Drissi Laguna Seca race report

5th Place LMPC Finish For Drissi At ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey

Tomy Drissi

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

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.