endurance month
AIM Autosport and Doncaster Racing will be back in endurance mode for the six-hour Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International on June 9, but both teams have already completed a marathon getting to the race. They share a race shop and transporter, so covering three races and a test in four weeks – on two coasts, at four very different tracks and in two race formats – has tested their logistics capability.
The teams started with races in Monterey, Calif., on May 19 and 20, then charged back to the race shop north of Toronto, where the cars and equipment were unloaded and prepped for two trips – the No. 17 Doncaster Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car heading to Lime Rock Park in Connecticut for a series race on May 28, the AIM car to Lexington, Ohio for a two-day test.
AIM's Formula BMW transporter arrived from Salt Lake City, Utah, with a detour to Wyoming and Michigan to help a stranded competitor. It was reconfigured for the Doncaster car, loaded and and off to Lime Rock. Meanwhile, AIM's primary Rolex Series transporter left for Ohio with the team's No. 61 Lexus-powered Riley Mk XI car, with a side trip to Lakeville, Ind., to pick up Hoosier tires, doubling the travel time.
Both teams returned to Canada for a fast reset for the six-hour race, with additional time required for bodywork repair and a transmission rebuild on the Doncaster car. The teams will depart for Watkins Glen on June 6.
"We had to jump through flaming hoops to make this whole thing happen," AIM co-owner Ian Willis said, detailing the minute-by-minute planning required. "Everyone involved has gone the extra mile to ensure that the cars are on track."
"The schedule has been really tough on us," Doncaster principal John Lacey confirmed. "We worked all weekend and early this week to finish the long race prep – brakes, uprights, drive shafts, etc., etc. – for the six-hour race. You get the picture as to the scramble small teams have to go through when Grand-Am sets these types of schedules: east to west, north to south, thousands of miles of travel, three races and one test in four weeks!"
Brian and Burt Frisselle of Lynchburg, Va., will team with Mark Wilkins of Toronto in the AIM Riley, backed by Exchange Traded Gold, Barrick Gold Corporation, RBC Financial Group and Telus' Mike Network. Doncaster's full-season driver Greg Wilkins of Toronto will share driving duty in the MineStar / Tim Hortons Porsche with Robert Julien of Gulfstream, Fla., and Tom Papadopoulos of East Hills, N.Y.
Lexus strength
Lexus, which powers the No. 61 AIM Riley, builds an engine that capably handles the rigours of endurance racing. The company is the only Daytona Prototype engine-maker to win a six-hour race, a nine-hour race and a 24-hour race. Lexus teams have won the last two Rolex Series endurance races – the 2006 nine-hour event at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, and the 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona. team notes
race shop Woodbridge, Ont. – 10 miles north of Torontoweb aimautosport.com
team
owners Andrew Bordin (bor DEEN), Woodbridge, Ont. Ian Willis, Thornhill, Ont. Keith Willis, Georgetown, Ont.
team manager Don Sobering, Hamilton, Ont.race engineer Ian Willis, Thornhill, Ont.chief mechanic Kevin O’Reilly, Island Grove, Ont.data engineer Craig English, Brampton, Ont.
drivers Brian Frisselle, Lynchburg, Va. Burt Frisselle, Lynchburg, Va. Mark Wilkins, Toronto, Ont.
race car
No. 61 Daytona PrototypeLexus-powered Riley Mk XIchassis 001gold and black
AIM Autosport
AIM Autosport fields the No. 61 Daytona Prototype in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and operates multi-car teams in the Formula BMW USA Championship and the Star Mazda Championship. The company has a mandate to identify, train and manage emerging motorsport talent. AIM has provided many young drivers with a solid foundation on which to build a career in professional racing.
AIM serves the needs of the racing community with a purpose-built preparation shop. The facility has a fully equipped machine shop and provides a full range of customer-car services including chassis repairs and restorations, gearbox blueprinting and custom fabrication work. Through its sales division, AIM is a factory-authorized distributor/retailer of several industry-leading racing products.
On or off the track, AIM Autosport is a business driven by competition, the spirit of teamwork and the pursuit of excellence in professional motorsport. sponsors
Exchange Traded Gold – NYSE: GLD – exchangetradedgold.com
Exchange Traded GoldSM securities offer investors a new, innovative, relatively cost-efficient and secure way to access the gold market. The securities are backed by allocated gold held in a vault on behalf of investors. 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.
