AIM Autosport ready to face the heat at Daytona
Heat, humidity and tight schedule add to race-day pressure
(Daytona, FL) 01 July 2010 – AIM Autosport's Pacific Mobile/Biosign No. 61 Ford Riley Daytona Prototype race team has arrived at Daytona International Speedway optimistic of a strong result in Saturday's Brumos Porsche 250. The race, scheduled to begin at 11:15am, will be a 2 1/2 hour contest on a 3.56-mile circuit comprising Daytona's famous oval and road course.
AIM has provided some exciting finishes lately, charging from 8th after the final pit stop to finish third—and nearly taking second—at Mid-Ohio and taking 4th at Watkins Glen, missing a podium finish by less than half a second.
AIM has been quick at this event in the past, finishing 5th in 2009 and claiming pole position in 2008. The team knows it will face a huge challenge, not only because of the tough competition, but also because of the schedule and location.
"The biggest challenges of the Brumos 250 are the tight schedule and the heat," said team principal and chief engineer, Ian Willis. "We are fortunate enough to race on the same day as 1 Cup and are the only series that does. Unfortunately this means we race mid-day, in Florida, in July! Heat and humidity are both high and it is tough on the drivers and crew alike. It also means that we are on track in back to back sessions with no time to return to the garage, so we really have to be efficient with our track time and have a car that is quick right off the trailer."
"Daytona has traditionally been a strong track for us." said Mark, "And I feel we should be competitive. If we do everything just a little bit better I feel we will be right up front. I'm also looking forward to racing on a NASCAR weekend as they tend to draw great crowds!"
"I'm just super-excited," said Burt. "There's such great history at Daytona. It's a challenging track and we get close to 200 mph running very little downforce. What's most exciting is that Mark and I are just 7 points behind the leaders in the Driver Championship. We have every intention of closing that gap on Saturday."
The Brumos 250 marks the 100th race for Daytona Prototypes. AIM Autosport, which competes in its 34th race this weekend, is honored to be included in Grand Am's top-ten moments for it's win in Montreal, 2008: the closest in Daytona Prototype history.
The cars will hit the track on Friday with practice sessions from 8:00-10:00am and 10:15-10:35am. Qualifying is scheduled for 11:15-11:30am. Saturday begins with a final practice from 9:45-10:05am and the race is scheduled to get underway at 11:15am. MRN Radio will broadcast live, while television coverage by SPEED will begin at 1:00pm.
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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
