Fighting back for the full 1000K, Tomy Drissi and co-drivers Rusty Mitchell and James French pushed the No. 7 The Maze Runner, PetroComm sponsored Prototype Challenge car to pick up third place in points at the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón finale, Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia.
The changing weather and track conditions demanded tenacious driving and gutsy pit calls. The No. 7 BAR1 Motorsports team did both. Everyone, both crew and drivers, put out 100% all day long… it made a difference.
Always excited to be at Road Atlanta and participating in the Petit Le Mans, Tomy was pleased with the effort and the outcome.
“We had a good car all week. The practice sessions threw both dry and wet conditions our way, but still really didn’t prepare us for what we saw race day. The nearly 10 hour race seemed to contain every variable you could image.
“There were times that a tire change…. going from slicks to rain tires… might have been a nice option. But if you could find a dry line or places you could get heat into your tires, it paid to stay out. Unfortunately, Rusty got caught out and spun early on. So we were playing catch up all day.
“Everyone hung in there though. The crew were spot on for every stop. No one was quitting, that’s for sure. In the end it paid off. Our on track position was fourth, but the non season entry of Star8 wound up placing us in third. It was a hard earn finish.”
For the race, the No. 7 car featured the upcoming movie The Maze Runner as it’s livery for the weekend. The Maze Runner is a story of Thomas (O’Brien) who wakes up trapped in a massive maze with a group of other boys, he has no memory of the outside world other than strange dreams about a mysterious organization known as W.C.K.D. Only by piecing together fragments of his past with clues he discovers in the maze can Thomas hope to uncover his true purpose and a way to escape. Based on the best-selling novel by James Dashner.
“I just want to thank all of our movie sponsors this year,” added Tomy. “We had some great looking cars and I think the fans had a lot of fun seeing the cars out there. We’ve been getting good feedback everywhere we go.”
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón ended its 15th and final season with the Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda. The race marks the end of an era in American sports car racing while anticipating the unification of the ALMS and the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series into the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in 2014. The Petit Le Mans will maintain its time-honored position on the new TUDOR Championship calendar as the final race of the season.
The new Tudor United SportsCar Challenge Series season will open Jan. 25- 26 at Daytona International Speedway. The 52nd running of the Rolex 24 will be perhaps the most significant sports car race in the history of North America, as the debut event for the new Tudor United SportsCar championship.
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. He also competed in the American Le Mans Series LMP1 class at Mid-Ohio finishing 3rd. 2011 saw Tomy’s return to the American Le Mans Series, LMPC division. He scored a 2nd at Long Beach, 3rd at Lime Rock, 1st at Mid Ohio,1st at Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix and second at Road Atlanta -Petit Le Mans. In 2012, Drissi teamed with Bruno Junqiera for finishing 2nd at Laguna Seca, a win at Mosport (Canadian Tire Motorsports Park), 2nd at Baltimore and second at the season finale, Petit Lemans.
Tomy is married to Lacy Livingston Drissi.
Find out more about Tomy Drissi at http://www.tomydrissi.com or follow Tomy on Facebook /tomydrissi and Twitter @tomydrissi