Tristan Nunez has won three of the first four races of the 2012 IMSA Prototypes Lites season, and plans to keep on winning at the series’ next two races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend.
“I feel very confident and relaxed heading into the race event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca since I got my very first win in formula cars here with Skip Barber,” said Nunez in a press release. “That same season, I went on to win three more races in the Skip Barber Series. This is a great road course and I really enjoy getting to drive the challenging circuit.”
“Much like the last event at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, this track doesn’t have very much grip. I adjusted a lot better than I expected to the track conditions in Utah, so I am feeling really confident about this event.”
The young man’s confidence is backed up by results. After winning three pole positions and three races while setting three speed records, Nunez has only failed to win when his car failed to finish: he was comfortably in the lead in the first race at Miller when his engine exploded. Undaunted, he came back to win the second race.
He kept the trend going at Laguna Seca; he qualified on the pole 0.93 seconds faster than his nearest competitor.
16-year-old Nunez won his first two races as a full-time Lites driver at his home track of Sebring in March, then showed he could do it on a new track when he won again at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. Still, the youngest Lites winner in history is glad to be returning to familiar territory.
“I always enjoy returning to a track that I am familiar with and this place is particularly special to me with my first win coming here in Skip Barber. I look forward to getting in the car and making improvements throughout the practice sessions so we can have a strong machine on race day.”
