Inaugural Motorsports on Main event, Greenville, SC

Yesterday I attended the inaugural Motorsports on Main event in Greenville, SC, hosted by Michelin Tires. This event served as the official kick-off for the Petit Le Mans... hopefully for years to come. Of course I was there on behalf of Extreme Speed Motorsports, and we had both Patron Ferrari F430 GT race cars on display!

There were a host of teams, cars, vendors & fun things on display, along with a bunch of ALMS drivers!

Here's just a few pics from the event.  Also, check out all of yesterday's photos in the  gallery!  All pics were taken from my iPhone 4! (love that thing!)

Motorsports on Main Photo Gallery

Lime Rock Park with BGB

The team having dinner

I'm telling you... there aren't too many race teams out there that are as much fun to race with as the group at BGB Motorsports. It's always such a great time, it's crazy. What a great weekend - although pretty abbreviated, given the short 2-day schedule with Grand-Am. We did well. I was P2 in practice and the 911 was feeling GREAT. The Caymans were doing MUCH better as well, and we also welcomed the addition of a new team driver and good friend of mine, Jean-Francois Dumoulin, from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, in the 38 car.

My teammate Stu definitely made some good strides to improve, which was great to see. However, he got a little roughed up at the start of the race and wound up getting shuffled to the back of the pack, which was disappointing because he was driving so well in practice and qualifying. At least he's on his way to legitimate improvements and he'll be mixing it up with the best in no time! I got in the car about 17 minutes into the race, as a yellow came out and we wanted to capitalize on pit strategy. From there, I just busted my butt and BGB did a great job with our strategy to get me up to 6th place. But man, was it hard fought! There were some SERIOUSLY heavy battles we had on track, mixing it up with groups of cars for 10-20 laps at a time. That was one of the toughest races I've had in a while, as the class is SO competitive and has nearly 40 cars in our class!

All in all, we finished 6th - and coming from dead last, that's a great result in my opinion! Now we're on to Watkins Glen this week, and I can't wait for race time once again.

Laguna wrap up

Ok - so it's been a few weeks now since Laguna, but I figured I'd whip up a few thoughts & comments from race day.  What can I say, but challenging?

We had a pretty solid run going.  We were fast.  We (and I) made a few mistakes.  We had some bad luck.  But we were there, and everyone knew it.

Highlight for me?  Running away from the class-leading Risi Ferrari of Jami Melo/Gianmarria Bruni after a pit stop, trying to stay on the lead lap - and doing it successfully, while setting fastest race lap (at that time) in GT.

Other highlights?  My teammate Ed Brown turning his fastest laps of the weekend during his 2-hour stint in the middle of the race.  He really got into a good rhythm, and despite having a little spin, really drove well.

The result?  Shorn drive pins on the right-rear wheel hub, resulting in the wheel loosening up on me and ultimately falling off, grounding me on track - just one corner away from pit entrance.  IMSA crew loaded the car and I on a flat-bed and pulled us into the garage area for repairs, and the ESM crew did an amazing job getting the car repaired and back out in just 30 minutes or so... however, that put us about 40-something laps down, and we finished 2nd to last...

Strong points for the team?  Johannes qualified outside-pole and he and Scott in the 01 car finished 5th - the first top five finish for the team in only it's 3rd race.  We are making GREAT progress as an organization and the cars are getting VERY fast - which makes them EXTREMELY enjoyable to drive! (it's always more fun when you're at the front of the time sheets!).

So, on to our long break.  No Le Mans for me this year, again (I've never been there), but hopefully I'll find an opportunity to drive there next year.  In the mean time, we're going to do some testing and really work on getting Ed up to speed a bit more - and hit it HARD when we show up for race #4 at Miller Motorsports Park in July.

I can't wait!  Thanks for keeping tabs on me!

Guy

Laguna, Day 2 Report

Another good day at the track.  Although... isn't any day at the track a good day?  Maybe I'm biased... but this is good stuff!  Here's the quick and dirty on today, abbreviated-style (because I need to get to bed!)

Practice 1: We tried a few things with the car that just didn't work out too well performance-wise, and were relatively slow compared to yesterday.  Left it alone given time restraints and let Ed burn laps for the remainder of the session.

Practice 2: We un-did those things and went fast again!  Again, we left it alone and let Ed get in to continue getting up to speed.  (While all this is happening, Scott, Johannes and the 01 crew are hard at it working on solely making the car faster, and doing tons of set up changes.  We tend to keep things real simple with our 02 car so the car is consistent & predictable for Ed each time he gets in it)

Qualifying: The 01 car RIPS IT and Johannes puts it outside pole! KILLER effort by him and the 01 crew.  Me?  I RIP IT and it's only good for seventh...

