Frisselle Brothers Are Left to Rue What Might Have Been
(Lexington, OH) 17 September 2011 – Brothers Brian and Burt Frisselle gave it
their best in their first race as co-drivers
since 2006, but came up empty handed.
They finished the final GRAND-AM Rolex
Series race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course in ninth place, but had hoped for
so much more. Matching their best
qualifying performance of the season for
the No. 77 Office Depot Doran
Racing Ford Dallara with Burt behind the wheel to start the EMCO Gears Classic from
fourth, both brothers wrestled to keep up with the leaders driving a car over burdened
with excessive aerodynamic drag. That coupled with a motor slightly long in the tooth
meant that while the Frisselle brothers could often catch the car ahead, they could not
pass it.
At various points during the race, both Burt and Brian were able to run as high as fifth
place, but with a caution filled race, their track position was always jeopardized by a car
that lacked the top speed at the end of the straights.
"It was a tough day and not what we were looking for. But, the team worked hard and
it's not a result they deserved either. It was fun to qualify up in the top-five. It was a
wild race with more yellows than I have ever seen here at Mid-Ohio," said Burt. "We ran
a little too much drag and that made it hard for us to race even though we had a better
car than what our results show."
Another element that complicated the race for the No. 77 was tire wear. The Frisselles
found themselves at several key moments behind competitors whose car and tires
performed better on the restarts whereas the No.77 would only get better as the tires
wore. The trouble was that with as many restarts as there were, the Frisselles were
both losing ground initially only to recoup it as the laps churned on and then have to
repeat the process with yet another restart.
The final straw in their effort to stay among the top-five came during the final pit stop,
which occurred under yellow with Brian at the controls. With 57 minutes remaining in
the 2 hour and 45 minute race, Brian came in from sixth place for his final service to
take on fuel and four tires. The whole of the Daytona Prototype field also took the
opportunity to pit, so when the tire change on the No.77 ran just fractions of a second
too long, it was enough to relegate Brian to the end of the line when the field retook to
the track. When the race restarted, Brian was in 10th place with little hope for closing
back in on the top-five.
"I'm not sure what the issue was during the stop, but we lost a lot of track position. I
tried to run as hard as I could but with the excess aero drag, there wasn't much more I
could do. It's unfortunate for the team because they worked so hard and we qualified
up front, but we just didn't have the right set-up to convert it into a good result," said
Brian.
Now during the off-season, both Brian and Burt will look forward to returning home to
the Colorado Rockies for some skiing and downtime to recharge for the battle next year
at the 50th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
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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
