As if the track weren’t tight enough and tough enough, soaring temperatures and smothering humidity were the icing on the cake for the Fourth of July weekend and the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron Northeast Grand Prix and Lime Rock Park.
With over 40 cars circulating the roughly 1.5 mile track, some turning lap times in the mid 40 second range, it was a battle of speed, reliability and luck of the draw. On a track were everything is compressed… time, speed and patience, drivers are sometimes left to only hope they can be in the right place at the right time.
Tomy Drissi, while pleased with the performance of his No. 7 “The Wolverine” ORAC FLMO9 Prototype and tenacity of his team, just couldn’t get a break in Saturday’s two hour and forty five minute battle.
“We had a great car. Rusty (Mitchell) and I were both on the pace and the guys on our BAR1 Motorsports crew threw everything they had into keeping us on track and in the mix.
“It just seemed like once the green flag flew, nothing came our way. We were battling at every turn and mixing it up all afternoon. It just really seemed like we were right in the thick of things and we’d find our way to the podium. But in the end, we got caught out by circumstances beyond our control.
“The pace was really dizzying. Lime Rock is truly a bull ring that is all right handers with only one real left turn. We were running in the high 40′s low 50 second lap times. But with the traffic, the heat and a few untimely yellows, the day didn’t turn out the way we wanted. But we still had a lot of fun and, as I said… all of our guys did a great job.”
The Lime Rock Park fans were ecstatic to see the beautiful No. 7 The Wolverine white and black graphic livery on Tomy’s prototype. Fans lined up for photos and genuinely enjoyed seeing the car trimmed for the Marvel comic and movie action hero.
The Wolverine is an upcoming American/Australian superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine and is intended to be the sixth installment in the X-Men film series. Hugh Jackman reprises his role from previous films as the title character. Set sometime after X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan travels to Japan, where he engages a mysterious figure from his past in a fight that has lasting consequences. Vulnerable for the first time, and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel, but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than ever before.
Source : Tomy Drissi