Frisselle Brothers To Start Fourth at Mid Ohio In GRAND-AM Finale
(Lexington, OH) 16 September 2011 – It has been
five years since brothers Burt and Brian Frisselle
had a car all their own to race and they intend to
make the most of it.
That intention came closer to fruition when Burt
qualified the No. 77 Office Depot Doran Racing
Ford Dallara in fourth position for the GRAND-AM
Rolex Series EMCO Gears Classic presented by
Key Bank at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Burt's quickest lap of 1:17.872 sec. around
the challenging 2.258-mile undulating circuit came on his eighth of 11 trips across the
finish line.
Burt got the chance to co-drive with brother Brian this weekend after his usual co-driver
Henri Richard clinched the MESCO Rookie of the Year Award and graciously stepped
aside to make way for Burt.
The first seven laps Burt turned in the Office Depot machine steadily whittled down the lap
times as the team expected while patiently watching the timing and scoring monitors on pit
lane. In the cockpit, it was a slightly different story as it turned out.
"The session was a bit frantic from my point of view," said Burt. "First of all there are some
driver settings buttons on the back of the steering wheel that I hadn't discovered! Once
the session started I was a bit concerned when the No. 99 car took off in the distance, but
I knew that with this car it would be faster as we got closer to the end, so I focused on a
steady improvement to the end of the session. The radio wasn't working and the neither
was the lap timer since I didn't know which buttons to set on the steering wheel, so I really
had no idea where I was lap-time wise. When I came in at the end of the session and
learned I scored a fourth place, I was really surprised because I was expecting a decent
result, but this is really good."
"Above all, thanks very much to Henri (Richard) for stepping aside and offering me the
chance to drive with Brian this weekend. It's been great so far and I am so happy to
qualify in a position where Brian has a chance to take over the car from, hopefully, a
competitive position. To qualify in the top 5 is a real testament to the work the team put in
and I'm so happy for them," added Burt.
Brian found that despite all the confidence he has in his brother, he was still a bit more
nervous that when his normal co-driver Richard is at the controls.
"There's no one I want to do better out there than my brother, so I was absolutely more
nervous for him. Henri (Richard) is a new driver to the series and so he's learning and
when he qualifies, you are hoping he will do well, but its nothing like hoping for the same
for your brother! With Burt we want him up front with a good result and with the
experience that he has, the expectations are higher for him," said Brian.
Brian, who is younger than Burt has found himself this weekend in the unusual role of
mentoring his big brother.
"Ordinarily, we go into a racecar on even terms, but here I've been with the team and the
car all season so I've got the data to help him get up to speed. Overall, he's been great;
willing to learn and receptive to input from myself and the rest of the team," explained
Brian.
The final Rolex Series race of the year gets underway, Saturday, Sept 17 at 3:00 PM
eastern for two and three quarter hours of racing with live coverage 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
