Star Mazda - Freiberg Experiences Learning Curve At Laguna

Monterey, Sep. 11, 2012: Coming off the Grand Prix of Baltimore where she had her best race result of the season, TrueCar Racing Virgin driver Ashley Freiberg went straight to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca where she raced last weekend in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Although she did not bring results home, last weekend ended up being equally as valuable because of the learning experience she went through.

A couple of laps into the first practice session on Thursday morning, Freiberg misjudged the grip through the top half of the “corkscrew” corner, in which she ended up spinning to a stop at the second apex curb down the hill. Moments later, a car came through at speed, and damaged the car enough to where she could not participate in any of the three practice sessions that day.

“It was disappointing to have made such an easy mistake so early in the weekend, and I knew I was a better driver than that,” said Freiberg who finished in an impressive 6th place at Baltimore. “On top of that, I was now an hour and a half behind in seat-time than the entire field. So I really had to deal with my costly mistake quickly and efficiently, and move on to getting back to work so I could minimize my ‘learning the track’ time as much as possible.”

She spent the day going to corners, watching her team mates’ in-car videos, looking at their data, and gathering as much information as possible by asking questions and listening in on debriefs.

On Friday, Freiberg had one 30 minute practice before qualifying, where she then ended up 16th for the starting grid for race one. In the race on Saturday, Freiberg was immediately fast as she fought her way up to finishing 12th, with a lap time that was less than a second off the quickest time of the race.

“I actually amazed myself a bit,” said the two-time Skip Barber Series Champion. “Being so far behind, I really had to push myself beyond my limits and get up-to-speed quickly, especially since high speed tracks like Mazda Raceway have been traditionally tough for me to get up-to-speed due to my lack of experience with down force and slicks. I really felt good about the way I drove Saturday, and I knew that with a few adjustments, Sunday’s race could go even better.”

Starting 13th, Freiberg drove hard up to 10th place, until she dropped a wheel on the exit of turn six, which at such a high speed, sent her off track to clip the tire wall with her rear wing. She did not continue the race.

“It was crushing to make that mistake,” said the driver of the number 91 blue and white Star Mazda. “I had felt the car understeer more and more each lap, and although I was adjusting my driving to the direction of the handling, I just didn’t go far enough that time. Sometimes I just have to be content with a good run rather than keep searching for the perfect run.”

“After looking back on my weekend, I realized that even though I made some big mistakes, I had the ability to look at what I did, understand what I did, and move on and focus on being better the next time. I was one of the quickest drivers through the corkscrew after I was able to get back out on track, and was able to bounce back from my fall and perform beyond what my limits were. It was unfortunate to end my weekend on a not-so-good note, but I understand what I did wrong and am ready to be better at Road Atlanta next month.”