It wasn’t the finish they’d hoped for, but Tomy Drissi and co-driver, Rusty Mitchell, left it all out on the track driving the No. 7 EPIC Prototype Challenge for BAR1 Motorsports, as they took on the highly competitive Prototype Challenge class in the American Le Mans Monterey presented by Tequila Patrón at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Known for it’s elevation changes, the 2.238 mile Mazda Raceway is a fan and driver favorite alike. The circuit offers a challenging variety of corners, none more challenging than the historic corkscrew.

“Mazda Raceway is our kind of track,” said Tomy. “We really enjoy being out here… it’s just the perfect track for sports car racing. It’s fan friendly and a blast to drive. We were really hoping to do well.”

Tomy got off to a great start and ran very strong in the early going. With the leaders in sight, Tomy turned the car over to Rusty in great shape. Unfortunately, Rusty took a pretty hard hit from a class competitor and lost a couple of laps making repairs.

“We had a really good car under us,” expressed Tomy. “The crew made a lot of headway throughout the week and we felt good about the package come race day. It’s unfortunate that in a four hour race some drivers have difficulty running clean, but it is what it is. Rusty was doing a great job out there.”

“The crew did what they could to get us back out there and keep the car competitive,” Tomy added. “But time wasn’t on our side. We’ll take pride knowing we survived the battle and be ready for another run at it when we return from the break and return to racing at Lime Rock Park in July.”

The next round of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. The race, from Lime Rock Park, is set for 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 6 with live coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN3.

Source : Tomy Drissi