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AIM/Doncaster - Rolex 24 18hr |
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Sunday, 28 January 2007 |
Doncaster Racing led the GT class during the third quarter of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, but the team's No. 17 MineStar Tim Hortons Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car was then slowed by a water hose leak, forcing a 13-minute garage stop that dropped the team back 10 laps. At the 18-hour mark, the team was ninth in class as Dave Lacey, Greg Wilkins, Lance David Arnold, Tom Papadopoulos and Johnny Mowlem worked to regain lost track position.
AIM Autosport maintained a steady pace to hold seventh place overall
for the No. 61 Lexus-powered Riley Mk XI sponsored by Exchange Traded
Gold in partnership with Barrick Gold Corporation. Mark Wilkins, Burt
Frisselle, Brian Frisselle and David Empringham combined with the crew
for faultless pit stops.
class race position
car start 6h 12h 18h 24h
17 GT 10 5 3 9
61 DP 17 8 6 7
race report
car time driver action
17 12h56 change pit – Lacey in, rain tires, fuel
14h31 Lacey GT leader
14h41 Lacey pit – rain tires, fuel, replace wiper arm
15h09 change pit – G Wilkins in, fuel, dry tires
15h42 G Wilkins pit – fuel
15h51 G Wilkins GT leader
16h08 change pit – Arnold in, tires, fuel
16h39 Arnold garage – replaced coolant hose, rear brake pads
16h52 Arnold back on track
16h56 Arnold pit – coolant
16h59 Arnold pit – coolant
17h46 Arnold pit – rain tires, fuel
61 12h25 change pit – Burt Frisselle in, rain tires, fuel
15h16 change pit – Empringham in, dry tires, fuel
16h50 change pit – M Wilkins in, tires, fuel, front brake pads
17h39 M Wilkins pit – rain tires, fuel
Dave Lacey: "The car was handling so well in the wet, but we
always had an issue. The first issue we had was we had no windshield
wipers; the windshield wiper had snagged on the tear-away. It was very
difficult to see – I missed the turn-in a couple of times and I spun
once. But the car was just really, really hooked up, I felt very
confident in the wet. But it started to dry out and we were rolling in
drier weather than I anticipated. The car was a real handful. It was
fun, but it wasn't very fast."
Greg Wilkins: "The race for the GT car had gone remarkably
well. It was really our best effort at competing for a win. Even though
we've been on the podium a couple of times before, this race we were on
the pace and we were running and able to stay in the lead. So it was
really disappointing to have a small, little mechanical problem put us
behind the wall. The record books won't look that impressive, but for
awhile the run looked really strong."
Brian Frisselle: "It's been prettty positive for the whole AIM
Autosport crew. The team is just amazing – they're new to the series,
yet they prepared such a good race car, that's really why we're up
front right now. We've spent no time in the garage and only a little
time in the pits with some small problems. I thank Lexus for building a
reliable motor. it's been a lot of fun, but it's also been a lot of
hard work with the weather. There have been some tough stints, but
hopefully we'll finish well."
– aimautosport.com –
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