The shuffle in the Intersport team’s driver line up didn’t fair well for Tomy Drissi in No. 37 Intersport Racing / The Sitter / Muscle Milk LMPC car in Saturday’s ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The Trans Am Champion has become accustomed to sharing to podium finishes with team mate Kyle Marcelli this year. The two hope they are back together for Petit Le Mans.
The annual 6 hour endurance race has become a fan favorite at Mazda Raceway and this year’s event didn’t disappoint. Fans got to enjoy solid competition across each of the four classes. After six hours of racing into darkness, the top finishers were separated by mere seconds.
For Tomy and his co-drivers, the week got off to a tough start when a suspension pick-up point worked loose within the honeycomb of the car’s tub. Intersport’s team engineers worked hard repairing the car, but not before missing practice and qualifying. This put Tomy and his co-drivers, Ricardo Vera and Luca Moro at a severe disadvantage.
“The issue with the chassis really worked against us,” said Tomy. “For Luca [Moro] it was especially tough since he’d never driven this track. All we could do was give him the morning warm up to try and get acclimated. We also had to start the race from the back of the pack… it was tough.
Never one to give up, Drissi took the first stint of the race and did a fantastic job of moving the No. 37 through the field. It wasn’t long before he had the lead pack of LMPC cars in sight.
“My first stint felt good,” noted Tomy. “I think we had a pretty quick car. I got through traffic and was starting to reel in the LMPC front runners. We had a little contact with another LMPC back marker… but recovered with little time lost.”
With the season winding down, the team will now focus on Road Atlanta and the season finale 10 hour Petit Le Mans.
“All in all, I think we held our own at Laguna Seca,” Tomy added. “Ricardo [Vera] is a great young driver with a very bright future. And I look forward to seeing Luca racing in the states again. We’re currently developing a strategy for Petit Le Mans, so hopefully Kyle and I can get back together and end the season on high note.
The 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón season concludes on Oct. 1 with the 14th Annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta. The race will air on ABC at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 2. Live coverage will be available in the U.S. on ESPN3 or outside the U.S. on americanlemans.com. Rogers Sportnet One in Canada and MotorsTV in Europe will also provide coverage. Ticket and schedule information is available on the ALMS schedule page.
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.