Barrick Gold Corporation – TSX/NYSE: ABX – barrick.com
Barrick is the world's largest gold producer, with 27 operating mines, many advanced exploration and development projects located on five continents and the largest reserves in the industry. Barrick's vision is to be the world's best gold-mining company by finding, acquiring, developing and producing quality reserves in a safe, profitable and socially responsible manner.
RBC Financial Group – TSX/NYSE: RY – rbc.com
RBC is Canada's largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization and one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies. It provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking and transaction-processing services to more than 14 million personal, business and public-sector clients in 30 countries.
TELUS' Mike Network – TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU – telus.com
TELUS is a leading telecommunications company in Canada. The company's Mike line-up has been the gold standard in Push To Talk (PTT) devices in Canada since its launch in 1996. With Mike's Direct Connect PTT functionality, users can instantly communicate with more than 20 million other users in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Peru at the push of a button, eliminating the delays of dialing, voice mail and telephone tag.
team notes
team
partners Dave Lacey, Toronto, Ont. John Lacey, Thornhill, Ont.
team manager John Lacey, Thornhill, Ont. race engineer Jim Malicki (MAL ik ee), Austin, Texaschief mechanic Patrick Dubuc, Montréal, Qué.data engineer James MacQueen, Toronto, Ont.timing/scoring Julie Denton, Toronto, Ont.
drivers Dave Lacey, Toronto, Ont. Greg Wilkins, Toronto, Ont.
race car
No. 17 GTPorsche 911 GT3 Cup chassis WPOZZZ99Z6S798030white with Canadian red maple leaf
sponsors
MineStar – cat.com
MineStar is an integrated mining information system. Through a series of component programs for production reporting, truck assignment, health monitoring and fleet analysis, MineStar links information gathered from machines in the field to office business enterprise systems. MineStar provides the tools and services needed to help get the most from mining assets while lowering the cost per ton.
Tim Hortons – TSX/NYSE THI – timhortons.com
Tim Hortons Inc. is Canada's largest quick-service restaurant chain, with 2637 restaurants in Canada and 305 in the United States (Oct. 1, 2006). Founded in 1964 as a coffee and donut shop, Tim Hortons has evolved to meet consumer tastes, with a menu that now includes premium coffee, flavoured cappuccinos, specialty teas, home-style soups, fresh sandwiches and fresh-baked goods.
Brian Frisselle
born Dec. 28, 1983 in Los Angeles, Calif.residence Aspen, Co.web frisselleracing.com
race highlights
2002 Skip Barber National – two starts
2003 Skip Barber National – fourth; three consecutive wins
2004 Star Mazda Championship – one podium; Formula BMW USA Championship – sixth, two podiums
2005 Rolex Sports Car Series DP – three top-10 finishes
2006 Rolex Sports Car Series DP – one front-row qualification; best finish fifth
2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona DP – fifth
notes
driving the Rolex 24 with brother Burt – "It's really fun. If I see him train a little bit extra, then I feel like I need to do that, so we just push each other a little bit further. To actually be in the race with him – it's a premier event and we're doing a sport that we love, so it's a lot of fun. I wouldn't want to have any other teammate than him. He's always been one of my best friends, and I hope it's like that for the rest of my life."
the brothers like different car setups, but make it work – "We read each other. He knows what kind of car I like, I know what kind of car he likes. We know what we need out of the car with the experience that we have together. We like a slightly different setup, but we're both willing to compromise."
other sports – "I prefer something that's fast-paced, outdoors, gets your heart pumping, maybe scares you a little bit, that really challenges you. I've always been into pushing myself and my limit. When I ski, I ski very quickly. When I was young, I jumped off every bridge or rock or waterfall I came across. The biggest bridge I've ever done was around 65 feet. I've always been kind of a risk-taker."
relaxes watching football – "We're huge into football, we're absolutely obsessed with the Denver Broncos. I think we enjoy it so much because it's so different from racing and it really takes us away from racing."
