In a battle reflective of their season, BAR1 Motorsports fought like champions to the very end. Starting 3rd on the grid, one of three cars occupying 3/100ths of a second split, Johnny Mowlem, Tomy Drissi, Don Yount and the entire BAR1 crew, stared down adversity after adversity. After 10 hours, the team brought home the car in one piece while finishing a hard earned 5th place.
The driving duties for the No. 20 FOX Networks / Gas Monkey Energy / Top 1 Oil prototype were split equally among Mowlem, Drissi and Yount. The drivers were well aware they had a fast car. But they were equally aware that there were two other cars fast enough to occupy the same spot on the track. This was not a 10 hour endurance race. This was to be a 10 hour sprint.
“Hats off to the mechanics who put together a car that ran 10 hours straight with zero issues,” said team owner, Brian Alder. “Our pit stops were great all day. Johnny Mowlem took the checkard flag in his final Petit Lemans and brought the car home in P5. Don Yount and Tomy Drissi drove 2/3 of the race putting in a solid 4 stints each! Everyone has a right to be proud.”
“This race was truly a reflection of our season,” acknowledge Alder. “Every time we thought we were down, every guy on this team decided we were not out. This was a topsy turvy race ending a topsy turvy season. But win, lose or draw, these are the guys I want to race with. They understand the challenge and they’re willing to do the work. As a team owner, you can’t really ask for more than that.”
Tomy Drissi weighed in with his thoughts on the race.
“Johnny did an amazing job of getting us qualified… we really thought he’d won the pole. But a couple other cars had the same thing in mind. I’ve never seen it that tight. We were definitely having to drive on the bleeding edge.”
“Of course all of us knew this was Johnny’s last IMSA race,” added Tomy. “No one wanted to talk about it, but we all were trying to find a little extra to give him a good send off. Even though we couldn’t pull of the win, I know Johnny knew we were all in… I know he appreciated the fight that everyone put forth. I think everyone on the team can be proud of the effort. It was a battle.”
For Alder, the 2017 season started at the drop of the checkered flag! See you in Daytona!