Name: Thomas Asseo
DOB: 06/23/83
Height: 5”10
Weight: 168lbs
Resides: Los Angeles
Born: France
Other Interests: Snowboarding, art, Guitar, travel
08 Season:  Pacific F2000 Championship, SCCA Formula RussellI also plan to drive in the SCCA Formula Russell Series.  Thereafter, my goal is very quickly climb the ladder of open wheel racing to the highest level of motorsports.

Background:

For a large part of my life I have been involved in competitive racing.  When I was 15 years old visiting my family in France, my step father put me in a kart for the first time and taught me to drive.  That same summer, he entered me in a "driver-search" competition help by Honda France for which the first place prize was a season of Karting at regional level with the possibility to move up there after.  Though I was one of the least experienced divers in the competition, I was runner-up in this competition, and though only the 1st place driver was awarded this scholarship, I was approached by a race team who offered me a seat in the same championship.  I was not able to compete in this series as it meant that I would have had to leave the United States and move back to France, which my parents were not prepared for.  I was away from competitive Karting for next few years, but I was able to race motocross for two years during high school.  After I graduated from high school, I enrolled in collegue as a business major.  Around this time, my family's finacial situation changed, and I was forced to support myself, which took me away from racing for the next few years.   During this time I gathered alot of business experience, and I feel as though I have done well in the 'real world', but in my heart i felt there was always a gap, like a lack of real destiny and purpose that I feel so strongly in Racing.
 
Recent Acomplishments:

About a year and a half ago, I decided to pursue my racing career.  I started karting again with absolute determination to make up for any loss of experience in a very short amount of time.  I won my first karting race in the summer of 2006 at the Jim Hall Racing summer sprint series.  I finished a very close second winning several races once again against more experienced racers.  This year, I have moved up to the faster Tag Class, where I have won the series (7 wins) and 3-days of testing in the new 300hp Formula FJR-50 at Russell Racing.  

In 2007 I have also completed the Jim Russell racing school 3-day open wheel program, in which I matched the fastest every recorded student lap time.  Later on , I also tested for PR1 Motorsports in a formula F2000 race car. The  PR1 Motorsports team won the 2007 Pacific  F2000 championship (with the 1st and 2nd place driver), and has won races  in the Champ Car Atlantic series.  Although it was my first time ever in this car and my first time on that track, my adjusted lap times were 0.2s off of the fastest lap set by Patrick Barrett (F2000 series champion).  As a result of this performance, PR1 Motorsports has offered me the opportunity to drive on their team.  The team owner, Bobbly Oergel, gave me very positive feedback, stating he believes I will be a front runner in the F2000 series. He also said that with as  little seat time that I have had, he hasn't seen such raw talent in a very long time. 

Other Strengths:

For me, this is a great indication that my talent and determination is making up for lost time.  I also feel that my time away form the racing world, and in the business world gives me  maturity and advantages in other important aspects.  The work I have done has given me an invaluble and clear understanding of business marketing, and what sponsorship means for a company.  I feel that I can represent my sponsors in the best possible way as I did with the companies I have worked for by putting forth a positive image, strong work ethic, talent, dedication and heart for the company I am representing.  My goal, aside from winning races and championships, is to do my part to maintain the image my sponsors are working to establish, and do anything in my power to give maximum exposure to my sponsors.  I believe my ability to view this relationship from my sponsors stand point sets me apart from my peers who may lack the business experience I have gathered.  I think that this is of the upmost importance as I plan to nurture and maintain my relationships will all my sponsors not just for one season, but for years to come.

Marketing:

Using my technical knowledge and contacts, I plan to build a website which will be far superior to most driver blogs currently found.  I would like to build a professional, attractive, interactive website which will give my sponsors more than the usual logo and paragraph under an isolated link.  I plan to allocate time and resources for organic search engine placement, and pay per click sporsored link campains.  I also plan to dedicate as much time as possible to generate Media exposure for myself, my sponsors, and my team.  Further more, I am offering all sponsors photo ops with the race cars, VIP hospitality at race events, and even in car hot laps.