It was a rough and tumble race on the 1.53 mile Lime Rock Park bull ring for the 2012 American Le Mans Series presented by Patron Northeast Grand Prix. As expected, traffic was tight and drivers were impatient. It was impatience – someone else’s – that took away the No. 9 RSR Ice Age 3 / Continental Drift LMPC car’s chances for a win. Bruno Junqueira qualified the car for the number two spot on the LMPC grid. Tomy Drissi took the first stint of the race.

“I was in a good position at the start,” noted Drissi. “I was determined to keep the car on pace… but to also keep the car out of trouble. I had a great stint. At one point, to avoid getting collected, I even gave up a spot. I just wanted to give Bruno a good car for his stint so he could go to work.”

“It’s ridiculous out there,” added Tomy. “I mean you’ve got 30 cars all lapping the track in less than a minute. And… there is zero patience. Zero! But, I felt good and I kept us out of trouble. We were definitely in the hunt.” At the 55 minute mark, Tomy pulled the car into the pits for fuel, four tires and a driver change. At the one-hour mark, Bruno posted the best lap of the race in class with a 49.164!

“We were right on schedule,” said Tomy. “I had a great session and now Bruno was out there doing his thing. We saw his fast lap and knew we were the car to beat.” But suddenly, all of that changed. At 4:06 pm, Bruno is in the pits and the engine cover is off. Suffering damage from contact, the team fought to get the car back on track. They replaced the rear suspension and returned to the track at 4:20 pm.

Not one to simply drive around, Junqueira again posted best lap of the race in class with a 48.932. The day would end with the No. 9 Ice Age 3 / Continental Drift car finishing 5th in class and a moral victory for the team.

“I’m proud of everyone on the team today,” remarked Tomy. “No one gave up. We were laps down but everyone worked like they were going for the win. We’ll be ready to go at Mosport.”

Source : Tomy Drissi