Star Mazda - Freiberg Earns Top-10 At St. Pete

St. Petersburg., Mar. 27, 2012: Last weekend, Ashley Freiberg (pronounced FRY-BURG) driver of the #91 TrueCar Star Mazda competed in her first race of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear season at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg with team JDC Motorsports.

“This was actually my first time ever on a street course, and I absolutely loved it,” said Ashley. “The facility was awesome, and I can’t wait to come back!”

Ashley drove in her last race over a year ago, where she was the first woman to win two Skip Barber Championships and the first woman to win a Barber National race at New Jersey Motorsports Park in 2010.

“Being out of a car for a year, and coming from Skip Barber, I have had some adjusting and learning to do getting used to driving a car with more horsepower, slicks, and down force,” said the five time karting champion. “With the support from my team and my driver coach, Mike Zimicki, I have definitely learned more the past few times I have been driving my TrueCar Star Mazda car than I have in a long time.”

Ashley qualified just outside the top 10 in 12th place on Friday, and in the race on Saturday passed three cars to finish 9th out of 21 cars.

“I think one of my strengths is that I am consistent, and during the race I just focused on getting a good start and making the least amount of mistakes possible,” said Ashley, who was nominated as a candidate for the prestigious Team USA Scholarship. “I definitely have a lot to learn with this car, and I expect to be working really hard this year to keep improving my times.”

Unfortunately, her second race on Sunday ended quickly when she was taken out from behind going into turn 10.

“Right now I am focusing on the next race at Barber Motorsports Park. The track has a lot to do with trusting down force, so I will definitely have a steep learning curve over the weekend!”