Michael Shank Racing 5th and 7th in Sahlen's Qualifying at Watkins Glen
(Watkins Glen, NY) 04 June 2010 – Michael Shank Racing will start Saturday's Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen from fifth (No. 60 Crown Royal XR Ford-Riley/Ozz Negri+John Pew) and seventh (No. 6 CAP & Associates Ford Riley/Michael Valiante+Mark Patterson+Brian Frisselle) as the two team cars look to move up from fourth in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series team championship standings.
The Watkins Glen weekend opened with practice ahead of Friday's qualifying session as the team welcomed Mark Patterson back to the driving squad as he returns to drive the No. 6 CAP & Associates machine with Frisselle and Valiante.
The day has unfolded at a rapid pace as the team has worked efficiently to overcome a pair of disruptions during the day. A small mechanical issue with the No. 60 Crown Royal machine was quickly diagnosed and remedied before the car returned to the track in the morning, while the No. 6 CAP entry had an off-course excursion that required some quick repairs ahead of the 15-minute qualifying session.
But per Michael Shank Racing usual, both machines were ready to go for the grid-setting afternoon session as the two Ford-Rileys traded the pole position time early in the session before closing out with the team taking fifth and seventh on the provisional grid.
"We always want to be up front, but even though we are not quite there with our qualifying speed, I think we've got two very good cars for the race tomorrow," said team owner Mike Shank. "We've had a couple of set-backs today, but the guys have just busted thier backs to have the cars ready to go for this session, and I think we are in good shape for tomorrow."
"The car is good--we lost some valuable time in the first session, but the car was good right away today and again in qualifying," said Negri. "I think maybe we lacked some of the straight line speed that the other cars have, with the downforce settings that we have on the car. That was probably the difference in qualifying today. But this car is still very good and I'm optimistic about the race tomorrow."
"To be honest, even though our time was not that close to the pole time, I think we are at a good point with the car to keep improving," said Valiante. "So we just have to improve it a little bit more for the race. But this is the kind of race car that you want to have-- good balance, very consistent through the run. That is going to be very important over the course of the long run through our stints tomorrow."
The race will go green at 2:00 PM ET, and will be carried live on SPEED.
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Press Notes:
About AIM Autosport
Established in 1995, AIM Autosport operates multi-car teams competing in the Formula BMWUSA Championship and the Star Mazda Series. The company has a mandate 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.
Chassis brings resume of success to AIM Autosport:
AIM Autosport's Riley chassis was purchased from Chip Ganassi Racing and comes to the team with an impressive legacy of success, having won the Rolex Sports Car Series Championship in 2004.
AIM Autosport Alumni:
AIM has a long history of bringing drivers up through the ranks, and the alumni list reads like a who's who in the sport: www.aimautosport.com/drivers/Alumni/Alumni.htm
Performance-Oriented:
Performance Drink, the "Official Performance Drink" of Grand Am has signed on as an associate partner for the 2007 season, and will be utilizing the relationship to develop and demonstrate the high-performance capabilities of the drink. The drivers in the Rolex 24 At Daytona will be participating in a unique program that will closely monitor their bodies' performances throughout the enduro. More details to follow.
For additional information
www.aimautosport.com
www.michaelshankracing.com
