One of the most successful professional racers, Mark Wilkins, will be seen sharing the steering wheel of the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley with Burt Frisselle during the 2010 Rolex Daytona Prototype Series. This will be the fourth Rolex Daytona series of his career. The racer will also be rejoining Michael Shank for the Rolex 24 At Daytona while driving the No. 60 Ford Riley, together with team mates John Pew and Ozz Negri. At present, the racer drives the Rolex Daytona Prototype for AIM Autosport.

The Canadian racer has long been associated with Rolex Sports Car Racing as well as with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The year 2008 witnessed him deliver one of the most breakthrough performances of his career during the Grand Am Rolex Series with his co-driver Burt Frisselle. The duo registered back-to-back top ten finishes between round four to seven followed by being victorious in the ninth round at Barber. While just twenty minutes remained for the championship to end and they were leading, fate intervened, and the engine of their car gave up. This became one of the most memorable final lap defeats in the history of the event.

Before his stint at Grand Am Racing, Mark Wilkins had proved his worth in a number of sports car racing events, including the North American Fran Am 2000 Pro Championship in 2004 where the performer bagged the fourth position. From there, Mark Wilkins made his way into the Star Mazda Series for the next two seasons. In the meantime, the racer also raced in the Grand Am series occasionally.

For many years Rolex has been tirelessly providing its support to the field of sports and especially sports car
racing. The main onus of several of its racing initiatives has been to provide a global platform to talented racers from across the world where they could display their excellence in their respective fields. Through these racing championships Rolex brings across the pursuit of excellence among the talented league of racers, which is also reflected by the timeless Rolex master pieces. The long list of noted championships sponsored by Rolex includes the likes of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The Rolex Sports Car Series is one of the most awaited series in the world of motor sports. It is organised by the Grand American Road Racing Association.

Rolex 24 at Daytona was earlier known as the 24 Hours of Daytona. As the name suggests, the racing championship features a 24-hour endurance race which is held on an annual basis. The event is held at the Daytona International Speedway located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The racing championship was initiated in the year 1966 as a 12-hour race, which was later extended to 24 hours in the following years due to its increasing popularity. The racing event takes place during January’s last weekend or February’s first weekend on a yearly basis as a part of the Speedweeks. The winners of the championship are rewarded with a timeless model of the Rolex Daytona.

Michael Shank Racing Team secured fifth position overall in the Rolex 24 At Daytona 2010. As the race approached its end, team drivers John Pew, Ozz Negri, Burt Frisselle and Mark Wilkins racing in No. 60 Crown Royal XR Ford-Riley made their way to a top five finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona speedway on Sunday. It turned out to be great day for the Canadian racer Mark Wilkins who has made a satisfactory start to the 2010 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. With the crack of the morning, Michael Shank team, all geared up in Ford Riley, maintained their speed for the run to the podium, but due to a driveline failure and just one hour remaining for the finish, Michael Shank could not make it to the checkered flag as the automobile was registered as seventh at the finish. Michael Shank which is backed by the title of double top-ten team, opened in a grand way at the 2010 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series championship. The team gave a display of tremendous speed on the course over the four-day season opening event.

Michael Shank was expected to continue its glory, however, the final results of the Rolex 24 At Daytona revealed a different story altogether with Michael Shank registering fifth position in the championship. The long preparations were joined in by some pit work in the garage even as the crew of Michael Shank replaced the clutch and the splitter of the vehicle on Sunday morning while the race was on. But much damage had been done. These setbacks resulted in the car ending the race at the fifth position. The team owner Mike Shank apparently looked disappointed as he saw the final day not turning out to be as rewarding for the team Michael Shank. With the team scoring fifth position in the race, Mike Shank spoke about how the team members had delivered stupendous performances back-to-back during the weekend but could not achieve what they deserved. He maintained the spirit of the team and praised their efforts as well as that of the car Ford Riley.

The team members appeared happy with their achievement but reiterated the fact that there was a scope to do better in the championship. While team member John Pew, who had a great race after a long time at Daytona 24 felt elated with the success and admired his team for delivering an excellent performance even after many setbacks, Brian Frisselle felt that the race was an uphill task to complete following long hours of fatigue and dehydration. He considered it unfortunate that the team could not secure a place in top positions and looked forward to do better at Homestead. Another team member Ozz Negri who despite of grave pains in foot drove the speedway added that No. 60 Crown Royal XR Ford-Riley delivered good performance at Daytona. He felt that he had an interesting race overall. The optimistic racer hoped to get rid of the pains and perform well in the coming championships. Racer Mark Wilkins mentioned that Ford Riley drove very well and only got better as the race progressed. After making it to the fifth position in the Rolex 24 At Daytona 2010, the Michael Shank team is also set to hit the Homestead.