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Fighting back from a devastating crash in practice, winning the class pole then being put to the back of the grid on race day, it was almost a Cinderella story for Tomy Drissi, Kyle Marcelli and Chapman Ducote as Marcelli piloted the #89 Intersport Racing The Sitter / Muscle Milk / Merchant Services / Lafarge / DynaPep LMPC to a second place finish at Petit Le Mans.
Anyone witnessing the horrific crash of David Ducote during Friday’s practice could not have predicted the ultimate outcome of Saturday’s race. When a Ferrari GT car made contact with Ducote’s rear quarter, the car was pushed partially off track. Fortunately several cars exiting the turn were able to drive around as the car sat perpendicular to the racing line. Suddenly, the Robinson Ford GT driven by David Murray was caught up in the incident. Quick thinking Murray immediately through the Ford GT into a sideways slide and was able to shift the impact to a side by side as opposed to head-on. David was airlift to a local hospital and kept for observation.
The Intersport team quickly went to work repairing the car. Amazingly… and to everyone’s disbelief, the car was ready for afternoon qualifying. Kyle Marcelli climbed in and when the checkered flag was thrown on the session, Kyle was at the top of the time sheets.
“This was just an amazing weekend,” expressed Trans-Am champion, Tomy Drissi. “I can’t say enough about the team or about the performance of Kyle Marcelli. This young man is something special. He and I have shared five podium finishes this year and we finished third in the Championship points. It’s been an incredible and thrilling season.”
With David Ducote sidelined, driving duties were shared between Tomy, Chapman Ducote and Marcelli. Due to tech inspection regarding replacement parts from the teams #37 backup car, Marcellis was forced to start the car from the back of the grid. When the green flag dropped on the 1000 mile race, Marcelli wasted no time chasing down the front of the LMPC field.
“The team made no secret about riding on Marcelli’s talent,” said Tomy. “First, he’s earned it. He’s consistently fast and takes care of the car. I was able to keep the car in the hunt and in the lead each time I got behind the wheel. We knew Chapman and I had to stay on pace, be aggressive but keep the wheels on the car. The team was flawless with fueling stops and the driver changes where perfect. Once we hit the last stint, it was all on Kyle’s shoulders.”
Marcelli stayed in the lead. With just two laps to go, in traffic, the #52 car tucked himself into the headlights of a few P1 cars and Marcelli lost him in his mirrors. The #52 got by leaving the #89 to take second. A brilliant race, none-the-less.
The season concluded with Tomy and Kyle sharing five podium finishes; 2nd at Long Beach, 3rd at Lime Rock, wins at Mid-Ohio and Baltimore and 2nd place at the prestigious Petit Le Mans. Intersport Racing finished its season taking third in the LMPC 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. 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.
The Sitter In Theaters December 9th – When the world’s most irresponsible babysitter takes three of the world’s worst kids on an unforgettable overnight adventure through the streets of New York City, it’s anyone’s guess who’s going to make it home in one piece. The Sitter is a new level of twisted and debauched hilarity from the director of Pineapple Express, starring Jonah Hill.
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.