Burt Frisselle
born Oct. 1, 1981 in Los Angeles, Calif.residence Aspen, Co.web frisselleracing.com
race highlights
2001 Skip Barber National – best finish 10th
2002 Skip Barber National – fifth, one pole, one win
2003 Barber Dodge Pro Series – sixth; three top-five, seven top-10 in 10 races
2004 Rolex Sports Car Series DP – two podiums, eight top-10 finishes
2005 Rolex Sports Car Series DP – three top-10 finishes, led 27 laps
2006 Rolex Sports Car Series DP – best finish fifth
2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona DP – fifth
notes
is happy the Rolex 24 and Super Bowl are on different weekends this year – "Brian and I are absolutely compulsive Denver Broncos fans, almost to an unhealthy extent. We really got into in the Elway years, especially when they won the Super Bowls, and I've been dedicated ever since. In the past years, the Super Bowl has been on the 24-hour [weekend]. We were living in Miami, so Brian and I would drive the 24-hour, we'd say, 'We've only got a four-hour stint left to go,' and we'd drive back to Miami so we could watch the game."
enjoys many sports – "We work out a ton, do a lot of mountain-biking, hiking and downhill skiing. Having a background in Hawaii, Brian and I are into a lot of ocean sports and golf. We have three German shepherds, so we spend a lot of time outdoors with the dogs, too."
visits children's hospitals and Camp Boggy Creek during race weeks – "Brian and I both feel we've been blessed to have the life we've had. We complain about some of the frustrations that we have, but it's nothing compared to what some of the kids are dealing with. It helps keep things in perspective, keeps us grounded. We really want to give something back, especially for kids. We've had a dream childhood and not everyone gets that."
off-track, the brothers use their race expertise to support car and tire manufacturers at customer ride-and-drive events
Mark Wilkins
born May 9, 1983 in Toronto, Ont.residence Toronto, Ont.
race highlights
2001 Formula Ford 1600 – second, one win, three podiums
2002 Formula Ford 2000 – one podium
2003 Fran-Am 2000 North American Pro-Championship – two podium finishes
2004 Rolex 24 At Daytona SGS – third; Formula Renault 2000 – fourth, one pole, one win, four podiums
2005 Rolex 24 At Daytona GT – third; Star Mazda Championship – seven top-10 finishes in 10 races
2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona GT – seventh; Rolex Sports Car Series DP – one race; Star Mazda Championship – one podium, three top-five finishes in five races
2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona DP – fifth
notes
is studying for an automotive business management degree at the Canadian Automotive Institute - Georgian College, balancing six classes with a full race season
has been involved with the AIM DP program since it was first envisioned and worked with AIM for four months to help prepare for the first prototype season – "I've been there since the very start in 2005 when we decided we were going to put something like this together. To actually be here and ready for the first race is an unbelievable accomplishment. But it really shows AIM's dedication to be a top-level team."
scored a podium finish in his first sports-car race, the 2004 Rolex 24 At Daytona – "That was phenomenal! It's the prestige of the race; it's just an incredible event to be a part of. The best moment is crossing the finish line at the end. It's a huge accomplishment for a team."
enjoys auto racing, snowmobiling and "anything with an engine. Even a snow-blower can be fun at times!"
Tom Papadopoulos (pap uh DAW pl us)
born Dec. 27, 1966 in Forest Hills, N.Y.residence East Hills, N.Y.family wife Farelle, daughter Calista (Cali)web autosportdesigns.com
race highlights
1990s Porsche Club of America – win or podium in every race
1996 Ferrari Challenge – second
1997 Ferrari Challenge champion
1998 Ferrari Challenge champion – first driver to win consecutive championships
2001 Rolex Sports Car Series GT – one top-five, three top-10 in three races
2006 SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT – seven races
notes
known as Tommy Pop
"I like controlled adrenaline. You couldn't get me on a roller-coaster that goes upside-down 14 times. I like the fact that most racing drivers don't really want to crash."
principal of Autosport Designs, Inc.; the company services and restores Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche cars
"Few people get to do what they enjoy; I get to play with cars all day. It's cool. We've got a great clientele and I can be myself. During the summer, I'll have my nice shirt on and am sitting behind my desk. Some people get scared when I get up and, Wow, look! His shirttails are out and he's wearing shorts! But that's the way it is. If I wore a suit to work in the summertime, everyone would run for their wallets. Trust is everything."
