Teammates Tomy Drissi, Bruno Junqueira and Roberto Gonzalez survived a rough and tumble running of Saturday’s 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. Starting from the LMPC pole at the American Le Mans Series sponsored by Tequila Patrón season opener, the #9 RSR Prometheus 6.08.12 dominated the LMPC division in the early going, leading and setting fast laps for the class.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the RSR team and my teammates,” noted Trans Am champion, Tomy Drissi. “This team came together two weeks ago. The 12 Hours of Sebring is our first outing and RSR’s first endeavor racing in a prototype division.”
“Bruno [Junqueira] and Roberto Gonzales are fantastic teammates,” added Tomy. “Bruno was amazing at the start. He was so fast… at one point he was hot on the heels of a couple of LMP2 cars! ”
Junqueira set the fast time for the LMPC division on the legendary 3.74-mile circuit at 1:54.510 to put the #9 RSR Prometheus 6.08.12 on the pole.
“We were double stinting our driver sessions and really making the most of our Michelin tires,” said Tomy. “I took the third stint taking the car over from Roberto. Our stop and driver change went perfect. Once out of the pits, I settled in and was really getting comfortable in the car.”
“Traffic was horrendous.” Tomy declared. “At one point, while running in second, I took a fairly good hit coming out of turn 7. When I got back underway, I could feel something not right with the clutch. The RSR guys did an amazing job of getting it fixed and getting Bruno back out there. Then Bruno got hit and things started to get away from us. Regardless, the RSR guys refused to quit and did a remarkable job of keeping the car out there and finishing the race. I’m excited working with these guys and looking forward to a great year sharing the car with Bruno.”
The 12 Hours of Sebring (full 12-hour program) will be archived on ESPN3.com for three weeks and on ALMS.com for on-demand viewing. The next round for the ALMS is the Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach on Saturday, April 14. The race will start at 7:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on ESPN2. The second round of the championship also will be shown live on ESPN3 in the United States.
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.
Prometheus – 6.08.12
Visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to the genre he helped define, creating an original science fiction epic set in the most dangerous corners of the universe. The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life’s ultimate mystery. http://www.prometheus-movie.com
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.