Sebring, Florida. Making his race weekend debut with World Speed Motorsports, Homer Glen, Illinois native Eric Freiberg brought his #14 CDE Collision Damage Experts/Racing For Kids Pro Formula Mazda home in eleventh place in the opening round of the 2008 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at Sebring International Raceway during the historic 12 hours of Sebring weekend. 
 
“I’m a little disappointed right now because we had been quick all weekend and after qualifying fifth I was really aiming for a podium finish,” Freiberg commented afterwards. “I got hung out on the outside of the track at the start of the race which shuffled me back a few spots by the first corner. I fought to reclaim the positions and used up the new radial tires for this season to quickly which hurt in the closing laps of the race.” 
 
Twenty-seven cars lined up on the grid for the opening round, won by Joel Miller, and treated fans to the first standing start in series history, and Freiberg had hoped to capitalize on his standing start experience from his karting days but the outside row was not the position to be in for the start as Miller was slow off the line, giving drivers on the inside line an advantage as the field raced towards the first corner. “When the lights went green it seemed like the cars were instantly five wide,” Freiberg explained. “I was committed to the outside line into that first left-hander and couldn’t bring the car down before Peter Dempsey and John Zartarian could fill the inside line.” 
 
Despite the struggles Freiberg remains upbeat based on his speed throughout the weekend. “I have to thank everyone at World Speed Motorsports for all their hard work this weekend. From my engineer Mike Doyle to my mechanics Jan and Ming, they worked so hard and the car was prepared meticulously,” Freiberg stated. “I know the results didn’t show our potential but I am confident that we’ll be right there when we get to Miller Motorsports Park for the next round of the championship.” 
 
Round One of the 2008 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear can be viewed on Speed Channel on Sunday, March 30^th at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. For more information please visit http://eric.freibergracing.com.