Back in Long Beach for his home coming race, Tomy Drissi brought and added level excitement to the Pirelli World Challenge event debuting the No. 4 EPIC (the movie) Corvette GT. Unfortunately, Tomy’s World Challenge portion of the weekend was cut short after an incident in qualifying.
Needless-to-say, Tomy was very disappointed.
“The Long Beach Grand Prix is such a fantastic weekend. We get to catch up with a lot of old friends and we were having a great time entertaining everyone at the exhibition center with our EPIC (the movie) Corvette race car. Kids love Corvettes and are very excited about the new movie… they were lined up having their photographs taken with the car. Fun is what this event is all about!
“In the first practice session we struggled with the No. 4 Corvette’s setup. The guys at LG Motorsports gave an all out effort, but a couple of red flags shortened the brief half hour session.
“Saturday morning we had the GT qualifying session. The car felt a little more predictable than the previous day, but once I attempted to give it power off the corner, it got pretty evil. It felt as though something let go… then suddenly I was in the wall with a pretty good thump.
“After assessing the damage, it was too much to get the car back on track for Sunday’s race. We considered entering another car, but time just wasn’t on our side.”
Tomy’s car livery features a different movie at each World Challenge event throughout the season. Long Beach was no different as the No. 4 Corvette tore through the city streets featuring the upcoming movie, EPIC.
EPIC is a 3D CG adventure comedy that reveals a fantastical world unlike any other. From the creators of ICE AGE and RIO, EPIC tells the story of an ongoing battle between the forces of good, who keep the natural world alive, and the forces of evil, who wish to destroy it. When a teenage girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she teams up with an elite band of warriors and a crew of comical, larger-than-life figures, to save their world…and ours.
This film stars Beyoncé Knowles, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz and Amanda Seyfried. Learn all about Epic, play games, and read more about Epic characters as you get ready to experience this adventure in theaters May 24!
NBC Sports, Sunday, May 5th at 2PM eastern. Note, time and date subject to change. View live streaming on www.world-challengeTV.com day of races and continuously on demand after races. Also on www.world-challengeTV.com after the initial broadcast.
The Pirelli World Challenge moves on to the next stop in Austin, Texas for the Cadillac Sports Car Challenge at the Circuit of the Americas, May 17-19.
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. 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
About Pirelli World Challenge:
Now in its 24th consecutive season, the Pirelli World Challenge is one of North America’s top production car-based racing championships. Divided into four separate categories (Pirelli World Challenge GT, Pirelli World Challenge GTS, Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car and Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car B-Spec), each race features thrilling standing starts, adrenaline filled door-to-door action and world-class drivers. The Pirelli World Challenge features cars from the world’s most popular manufacturers – race-prepped versions of the cars driven on the streets. Sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing, the series races at North America’s premier road and temporary street courses.