Guy Cosmo No. 02 Patrón Ferrari Can't Catch A Break At Long Beach

Not Exactly A Day At The Beach
Enjoying a great week and a well set-up car wasn't enough for Guy Cosmo and Ed Brown in the No. 02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patrón Ferrari 458GT to make a charge to the front for Saturday's Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach.

While Cosmo's teammate Ed Brown was turning in his fastest times of the week - nearly better than 3.5 seconds faster than his last visit to Long Beach - Cosmo could only watch as a slight error blossomed into a two lap deficit when the car wouldn't restart after minor contact with a tire barrier.

"I felt so bad for Ed," said Guy.  "He showed up so well prepared and excited for this race, and it showed as soon as he hit the track. He was immediately posting lap times over a second faster than his best laps from last year.  During the race he ran his fastest race-pace to-date with times 3.5 seconds faster than last year… until he made one little mistake lightly catching the tire barrier.  As luck would have it, the car wouldn't restart and he lost two laps trying to get the engine to fire." 

"It was really a shame," noted Guy, "because after I got in, the car was capable of running times equal to the pace of the leaders -  all the way to the checkered flag. We finished 9th, but I'm quite sure the No. 02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patrón Ferrari 458GT was a top five car."

"Though it wasn't the result we were looking for," added Guy, "we still had a positive run at Long Beach.  We made great strides sorting the set up of the car throughout practice, in our qualifying session, and then again for the race. To me, this is extremely important given how little track time we get, and after losing the first hour of our only 2-hours of practice."

"Race results aside, I still loved every minute of it," laughed Cosmo. "It's still Long Beach and I'm telling you, there's nothing like pushing this 458 Ferrari around the streets of Long Beach and attacking it as hard as you can as you run between the walls. And even though we may have had challenges on-track, the event was an amazing success.  The energy and excitement was through the roof and there were tons of supporters cheering us on wearing the ESM / Patron Tequila colors. Next year will bring a better result - count on it!"

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón will take its traditional break for those teams preparing to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and return for Round 3, the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park, on July 9. The race will be shown live and in its entirety on ESPN3.com in the United States and internationally on americanlemans.com starting at 1:05 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will provide television coverage from 1 to 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 10.

Guy Cosmo, 2005 American Le Mans Series Rookie of the Year competed last season in the No. 02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patron Ferrari. Cosmo is a race record-holder at Mid-Ohio (for fastest lap in the GTC series, which he set in 2009 in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup). Cosmo has 28 starts in the American Le Mans Series, finishing in the top-five 18 times and has been on the winner’s podium twice. In addition to being an accomplished driver, Cosmo is also a highly sought-after driving instructor. Find out more about Guy Cosmo at http://www.guycosmo.com and follow Guy through the racing weekend on Twitter @guycosmo.

Guy Cosmo Ready For The Streets of Long Beach

Guy Cosmo couldn't be more ready for round two of the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrόn, the Tequila Patrόn American Le Mans Series at Long Beach, April 16.  Long Beach is the first of two street courses on the 2011 ALMS calendar and it is the shortest race of the season, just two hours in duration.

In 2010, driving the No. 02 Patron Extreme Speed Motorsports GT2 Ferrari F430, the 2005 ALMS Rookie of the Year Guy Cosmo and co-driver Ed Brown rounded out their weekend with a solid qualifying run and followed team owner Scott Sharp in the No. 01 Ferrari home for 7th and 8th position in the crowded and highly competitive GT2 division.

"I think the  No. 02 Patron Extreme Speed Motorsports GT2 Ferrari F458 will be very strong at Long Beach." said Cosmo. "The guys at the shop have been working hard on improvements to the 458's. I've been working hard on my preparation for the run up to the race, and so has my co-driver Ed Brown.  Last year I set the quickest race lap of all the Ferrari's entered.  This year Ed and I will be pushing hard gunning for a podium finish."

"Long Beach is one of my favorite stops on the calendar," Cosmo added. "Street circuit racing is a challenge like no other, given the changing track surface & the confines of the unforgiving walls that line the track. The challenge of pushing your car as hard as you can with no room for error - man it gets me 'all jacked up!"

And for Guy, it's not just the racing. The Long Beach event is a favorite of both fans and drivers alike.

"The Long Beach Grand Prix is amazing," noted Guy.  "There's so much energy and excitement, and so many things to see & do. It's a great part of the country and you can't beat the fans.  I'm excited to get out there."

The Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach race takes the green flag on Saturday at 4:30 pm PDT and will be telecast in its entirety on ESPN3.com starting at 7:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. local time. ESPN2 will provide television coverage from 5 to 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 17. International coverage: Fox Sports Middle East (Live on Saturday, April 16); Fox Latin American Networks (Live on Saturday, April 16); MotorsTV (Tape Delayed date/time TBD).

Guy Cosmo, 2005 American Le Mans Series Rookie of the Year competed last season in the No. 02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patron Ferrari. Cosmo is a race record-holder at Mid-Ohio (for fastest lap in the GTC series, which he set in 2009 in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup). Cosmo has 28 starts in the American Le Mans Series, finishing in the top-five 18 times and has been on the winner’s podium twice. In addition to being an accomplished driver, Cosmo is also a highly sought-after driving instructor. Find out more about Guy Cosmo at http://www.guycosmo.com and follow Guy through the racing weekend on Twitter @guycosmo.