Guy Cosmo Teams Up With Scott Sharp For A Little Motor City Mayhem

Patron Ferrari / Grand Am Rolex Series at The Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle

In a rare yet highly anticipated appearance, Patron Ferrari drivers Guy Cosmo and Scott Sharp will share the wheel of the Extreme Speed Motorsports Patron Ferrari when the Grand Am Rolex Series makes its debut appearance at the return of the Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle, June 1-3.

The Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle has a rich history throughout the years. Beginning in 1982 and featuring Formula 1 open wheel cars racing on the downtown streets, the Motor City enjoyed a seven-year run of world class racing. Most notably were the three back-to-back Detroit wins captured by F1 legend Ayrton Senna.

"Having raced  in North America as long as I have," noted Cosmo, "I've driven nearly every track in the country.  It's rare that I get the opportunity to learn a new race track, so I'm definitely excited about tackling the Belle Isle course. Track time is going to be extremely limited, so it'll be all business right  from the get-go."
 
"This will be the first time that Scott [Sharp] and I will team up together in a sprint race," said Cosmo, grinning.… "we're gonna have a blast together. Scott has three wins here. I'm sure he'll have some secrets to share with me."

This will be ESM's third appearance in Grand Am. Earlier this year the team announced it would participate with a limited schedule. So far the team ran the Rolex 24 at Daytona and more recently at Homestead-Miami.

"Our ESM/Patrón Ferrari was very strong at Homestead," added Guy. "We led nearly all the sessions over the weekend.  We fully expect to set the pace in Detroit and go home with ESM and Patrón's first win as a team, and first win in Grand-Am competition.  We're not showing up for any other reason. This is going to be a fun weekend."

In 1989 the Detroit Grand Prix began making its mark with 13 consecutive years of CART races. While 1989 - 1991 were run on the city streets, the event moved to Belle Isle racing on the island course from 1992 to 2001.

After a a six-year hiatus, the Grand Prix was resurrected via the efforts of Roger Penske. The city and Belle Isle played host to the American Le Mans Series and Indy Car in 2007 and 2008. Since the Grand Prix returned to Belle Isle in 2007, event organizers have made over $6 million in lasting improvements to Belle Isle.

In 2012 the Detroit Grand Prix is back. The Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix returns to the Motor City on June 1-3, 2012. The event will feature the cars of the IZOD IndyCar Series, the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, the Firestone Indy Lights Series and the Pirelli World Challenge Championship Series. The weekend collectively is referred to as the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.

The Grand Am Rolex cars will be on track starting Friday June 1 with the green flag flying at 5:05pm for Saturday's  Chevrolet GRAND-AM 200 at Belle Isle presented by the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers (GRAND-AM Rolex Series) with live national television coverage: on SPEED (Time – 5:00 p.m. ET)

Guy Cosmo, 2005 American Le Mans Series Rookie of the Year competed last season in the No. 02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patrón 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.

Dream Come True: Cosmo Drives A Ferrari Formula 1

I'm sure many of you have heard the news by now, - as I've slammed all forms of social media with info, images and video - my life-long dream of driving a Formula 1 car has come true!

But not just any Formula One... a FERRARI Formula 1! (A 2003 Rubens Barichello Ferrari F1, to be exact!)

My dear friend Bud Moeller gave me this incredible opportunity, a gesture so generous I could never repay him. I have dreamed my entire life of advancing my career to the point where I would one day drive and race in Formula 1, as does nearly any person who's ever been exposed to the sport in any way, shape or form.

After driving for more than 24 years since starting in go-karts, my professional racing career, and the path at which it's taken to bring me to professional sports car racing, it's fairly safe to say all opportunities to make it to Formula 1 have passed and probably wont ever surface in the future.

I'm sure if you're reading this you already know, Formula 1 is the absolute pinnacle of motorsport as known to man. To participate in F1 is to be among the elite, and a privilege offered only to those who have found that unique path, supported by unfathomable amounts of financial support, and found themselves in the exact right place at exactly the right time, demonstrating incredible skill doing everything right to finally get themselves there - oh, and it all had to be done by the time they were 18 years old.

Well, that's not my story. I wasn't that guy. I didn't make it to F1. But I did finally get to drive one!!!!

Click to read more ...

Cosmo Rips The Race Day Pace At Laguna Seca Mazda Raceway

Guy Cosmo started 8th in the #02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patron Ferrari 458GT and ran as high as 4th during Saturday's American Le Mans Monterey Presented by Patron at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca near Salinas, Calfiornia. Battling a world-class field of GT entries and marques, most would come away citing survival as a moral victory.

Cosmo and his teammate, Ed Brown, were right in the mix following Friday’s afternoon qualifying. After a tight session featuring several see-saw battles, the top eight GT-class qualifiers were separated by less than seven-hundredths of a second. Cosmo qualified 8th with a best lap time of 1:22.942 (97.138 mph). The ESM sister car, #01 Ferrari driven by Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek qualified 6th.

"Qualifying was really intense," observed Cosmo. "The #02 Ferrari felt good and the team was reporting good times to me on the radio. But before you could pat yourself on the back, someone else would bump you down by a heartbeat. It was crazy."

The tight qualifying would continue to play out on race day. With a surprise start from the pole, the Aston Martin ran undisturbed out front while just a few car lengths back, the Corvettes, BMWs, Ferraris and Porches ran door-to-door and bumper-to-bumper.

