Tomy Drissi heads back to historic Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia for the 2012 season finale, the American Le Mans Series presented by Patrón 15th Annual Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda.
Drissi will co-pilot the No. 9 A Good Day To Die Hard RSR Oreca PC car along with Bruno Junquiera and Ricardo Vera.
“This is a great week of racing,” said Tomy. “I love Road Atlanta and I love racing in the Petit Le Mans. It’s the perfect endurance race. Everyone brings their “A game” to Petit. Even though it’s an endurance race with 10 hours to put together a strategy, in the end it’s a sprint race. It’s flat out racing… the minute the green flag drops, all bets are off.”
Petit Le Mans was founded by Road Atlanta owner Don Panoz and first run on October 10, 1998 as part of the IMSA season. The name translates to “little Le Mans.” The race uses the rules established for the 24 hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), slightly modified to allow additional cars to compete. The 1999 edition was one of the original events of the American Le Mans Series.
“This is one of those races every driver wants to win to add to their resume,” said Tomy. “It’s prestigious and it’s a race that if you do win, everyone knows you earned it. Last year I got about as close as you can get. My teammate had the car in the lead going into the last lap. Unfortunately he got caught out in traffic and came to the checkered flag just 01.72 sec. behind the class winner.”
This year Drissi is counting on the speed RSR has shown all year. The team has been quick to adapt to every circuit with great setups and Junquiera has been on his game at every event. Brought in as a third driver for the 10 hour event, Ricardo Vera has proven himself to be a formidable opponent in the prototypes.
The race covers a maximum of 1,000 miles (1,600 km) (which is approximately 394 laps) or a maximum of 10 hours, whichever comes first; only once, in the rain-stopped 2009 race, has the leading team failed to complete 1,000 miles (1,600 km). Class winners at Petit receive an automatic invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 1,000-mile/10-hour Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct 20 from Road Atlanta. ABC’s broadcast begins at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 21. Full, live coverage starts at 11:15 a.m. ET on ESPN3 with qualifying coverage beginning at 1:50 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 19.
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 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. In 2011 Tomy returned 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.
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
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The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is the world`s leading sports car championship and is recognized as the Global Leader in Green Racing. In the tradition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, multiple classes of cars – purpose-built prototypes and production-based Grand Touring automobiles – race on the track at the same time to create compelling race action and constant passing. All cars in the Series compete using one of five approved alternative fuels or energy sources: clean sulfur-free diesel, cellulosic E85 or E10, Isobutanol and electric hybrid technologies. The Series has more automobile marques involved than any other major race series in the world as manufacturers develop relevant technologies on track that transfer directly to the customer showroom. The ALMS competes at North America`s premier road racing tracks and selected temporary street circuits in major urban markets.