Tristan Nunez, new LM PC revelation dreams of the 24 hours of Le Mans.
At only 17 years old, Tristan Nunez earned his first victory in LM PC class at the end of August. The Floridian is continuing an already successful career, especially underlined by a title in Skip Barber Summers Series in 2011 and a consecration in IMSA Lites last year. An early record who called another, Tristan becoming in April the youngest driver to win a race in the GX category in Grand-Am. After having discover the Endurance, he now dreams of the 24 hours of Le Mans.
Tristan, you are a young driver so what is your goal now ? Are you thinking about single seater or do you see your future in sportscar racing ?
“My number one goal is to make it to Le Mans, and in time hopefully win the prestigious race, following in the footsteps of my mentor Derek Bell. I dream of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is my number one goal right now and I feel like I’m very close to reaching it.”
Why did you choose the LM PC class and what do you think about the ORECA-FLM 09 car ?
“I was awarded some funding after winning the Prototype lites Championship powered by Mazda and the LM PC class has extreme competition!
“I absolutely love the car! It is a very comfortable car to drive, at first it was hard to get my head wrapped around how much grip the car is capable of putting out but once you learn how much brake power you can get out of the car, learning how to use the power to your advantage it’s an awesome car to drive.”
How did you experience your first LM PC win at Baltimore ?
“Baltimore was a very tricky race. There is no run off and no room for error what so ever. strategy was key during the race. Fuel consumption, driver change, keeping the car out of harms way, and of corse flawless pitstops : the Performance Tech crew did a perfect job their part and my co driver Charlie Sheers did a perfect job of bringing the car to me without a scratch. First of many wins to come!”
What is your next target ?
“I would have said get my first win in the American Le Mans Series but that happened in Baltimore. so just pushing for some more wins before the season is over!”
How your team is working and how much did you learn during this season ?
“We are a fairly new team and don’t have the huge budget that allot of the PC teams have but we do what we can with what we have and just stay positive 24/7 and that seems to be working in our favor. Working as a team is what I have learned most being with the Performance Tech team this season.”