Fighting Fourth at Homestead for Burt Frisselle as AIM Autosport makes strong return
March 5, 2011 Leave a comment
Fighting Fourth at Homestead for Burt Frisselle as AIM Autosport makes strong return
Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
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317.908.2975
5 March 2011- Burt Frisselle returned to AIM Autosport for round 2 of the 2011 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series championship as the Canadian team returned to GRAND-AM competition after electing to skip the Rolex 24 season-opener. The homecoming was a happy one as Frisselle and co-driver Mark Wilkins combined to bring the No. 61 Ford-Riley home in fourth place in the Grand Prix of Miami.
Wilkins started from seventh on the grid and ran in top-five contention before turning the machine over to Burt, who restarted 11th. Working through the need to move up while also trying to conserve tires as much as possible, Frisselle moved to podium position late in the race. Alas, the storybook finish was not to be as the grip eventually went away on the car and Frisselle was forced to cede third.
The outcome was still very welcome after the early practice sessions saw the team looking to come to grips with the new specification tire, having not gained the precious data that other Rolex 24 at Daytona-running teams had generated. But despite having to play catch-up, AIM Autosport proved to be quick learners and with good pit stop work supporting the drivers should prove to only get stronger as the season moves on.
“I felt if we came here and we came out of here with a top-five it was a huge success,” said Frisselle. “So to come out of here with a fourth place is accomplishing the goal we set out for. We now know we’re just a teeny bit off the top three guys and we’ve got to work on power down. It’s only natural the first time on our tire, so we’ll go to work and be ready to go at Barber. But for the guys to come out, execute, strategy, race, every aspect to put us in the top five in a stout field is a happy weekend. It matches what we did last year and I’m happy because I really felt that we were further behind the eight ball this year switching from Pirelli to Continental. We’ll go to Barber and our goal now is podium or a win.”
Next up for Frisselle is round 3 of the GRAND-AM Rolex Series Championship at Barber Motorsports Park April 7-9. The green flag is set to drop for the 2.75 hour race on April 9 at 3:00 PM (ET). The race will air April 10 at 12:00 PM (ET) on SPEED.
Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)
Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.
Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.
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