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AIM & Doncaster - Virginia Preview |
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Tuesday, 24 April 2007 |
AIM Autosport hopes to strengthen its top-five standing in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series with a fast performance in the series race at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Va., on April 29. The Canadian team is fifth in Daytona Prototype class points with consistent race finishes of fifth, seventh and 10th this year. Lead driver Mark Wilkins of Toronto thinks recent fine-tuning could boost the No. 61 Lexus-powered Riley Mk XI he will drive with Brian Frisselle of Lynchburg, Va., on Sunday.
"We've made further improvements to the car," Wilkins explained. "We
upgraded the differential, which should help our power-down quite a
bit. We also got our new air-conditioning unit, which has a
carbon-monoxide filter on it, and the guys built some new tunnels
behind the rear wheels to help improve airflow.
"We're at the point now where we're doing the little things and making
the little changes to make the car that much better. Our results of
late haven't reflected where we are in the standings, except we've
stayed out of trouble. We really need to be back with a top-five
finish, and I think we can do it."
gold billions
AIM's primary sponsor, Exchange Traded Gold, reached a new high last
week when its global assets topped $13 billion. Exchange traded gold
securities are backed by allocated gold. They offer investors a means
of participating in the gold bullion market without the necessity of
taking physical delivery of gold, and to buy and sell that interest
through the trading of a security on a regulated stock exchange.
"The speed at which these global assets continues to grow goes hand in
hand with racing," Stuart Thomas, Exchange Traded Gold founding
principal, noted. "These products continue to gain traction as
investors recognize the value of gold in a well-diversified portfolio."
all-weather racers
Although bad weather slows most racers, the Doncaster Racing drivers
take it in stride. With rain always a possibility at Virginia
International Raceway, Dave Lacey and Greg Wilkins, both of Toronto,
are prepared to blast through it. Lacey believes their Canadian
experience will give them an edge in the No. 17 MineStar / Tim Hortons
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
"It's probably the bad-weather quotient that we get exposed to. As soon
as it rains, the Canadians seem to take to it. There must be some
relationship between the bad weather in Canada and wet-weather [racing]
capability," he said. "I love driving in the rain – I think it's fun!
It's a great equalizer; it takes the horsepower quotient out of the
equation and puts car control back as a premium."
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