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SBRS: Ashley Freiberg VIR event summary
ASHLEY FREIBERG RETURNS TO THE PODIUM IN SKIP BARBER NATIONAL RACES AT VIR Recent Southern Champion Scores Second In Tough National Event ALTON, Va. (April 27, 2010) -- Ashley Freiberg continued her next step to the top of the podium in the ...
Edited: Apr 28, 2010, 6:51 AM
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ASHLEY FREIBERG RETURNS TO THE PODIUM IN SKIP BARBER NATIONAL RACES AT VIR
Recent Southern Champion Scores Second In Tough National Event
ALTON, Va. (April 27, 2010) -- Ashley Freiberg continued her next step to the top of the podium in the fifth round of the 14-race BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Series presented by Mazda last weekend (April 24-25) at Virginia International Raceway.
The 18-year-old female from Homer Glen, Ill., scored the best Barber National finish of her career last Saturday when she finished a close second to Spencer Pigot in the 11-lap main event on the 3.27-mile, 20-turn road circuit.
Qualifying third for the first race, Freiberg, who recently won the Southern Regional title, took the lead on lap five in a highly-competitive "drafting contest" throughout the rolling hills. She led again on lap seven and looked to be in position for her first Barber National victory. On the final lap, Freiberg grabbed the top spot again and planned her strategy in an attempt to hold off the tight field to the checkered flag.
However, the tight field began exchanging positions in a wild dash to the finish line. At the checkered, Pigot won the race by .257 seconds over Freiberg followed by Scott Anderson and Luis Michael Dorrbecker.
Freiberg's previous best Barber National finish was third last year at Road America.
"I felt I was in position to win the race entering the final lap," said Freiberg, sponsored by Akzo Nobel N.V., the world's leading decorative paints company. "You have to be patient with all of the drafting during the race. I was trying to be smart and wait to find the right position to challenge at the end. It always gets wild on the last lap. Everyone starts pushing and shoving. I was hoping to stay in the right spot to get the draft at the end. But I'll take second right now. I am learning more with each race."
Freiberg didn't enjoy the similar fate in Sunday's Barber National feature when she placed fifth. With track conditions much different than Saturday's race, Ashley's Mazda-powered open-wheel machine didn't handle as the day before.
"In qualifying, I was one of the first drivers out on the track and the track was getting faster," she said. "I was pretty fast when I took the checkered flag, but many drivers in the field were behind me and had a better track. I only qualified ninth."
Freiberg battled her way to fifth at the finish line and moved into the top-five in the Barber National standings.
"I still have a long way to go for the top of the point standings," she explains. "The Sebring weekend hurt my points with the contact in the races. But two solid finishes at VIR helped my chances to get back into the point battle. I'm looking forward to the next National race at Lime Rock (on May 28-29)."
-source: ashley Freiberg PR
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