Posted (12/20/2012) -
The final 2 drivers for Team Sahlen in the 2013 ROLEX 24 Hours at Daytona have been secured. The two drivers will be Tomy Drissi and Bruno Junqueira. Tomy & Bruno will join drivers Dane Cameron, Joe Nonnamaker, Wayne Nonnamaker, Will Nonnamaker, Simon Pagenaud and Joe Sahlen to form a strong 8 driver line up in the #42 & #43 entries.
This event will mark a return for Tomy Drissi to the Team Sahlen camp, having driven with the team in 2005. Tomy shared his thoughts on the eve of this announcement - “I am very excited to be re-joining Team Sahlen. I remember our adventures together way back in 2005 with their Porsches. It’s my ideal of a perfect race team; a professional group with the right amount of family atmosphere thrown in to make it fun. The ROLEX 24 Hours at Daytona is one of the premier endurance events in the world, and to be able compete in this event within the Daytona Prototype class with a chance to win overall is a dream come true.”
Tomy Drissi’s resume includes a wide range of motorsports experiences. This has included Grand American ROLEX & Continental Tire Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup & Nationwide, SCCA World Challenge, Vintage Racing and American LeMans Series. During the 2011 & 2102 seasons, Tomy placed his focus in the American LeMans Series. This resulted in 3 victories (inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course & Mosport Park) as well as 7 podiums in 15 races. Tomy though is most commonly associated with the Trans Am Series, making a splash with 1999 Rookie of the Year honors then following that up a decade later with the 2009 Series Driver Championship.
Bruno Junqueira joins Team Sahlen off of a strong run in 2012 with a victory in the ALMS Prototype Challenge class at Mosport Park (with Tomy Drissi as his teammate). Bruno capped off his strong season with a 3rd place in the Prototype Challenge Driver Championship. Bruno though has not always been an endurance racer. In fact, for over a decade, Bruno was one of the leading Open Wheel Racers in America. Cutting his teeth in the open wheel ladder system, Bruno was the 1997 South America F3 Champion, then followed that up with the 2000 Formula 3000 Championship. This led Bruno to Indycar racing, where he amassed a record of 7 victories and 10 pole positions. Driving for such legendary teams as Chip Ganassi Racing and Newman Hass Racing, Bruno finished runner up three times in the series (2002, 2003, & 2004).
“I am excited to be joining Team Sahlen. This will be their 1st time in the Daytona Prototype class, and I hope to be able to make a contribution to their efforts to compete against the very best in Sports Car Racing as we take on this twice around the clock event. And racing alongside fellow open wheel veterans Simon Pagenaud and Dane Cameron will provide a very stable platform that we can work towards having both the #42 and #43 entries up front in the race. Also, I have raced with Tomy in the past and we always get along quite well. It should be fun times indeed.” – shared Bruno Junqueira
“We are looking forward to the addition of Tomy and Bruno to our already strong driver lineup. Tomy has proven to be very adaptable over his career in wide variety of machinery. Bruno has proven in the past to not only be fast, but very knowledgeable in how to manage a long endurance event, such as the ROLEX 24. The focus by the whole crew has been to make a real splash in our introduction to the Daytona Prototype Class. They have been working doubly hard to reach this point, and now having Tomy and Bruno as the final 2 additions to our 8 driver lineup will give more impetus to that vision quest.” – shared Jay Chapman, Team Manager
About Team Sahlen
The 1st Professional season for the team was in 1984. Since that time, the team has recorded 53 victories, 158 podiums, 40 Pole Positions and 41 fastest race laps. Dating back to 2001, Team Sahlen has a rich history in Grand American Competition, highlighted by championships in the Continental Sports Car Series. This includes ST class Championships in 2001 & 2002, and then GS titles in 2003 & 2004. Most recently in ROLEX series competition, Team Sahlen has captured the 2005 and 2011 Bob Akin Sportsman Awards in the GT class. During the 2011 and 2012 race seasons, Team Sahlen captured 1 victory, 5 podiums, 2 pole positions and 2 fastest race laps and well as the most entered team in the ROLEX series. Check out the latest Team Sahlen news at: www.TeamSahlen.com
GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series is supported by:
BMW Motorsports, Design Engineering Inc, Penske Shocks, CV Products, SimXperience, Alcon, EMCO Gears, Racing Print Media, Mothers Polish, TheRaceSite.com, Western New York Flash, Classic Motorsports Magazine, Grassroots Motorsports Magazine, BBS Wheels, MSI Racing Products, and Endurance Karting
