David Ostella recently wrapped up his second Star Mazda Championship season and after a first half filled with misery, the second half of his twelve 2010 starts brought much-improved form that saved his sophomore year.
“The turnaround to the season was awesome,” Ostella said after collecting 34 more points in the back half of his season compared to the first. “I think it was a direct result of just staying positive through the disappointments and the team working hard throughout. It’s really all you can do, as dwelling on past events or problems really does nothing for the driver or the team.”
A mature attitude to be sure, especially when considering the opening to his third open-wheel campaign was enough to try the patience of any athlete. He was as high as third at Sebring before being let down in the season opener; fell from fifth at St. Pete with a broken shifter; and never even got off the line at Laguna when a half-shaft broke at the start. Ostella then brushed the wall in his first oval run to fall from fifth to eighth at ORP, and had his effort at Iowa ruined by a blistering tire after just a handful of laps. Ostella and his AIM Autosport team then hit rock bottom during the first in a pair of New Jersey starts when he was knocked off the track and out of the race on lap one, at turn one; Then came the turnaround.
After collecting just 136 points and a best finish of seventh in the first half of his season, Ostella matched the spot in his second New Jersey start, and breaks certainly began to fall his way in the first Autobahn Chicago race when he took fourth on Saturday.
“That span was certainly my personal highlight of the season,” Ostella said in looking back. “We were just beginning the second half of the schedule and my luck started to change in Jersey and Chicago. We scored back-to-back top tens, and with the fourth we were getting back to where we looked to belong in the early events of the schedule. There was just one bad one from then on, and things were looking good.”
The ‘bad one’ was the second start at Chicago when his car stuck in fifth gear. Though he qualified P16 in strange conditions, Ostella was right back inside the top ten before the first lap was out but had things derail on lap three. He rebounded with his best race of the year, crossing fifth at Trois-Rivieres, and closed with seventh at Road America and tenth at Mosport. Ostella scored 170 points in his second half. His season was made possible with support from Global Precast Intercontinental, Alpinestars, Masters Insurance, Pro Green Demoliton and RAW Integrated Ltd.
Since his final Star Mazda start at Mosport, Ostella has celebrated his 19th birthday while continuing to focus on fitness and race preparation. The near future sees a possible return to karting for some off-season seat time, and number of car tests are on the horizon as 2011 begins to take shape. For more and breaking information, visit www.davidostella.com
Photo Credit: www.otp.ca ... Photo Cutline: Ostella had a strong second half to the Star Mazda season.
