Ostella tenth, Meyer 14th in Mosport Star Mazda race
Good races compromised in late-race restart

AIM Autosport’s Formula Mazda team enjoyed a relatively good race at Mosport International Speedway on August 28 as David Ostella finished tenth and newcomer, Zack Meyer, finished 14th in the 12th round of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. AIM’s Masters Class driver, Walt Bowlin, was absent from the Mosport event.

David started eighth and climbed to seventh before slotting into eighth for much of the race. He was shuffled back to tenth during a late-race restart. Zack qualified 18th but started last after installing a new set of tires and worked his way up to 11th. Zack also suffered with the restart and lost three places.

The last round of the Star Mazda Championship will take place on October 1 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia.

Pacific Mobile/Biosign out early in Montreal 200
Race-ending crash follows damage to underside of car

Woodbridge, Ont. (August 28, 2010) — AIM Autosport’s Pacific Mobile/Biosign Daytona Prototype exited the Montreal 200 after just one and a half laps today when the car, damaged while going over a curb, spun and hit the wall as it approached the hairpin turn at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Ultimately classified 12th in class, the result sees drivers, Burt Frisselle and Mark Wilkins, drop into a tie for fifth in the Driver Standings. At mid season in July, they were second, just seven points shy of top spot.

After qualifying fourth with what they believed was a strong race strategy and set up, the AIM Autosport team was deflated upon seeing its car spear into the wall, just a couple of minutes into the race. Burt, who was driving the first stint appeared to use the curb as usual going into the turn eight-nine chicane, but the bottom of the car was snagged, tearing pieces free and setting fluid spewing from the car. When Burt began to brake for turn eleven, the hairpin, the car snapped left, sliding on it’s own coolant and careening into the wall. Burt was uninjured by the spectacular-looking impact that sent pieces flying off the car.

The crew sprung into action, hustling to the paddock more than two kilometers away to see if they could repair the car and salvage something from the day. After a few minutes disassembling the car they conceded that the car’s undertray required repairs that would have to be completed at the team’s shop in Woodbridge, Ontario, so they radioed back to pitlane that their race was over.

“We run curbs for better lap time and I’ve been running that one all weekend,” Burt said. “But this time it bit me. It’s just a bummer. AIM had a great car, it felt good and we could have had a nice result.”

“This is another tough result for the team,” commented co-driver Mark Wilkins, who never got to participate in the race. “We worked hard yesterday to get the car right and we were really confident. Like Burt said though, we push hard and that means using the curbs, but it’s a risk. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out today.

“We’ve got one more race this season,” Mark continued, “And some of the teams we’re battling in the championship had rough days too, so maybe we can gain something back when we go to Utah.”

The final event in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 is the Utah 250 at Miller Motorsports Park not far from Salt Lake City.

Pacific Mobile/Biosign car qualifies fourth for Montreal 200
Team happy with race-oriented set up

Woodbridge, Ont. (August 27, 2010) — Burt Frisselle has secured a fourth-place start for the Pacific Mobile/Biosign car in tomorrow’s Montreal 200, the eleventh round of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16. With a time of 1m 32.224s, averaging 170.182 km/h (105.746 mph), around the 4.36km (2.709 mile)-long Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the team is optimistic the car is poised for a good result in tomorrow’s race.

Working on keeping the car settled on the temporary street circuit which is notoriously hard on brakes, AIM Autosport managed to improve the pace of it’s car through the day, peaking with their best time during the 15-minute qualifying session at 5pm.

Looking happy and relaxed after qualifying, Chief Engineer, Ian Willis, explained that the team had spent the day focused on race set up and said that he was happy with the car.

“We always want to go faster, but I’m happy with qualifying on the second row,” he said, wearing a confident smile. “I’d be happier on the front row, but we’re in good shape for the race.”

“The car feels good,” Burt said. “We’re a tenth of a second off third place, but the 99 car, on pole, is the class of the field this week. We’re going to use the final practice to make some small changes so that Mark and I can be more confident with the car, but the crew has done great work and the Ford power is excellent.”

“We’ve been going in the right direction all day, getting faster in every session,” said co-driver, Mark Wilkins, who will drive the final stint of tomorrow’s race. “Burt did a great job to qualify on the second row and I’m hoping we can finish on the podium. The last few races haven’t been good in terms of finishing, but it would be nice to get a top-three here in Montreal.”

The two-hour-long Montreal 200 is scheduled to begin at 2:15pm, tomorrow. Live coverage will be provided by SPEED TV and MRN radio.

AIM Autosport expects busy, exciting time in Montreal
Enthusiastic fans highlight return to scene of first victory

Woodbridge, Ont. (August 24, 2010) — AIM Autosport’s Daytona Prototype team is off to Montreal this weekend to race their Pacific Mobile/Biosign Ford Riley at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the site of their maiden Grand-Am win. Saturday’s Montreal 200 is the penultimate round of the 12-race Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.

This event will prove busier than usual for both drivers and crew as AIM Autosport is the only Canadian team in the series and the Montreal 200 is the only race on Canadian soil.

For driver, Mark Wilkins, Thursday begins at the track media centre where he will participate in a Grand-Am media conference beginning at 11:15am. Meanwhile the crew will await Grand-Am’s noon signal that teams may open their trailers. The first task for AIM Autosport is to pull out the race car and load it onto another truck for transport to the Ford Racing Festival which takes place on Crescent street from 1 to 5pm. The crew will then begin setting up their temporary base for the weekend.

Following the media conference, Mark will head to Crescent Street where he will be joined by co-driver, Burt Frisselle so that they can meet race fans, show off their Pacific Mobile/Biosign Ford Riley, perform driver change demonstrations and participate in a question/answer session. Then they will attend a reception hosted by Ford Racing.

Next, Burt and Mark will head to an autograph session from 7 to 8pm at OPUS Hotel, 10 Sherbrooke Ouest, where they will stay during their Montreal excursion.

During the event, AIM will play host to representatives from several sponsors while trying to accommodate family, friends and a flood of fans. They must also deal with Friday’s heavy schedule which includes nearly 4 hours of practice time and the qualifying session.

Relatively free of scheduled responsibilities, Saturday will allow the team to soak up and enjoy the attention before heading into the two-hour-long race starting at 2:15pm.

“I am very excited about the race in Montreal,” Burt said. “It will be fun to have the Pacific Mobile/Biosign car out on Crescent Street and meet the fans. It would be great if we can score another win for AIM, especially at the team’s home race.”

“Spending a day at the Ford Racing Festival, meeting fans and chatting about racing gets me excited every year,” said Mark. “AIM has had great success here and we plan to be aggressive about maximizing our points in the last two races of the season.”

"It's great to be racing at Montreal, the site of our first win." said AIM Autosport principal, Ian Willis. "The fans in Montreal are knowledgeable and passionate, and we have the added excitement of having sponsors, family and friends with us. It's hectic, but we always love racing in Montreal."

A hectic Friday schedule begins at 10:30am with a series of four practice sessions, a 15-minute qualifying session at 5pm, then an hour-long final practice session from 6 to 7pm. The Montreal 200 is scheduled to run from 2:15 to 4:15pm and will be broadcast live on SPEED TV and MRN Radio.

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