay Howard was just fast and once he was past, there was no catching him. Except for the race latter part of the race when I started getting some oversteer, my car had great balance and was fast all weekend."

AIM Autosport Notes:
There are just two events left in the 2005 Star Mazda Championship and the championship fight is looking exciting with three drivers now comes to Canada for round ten at Mosport International Raceway with the American Le Mans Series, September 1-3.

See James Hinchcliffe's Road America win on Speed Channel, October 2nd at 2:00pm Eastern Time.

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