Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Global

Frisselle brothers Mid-Ohio qualifying report

Frisselle Racing press release

#77 Doran Racing Ford Dallara: Brian Frisselle, Henri Richard

#77 Doran Racing Ford Dallara: Brian Frisselle, Henri Richard

Greg Nichols

Frisselle Brothers To Start Fourth at Mid Ohio In GRAND-AM Finale

#77 Doran Racing Ford Dallara: Brian Frisselle, Henri Richard
#77 Doran Racing Ford Dallara: Brian Frisselle, Henri Richard

Photo by: Greg Nichols

LEXINGTON, Ohio, 16 September – It has been five years since brothers Burt and Brian Frisselle had a car all their own to race and they intend to make the most of it.

That intention came closer to fruition when Burt qualified the No. 77 Office Depot Doran Racing Ford Dallara in fourth position for the GRAND-AM Rolex Series EMCO Gears Classic presented by Key Bank at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Burt’s quickest lap of 1:17.872 sec. around the challenging 2.258-mile undulating circuit came on his eighth of 11 trips across the finish line.

Burt got the chance to co-drive with brother Brian this weekend after his usual co-driver Henri Richard clinched the MESCO Rookie of the Year Award and graciously stepped aside to make way for Burt.

The first seven laps Burt turned in the Office Depot machine steadily whittled down the lap times as the team expected while patiently watching the timing and scoring monitors on pit lane. In the cockpit, it was a slightly different story as it turned out.

“The session was a bit frantic from my point of view,” said Burt. “First of all there are some driver settings buttons on the back of the steering wheel that I hadn’t discovered! Once the session started I was a bit concerned when the No. 99 car took off in the distance, but I knew that with this car it would be faster as we got closer to the end, so I focused on a steady improvement to the end of the session. The radio wasn’t working and the neither was the lap timer since I didn’t know which buttons to set on the steering wheel, so I really had no idea where I was lap-time wise. When I came in at the end of the session and learned I scored a fourth place, I was really surprised because I was expecting a decent result, but this is really good.”

“Above all, thanks very much to Henri (Richard) for stepping aside and offering me the chance to drive with Brian this weekend. It’s been great so far and I am so happy to qualify in a position where Brian has a chance to take over the car from, hopefully, a competitive position. To qualify in the top 5 is a real testament to the work the team put in and I’m so happy for them,” added Burt.

Brian found that despite all the confidence he has in his brother, he was still a bit more nervous that when his normal co-driver Richard is at the controls.

“There’s no one I want to do better out there than my brother, so I was absolutely more nervous for him. Henri (Richard) is a new driver to the series and so he’s learning and when he qualifies, you are hoping he will do well, but its nothing like hoping for the same for your brother! With Burt we want him up front with a good result and with the experience that he has, the expectations are higher for him,” said Brian.

Brian, who is younger than Burt has found himself this weekend in the unusual role of mentoring his big brother.

“Ordinarily, we go into a racecar on even terms, but here I’ve been with the team and the car all season so I’ve got the data to help him get up to speed. Overall, he’s been great; willing to learn and receptive to input from myself and the rest of the team,” explained Brian.

The final Rolex Series race of the year gets underway, Saturday, Sept 17 at 3:00 PM eastern for two and three quarter hours of racing with live coverage on SPEED.

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Team Chevy Mid-Ohio qualifying report
Next article Series Mid-Ohio qualifying report

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Global