Grand Am Team News - AIM Autosport Qualifies Fifth For Bosch Engineering 250

Alton, May 14, 2011: AIM Autosport’s BMW-Riley sponsored by GAMMA88 has qualified fifth for tomorrow’s Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Va. Mark Wilkins drove the car during this afternoon’s 15-minute qualifying session and had posted just four laps when the session was ended early after a car stopped on the track. Mark’s lap of 1m 45.761s translates to 111.307 mph (179.131 km/h) around the 3.27 mile (5.26 km) road course.

The fifth-place start is AIM’s best of the season so far and the team is optimistic of a strong result tomorrow. However, fifth was slightly disappointing after the team’s GAMMA88 car ranked third in opening practice and then topped the charts in the second session.

“Fifth is a good qualifying result for the team,” Mark said after his qualifying run. “The track temperature changed a lot from practice and we knew we had to make changes to keep the car planted, but we went a little bit too far.

“We’re going to have a great car for the race,” he continued. “Excellent balance.”

“I’m very happy with everybody’s effort today,” said Mark’s co-driver, Burt Frisselle. “We worked really hard to make the car better and that’s paid off with great balance. I think we can make our tires last longer than the competition and that could help us achieve a great result tomorrow.”

“Although it’s our best qualifying position of the season, I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t roll off the trailer a little quicker, considering our pace here last year,” said Chief Engineer and Team Principal, Ian Willis. “I’m quite confident that we have a good car for the race if it’s dry. If it’s wet, we will have to learn all about the Continental rain tire.”

Round four of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, the Bosch Engineering 250, is a 2h 45m race that is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 3pm (ET). Coverage will be broadcast live on MRN radio with delayed television coverage on SPEED starting at 5pm (ET).