Tomy Drissi Upbeat With Mid-Ohio World Challenge Results

August 8, 2011

New TruSpeed Porsche GT3 – The Right Move
With a full slate of racing on his plate, Trans-Am ChampionTomy Drissi sees his Mid-Ohio weekend as a fantastic success. Running two races in World Challenge then running and winning in the American Le Mans Series LMPC division, the No. 47 IN TIME / Muscle Milk TruSpeed Porsche GT3 was exactly what Tomy had hoped for as he grows is World Challenge Series program.

The World Challenge class ran Round 7 of their double-header weekend on Saturday. Though the 50 minute, time-certain race saw and lengthy caution period, when the green flag was flying, Drissi was right in the mix. When the dust had settled, Tomy had driven his No. 47 IN TIME / Muscle Milk TruSpeed Porsche right into the rearview mirror of 4th place finisher, Andy Pilgrim’s No. 8 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe. Tomy’s TruSpeed teammate, Patrick Long, finished 2nd.

In his first race for TruSpeed Motorsports, Tomy scored a season-best 5th place in the No. 47 IIN TIME / Muscle Milk / TruSpeed Porsche, while teammate Rob Morgan finished 7th in the #46 Entrust / TruSpeed Porsche. WIth Patrick Longs 2nd place, all three TrueSpeed drivers gained solid manufacturer points for Porsche in the championship.

“The car and team were fantastic,” said Tomy. “I really feel I can grow with this car and this team. The first race was great. I felt a lot of confidence with the car and didn’t have any hesitation about trying to drive to the front. I was extremely pleased with the 5th place finish. That’s my best World Challenge finish this season.”

Round 8 was slated for Sunday morning. The day kicked off with qualifying. Drivers were greeted with a mixed bag when it came to the track surface. Saturday had ended with a torrential down pour.. leaving the historic Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course virtually rubber free. In addition, there still a few residual showers lingering in the Lexington area.

Given the weather, Tomy chose to take qualifying cautiously.

“The track was still wet in some of the corners,” noted Tomy. “Given the short time between qualifying and the 11:30am race, I felt it was best to drive the session conservatively. Starting around the fifth row made more sense than running the risk of damaging the car in qualifying.”

In the early going of Sunday’s race, Tomy made good use of the standing start and quickly moved himself up to eighth. He continued to run strong and keeping touch with the lead pack. Later in the race, following a caution flag, once again Tomy took advantage of the restart and once again was mixing it up with the front of the field.

“I can’t say enough about the job TruSpeed did with the car,” said Tomy. “I’m really gaining confidence in what the car can do and trusting where I can get a little more aggressive with it. It’s got excellent power and the handling is really responsive.”

“Late in the race I was battling with Rob Morgan,” added Tomy. “As we came through some slower traffic, I got caught hung out and spun the car. I was able to continue… but lost a couple of positions. I need to trust the car and use the power. It’ll come… I’m really pleased with our first weekend with the No. 47 IN TIME / Muscle Milk TruSpeed Porsche 997 GT3. It’s a great car.”

Fans are invited to log on to Tomy’s Facebook page and participate in his Mid-Ohio Fan Photo contest. It’s easy to enter… just get out your camera and shoot. Then go to Tomy’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/tomydrissi and click on Contest in the left menu to enter your best photo of the week. It’s that simple. Make sure to remind your friends to also go to the page and cast a vote for your photo. There’ll be three winners, with the highest vote getter receiving three (3) pairs of tickets and second and third highest vote getters each receiving one (1) pair of tickets redeemable at any AMC Theater.

Round 7 and 8 of the Pirelli World Challenge Sports Car Wars season is scheduled to air on VERSUS Saturday, August 20 at 5 pm Eastern (re-air Sept. 1 at 3:30pm EST)

Tomy Drissi and the Pirelli World Challenge Series race next August 26-28, 2011 at Infineon Raceway, in California’s Wine Country. Live streaming of rounds 9 and 10 will be live at http://www.world-challengetv.com

Tomy Drissi is an American driver and Trans Am Champion. His driver experience includes ALMS, Trans-Am, NASCAR and Speed World Challenge. Born December 9 in Hollywood, California, Tomy owns an advertising firm that produces upcoming film displays for cinemas. Drissi’s first racing experience in motorsports was street racing on Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills. His professional racing career highlights include; 1999 Trans-Am Rookie of the Year, 2000 Trans-Am BBS Most Improved Driver, 2000 Trans-Am Crew of the Year and Trans-Am Champion. In 2010 Tomy competed in Trans-Am competing in 7 rounds and taking 1 win, 1 pole, 3 podiums, 4 Top Fives, 7 Top Tens; He also competed in the American Le Mans Series LMP1 class at Mid-Ohio finishing 3rd. Tomy is married to Lacy Livingston Drissi.

Find out more about Tomy at http://www.tomydrissi.com or on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/tomydrissi/. You can follow Tomy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/tomydrissi.

In Time in Theaters October 28th

In Time presents a world where time has become the ultimate currency. You stop aging at 25, but there’s a catch: you’re genetically-engineered to live only one more year, unless you can buy your way out of it. The rich “earn” decades at a time (remaining at age 25), becoming essentially immortal, while the rest beg, borrow or steal enough hours to make it through the day. When a man from the wrong side of the tracks is falsely accused of murder, he is forced to go on the run with a beautiful hostage. Living minute to minute, the duo’s love becomes a powerful tool in their war against the system.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1757584409/

Pirelli World Challenge

Now in its 22nd consecutive season, the Pirelli World Challenge is North America’s top production car-based racing championship. Divided into three separate categories (World Challenge GT, World Challenge GTS, and World Challenge Touring Car), each race features a thrilling standing start, adrenaline filled door-to-door action and world-class drivers. The Pirelli World Challenge features cars from the world’s most popular manufacturers – race-prepped versions of the cars driven on the streets. Sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing, the series races at North America’s premier road and temporary street courses.