relates to race crews – "I've always been easy on a car and gotten along far better with the teams than most of the brass just 'cause I'll never be corporate. With Doncaster, the team guys are so cool. They're just great."
daughter Cali, 5, will be watching the Rolex 24 from her grandparents' home – "She's got some cheerleading pompoms. All I've been watching lately is her jumping up and down, cheering for her white-and-orange No. 17." Greg Wilkins
born Feb. 2, 1956 in Montreal, Qué.residence Toronto, Ont.family wife Vera, son Mark, daughter Lauren
race highlights
2000 24 Heures du Mans LMP675 winner
2001 – 2002 Grand-Am Cup
2003 Grand-Am Cup GSI – fifth, one win, three podiums
2004 Rolex Sports Car Series SGS – two podiums including Rolex 24 At Daytona; Grand-Am Cup GS – fifth, one win, five podiums
2005 Rolex Sports Car Series GT – two podiums, including Rolex 24 At Daytona; Grand-Am Cup GS – one podium
2006 Rolex Sports Car Series GT – three top-five, eight top-10 finishes
2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona GT – eighth
notes
chief executive officer of Barrick Gold Corporation and World Gold Council board membernotes the importance of teamwork in both racing and business – "They're very similar: operating under deadlines, it's competitive, you need to perform, you need to deliver results. To the outside world, racing looks very much like a driver's game, but a team has to work together. That's the same with business. We always have to be clear about our objectives, clear about how we intend to achieve our objectives, and then we have to align everybody's interests to work together to make decisions that will push the ball forward."
racing is relaxation – "Relaxation takes different forms. Race weekends are not at all relaxing. They have a very high degree of stress; it's a very competitive environment. It's similar to the business environment conceptually, but the nature of the stresses and challenges are totally different from what I deal with every day, and that change is really important. I like activity and I like to be busy, I like to be doing things. My form of relaxation is in being busy doing something else that consumes my focus."
is a member of the cabinet for the Heart for University Health Network campaign that raises funds for three Toronto hospitals
2007 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
17 – Doncaster Racing – Lance David Arnold, Bobby Julien, Dave Lacey, Johnny Mowlem, Tom Papadopoulos, Mark Wilkins, Greg Wilkins61 – AIM Autosport – David Empringham, Brian Frisselle, Burt Frisselle, Mark Wilkins
race car drivers class start finish
Rolex 24 At Daytona 17 Arnold, Lacey, Mowlem, Papadopoulos, GT 10 8 G Wilkins Jan 27-28 61 Empringham, Frisselle, Frisselle, M Wilkins DP 17 5
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez 17 Lacey, G Wilkins GT 9 6March 3 61 Br Frisselle, M Wilkins DP 18 7
Homestead International Speedway 17 Lacey, G Wilkins GT 9 9March 24 61 Bu Frisselle, M Wilkins DP 9 10
Virginia International Raceway 17 Lacey, G Wilkins GT 13 5April 28, 29 61 Br Frisselle, M Wilkins DP 6 14
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 17 Lacey, G Wilkins GT 11 15May 19, 20 61 Bu Frisselle, M Wilkins DP 17 9
Lime Rock Park 17 G Wilkins, M Wilkins GT 13 14May 28
Watkins Glen International 17 Julien, Papadopoulos, G Wilkins GTJune 9 61 Frisselle, Frisselle, M Wilkins DP
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 17 Lacey, G Wilkins GTJune 23, 24 61 Br Frisselle, M Wilkins DP
Daytona International Speedway 17 Lacey, G Wilkins GTJuly 5 61 Bu Frisselle, M Wilkins DP
Iowa Speedway 17 Lacey, G Wilkins GTJuly 13, 14 61 Br Frisselle, M Wilkins DP
Barber Motorsports Park 17 Lacey, G Wilkins GTJuly 21, 22 61 Bu Frisselle, M Wilkins DP
Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve 17 Lacey, G Wilkins GTAug 3 61 Br Frisselle, M Wilkins DP
Watkins Glen International 61 Bu Frisselle, M Wilkins DP Aug 10
Infineon (Sears Point) Raceway 61 Br Frisselle, M Wilkins DPAug 25
Miller Motorsports Park 17 Lacey, G Wilkins GTSept 15 61 Frisselle, Frisselle, M Wilkins DP
