AIM Autosport Watkins Glen Qualifying: No 61 Ford Riley will line up seventh on the starting grid for Sahlen's Six Hour race
(2009.06.05) With Mark Wilkins at the wheel, the AIM Autosport No 61 Ford Riley rolled to the grid for qualifying this afternoon after the crew made some setup changes following this morning's practice. With only fifteen minutes for qualifying, the focus is to get some heat in the tires quickly and find a gap on the track to get a clean run. Mark's times improved with each lap and the gap to first seemed to close until the eventual pole sitter put in one very quick lap and put a large gap over the field. Mark had closed up on traffic and was hanging back to create a gap for another clean run when the session ended. Mark's final time was a 1:41.930 at 120.082 mph.
"The car was quick and the changes we made from this morning gave us much better balance." commented Wilkins after the session. "We are pretty close to the cars ahead of us - just four tenths out of second but the guy on pole was just that much quicker than the rest of us. It is a long race tomorrow and we definitely have a good car for the race. The goal is to be at the front around 8:15 on Saturday night."
"I like to look at it that we are only four tenths off the DP2 pole" laughed team principal Ian Willis. "Seriously though, from second place down to us the times are really close and we are happy with the changes we made to the car. As Mark said, we have a good car for the race and a lot can happen over six hours. The plan is to be at the front for the end."
The Rolex Series has a 30 minute warm up Saturday morning with the green flag for the race coming at 2:15 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast live on SPEED TV is two segments. The first show is from 2:00-4:00 p.m. with the final two and a half hours of the race being broadcast live at 6:00 p.m.
AIM Autosport Facts: Established in 1995, AIM Autosport’s mandate is to identify, train and manage emerging motorsport talent. AIM has provided many young drivers with a solid foundation on which to build a career in professional racing. The success of the AIM driver development programs has been achieved through the dedication of our employees and the ongoing support of our commercial and technical partners. Away from the track, AIM Autosport serves the needs of the racing community with a purpose-built preparation shop situated in the Toronto suburb of Woodbridge, Ontario. AIM fields the No. 61 Ford Riley with drivers Mark Wilkins and Burt Frisselle in the Rolex Grand Am series. The team also competes in the Star Madza Championship presented by Goodyear. AIM won the 2008 Championship with driver John Edwards.
From Chris Jameson / Level Ten Communications
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