"I got a pretty good start when you consider 8th puts you right in the middle of things," said Cosmo. "But this became a six hour sprint. The early going was literally an epic battle for every position. There was no one out there willing to settle back and wait for a late race strategy. Right from the flag, it was on."

Pushing the Ferrari and charging his way up to 4th place during the six-hour endurance event, Cosmo set the quickest lap of the race. Circulating the 2.238-mile, 11-turn track in 1:23.658, Cosmo was the quickest until being nicked by Olly Gavin in closing hour of the race.

"In retrospect, Laguna Seca was a tough day for us," admitted an exhausted Cosmo. "Our #02 ESM Racing Patron Ferrari was one of the fastest GT cars on track all day. I had fastest race lap until Oliver Gavin pipped me by 300ths of a second towards the end of the race. Unfortunately, I never got back in the car to take another run at him.  Congratulations to him, Tommy Milner and Corvette Racing on their 2nd win in a row. We'll go after them at Lime Rock."

Earlier in the week, Guy and teammate Johannes van Overbeek took a two-wheeled tour of Laguna Seca Mazda Raceway's famed corkscrew on bicycles.

"Yeah, I did it," laughed the American Le Mans Series 2005 Rookie of the Year.  "I climbed Mount Corkscrew on my bike. I made my way up the long, steep incline from Laguna Seca's left-handed turn 5, through the tricky left hander of turn 6, and all the way up the even-more steep incline into the mouth to the famed Corkscrew turn. I didn't have 500+ Prancing Horses behind me this time, nor the symphonic sound of the 8 fire-breathing Italian cylinders producing those prancing horses. I didn't even have all four wheels underneath me…"

You can read more about this and other personal adventures on Guy's personal blog at http://www.guycosmo.com/blog

Next up for Guy, the Extreme Speed Motorsports team and the ALMS is the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park, July 6-7.

Guy Cosmo, 2005 American Le Mans Series Rookie of the Year drives the No. 02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patrón 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 38 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. You can find out more about Guy Cosmo at http://www.guycosmo.com or follow Guy through the racing weekend on Twitter @guycosmo and on Facebook.

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is the world`s leading sports car championship and is recognized as the Global Leader in Green Racing. In the tradition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, multiple classes of cars - purpose-built prototypes and production-based Grand Touring automobiles - race on the track at the same time to create compelling race action and constant passing. All cars in the Series compete using one of five approved alternative fuels or energy sources: clean sulfur-free diesel, cellulosic E85 or E10, Isobutanol and electric hybrid technologies. The Series has more automobile marques involved than any other major race series in the world as manufacturers develop relevant technologies on track that transfer directly to the customer showroom. The ALMS competes at North America`s premier road racing tracks and selected temporary street circuits in major urban markets.

Guy Cosmo Primed For A GT Win At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

As the series competitors head west for American Le Mans Series Monterey presented by Patron, Guy Cosmo renews his commitment to push the #02 Extreme Speed Motorsport Patron Ferrari 458GT to the front of the field. The Series will take the green flag 1:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, May 12,  on the 2.238-mile Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit.

After a disappointing finish on the tight city streets of Long Beach, Cosmo looks forward to the challenge of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. A track noted for challenging high speed turns, elevation changes and spectacular vistas. It's a track well suited to Cosmo's talents.

"Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is one of my favorite tracks on the ALMS circuit," Guy said.  "I've got a lot of fond memories from this place, however I'm still waiting for that elusive first win at Laguna. This track is smooth, it's fast, it's challenging, and it's got the famous Corkscrew turn."

The first two finishes this season, Sebring and Long Beach, have not painted a true picture of the #02 car's true performance. On track incidents have over shadowed the team's strength and the car's powerful on-track performance.

"Our Tequila Patrón Ferrari 458's are strong right now," added Cosmo.  "Extreme Speed Motorsports has worked very hard, pulling all the resources together to get this program to a winning state. The ALMS GT class is quite possibly the most competitive class of GT racing, or any racing for that matter, in the world."

The only thing that remains the same is change:

"There have been a number of performance adjustments handed out by IMSA since the Long Beach Grand Prix," noted Cosmo. "Some of these  favor a few other cars, but we will definitely be in the mix.  And with a six-hour format, anything can happen regardless of outright speed.  We'll see who's really strong or not by qualifying and then battle it out for the long haul.  It's on."

"Regardless… this is a great place to be," added Cosmo, fresh off an 80 mile bicycle ride with teammate, Johannes van Overbeek. "Monterey, California is one of the most enchanting places in the world. You won't find this combination of race track and countryside anywhere else.  I'm looking forward to this weekend."

The American Le Mans Monterey presented by Patrón will air the race on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 13. Live coverage is available starting at 4:15 p.m. ET on ESPN3.

Guy Cosmo, 2005 American Le Mans Series Rookie of the Year drives the No. 02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patrón 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 38 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. Follow Guy through the racing weekend on Twitter @guycosmo and on Facebook.

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is the world`s leading sports car championship and is recognized as the Global Leader in Green Racing. In the tradition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, multiple classes of cars - purpose-built prototypes and production-based Grand Touring automobiles - race on the track at the same time to create compelling race action and constant passing. All cars in the Series compete using one of five approved alternative fuels or energy sources: clean sulfur-free diesel, cellulosic E85 or E10, Isobutanol and electric hybrid technologies. The Series has more automobile marques involved than any other major race series in the world as manufacturers develop relevant technologies on track that transfer directly to the customer showroom. The ALMS competes at North America`s premier road racing tracks and selected temporary street circuits in major urban markets.