I WAS PIIISSSSSSSED!!!!  That's only because I absolutely LOVE qualifying and ALWAYS think I can put a car on pole - given everything around me is in agreement!  The 02 car was REALLY darn good, but ultimately I guess just not as good as the others!  The 01 crew did make a few changes just before qualifying that obviously made the car REALLY good, so of course we're working on implementing those changes to our car for tomorrow.

I don't feel too bad, however, because the top eight positions are covered by a mere 0.7 seconds... that's TIGHT!!!  We're in good shape for the race, that I'm sure of... but most importantly about today was that Extreme Speed grabbed their first FRONT-ROW qualification, so we're all stoked about that.

TOMORROW, however, is a whole new day, and a long one at that.  6 hours of fun, here we come!

I'm ready to do battle... ;)

Guy

Laguna, Day 1 Report

Great day today!  To start, I had an interview with SPEED TV's Jamie Howe on my involvement with ESM & Patron.  Then I shook down John Baker's 2010 GT3-Cup Porsche for him today as he couldn't make the practice sessions.  It was fun rejoining everyone from Orbit Racing and getting back into the #47.  You know, John & I won the race here at Laguna last year in the #47 car, in the GT Challenge class.  It was a nice little flashback - and I certainly hope to repeat again this year with a victory in the GT class!

Later this afternoon it was unofficial ALMS practice.  HOLY CR@P is that #02 ESM Ferrari AWESOME around Laguna Seca!  Especially after getting out of that Porsche (lower performance category car), our Ferrari was on RAILS!  SO nice to drive, so well behaved, so well balanced - just pure sweetness!!  I love this car!  And, it was pretty fast too!  I had to bed in a new set of brakes initially, so I wasn't able to get ripping until about 5 laps into the session after pulling in to the pits to let the brakes cool off.  Then, I let it loose!  On my 2nd flying lap, I set quickest time.  Of course there was more left, so on my 3rd, I was going for a bit more, until I made a little whoopsy-doo and grabbed some curb on the entry to turn 6, and I was basically around before I even got to the apex.  Hey, these things happen...!  I buried it in the gravel, but Mazda Raceway's safety team had me out in no time - and the ESM crew also got the car cleaned up in to time as well, and we were back on track.

Obviously the car was good so we opted to get Ed in right away and let him start getting acclimated to the car and track, and work on getting up to speed.  He did a good job and definitely improved as the session went along, and he feels real comfortable - which is the most important part.  He'll certainly make some gains tomorrow as well - and we're looking forward to it!

Ultimately the time I set on that 2nd lap held well enough for 4th position at the end of the 1.5 hour session, so that wasn't too shabby - for just getting started!  Things are looking good at the moment!

But, it's sleepy time for me.  Morning practice at 9:50am PT, then another 1hr practice just before qualifying, which is around 3pm PT.  For live timing & scoring online, go here: http://scoring.americanlemans.com/scoring.php

More news tomorrow!

Guy

Loving Laguna

Man I love this place. There isn't much in the world quite like the feeling you get when you first enter Laguna Seca Raceway. It's just breath-taking. Beautiful views from the mountains of sweeping corners, the bridges crossing over the track, and the sand & trees surrounding the track... It looks like the track was just carved out of the earth in some sections. Every time I enter this place it reminds me of the late Bridgehampton Raceway on Long Island, NY - the GREATEST, fastest, scariest, most dangerous track ever - my most FAVORITE track, ever...! The landscaping here just reminds me of it.

Today I shook down my former teammates car in the Patrón GT3 sessions, John Baker's #47 GT3-Cup Porsche, and ALMS evening/night practice begins later this afternoon, where we'll hit track in our Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari F430 GT's.

I. Can't. Wait!

Here's a few pics from today thus far:

Captains Log: 5/9/2010

Beleive it or not, the motorhome is in one piece. 1300 miles later and FORTY degrees colder, I've safely arrived in Watkins Glen... One of my favorite places. Love this little town, right on Seneca Lake. Beautiful. Oh, the track isn't so bad either... ;)

It was SO WINDY the whole drive up and that little motorhome was like a SAIL in the wind! It's amazing I didn't hip-check 30 cars off the highway as I was blown into the lanes next to me... But my superior swerving skills prevailed somehow... They don't call me 'Swervin' Irvin' for nothing... :)

Oh yeah, there was also some Gray little Porsche that tail gated me the ENTIRE drive up... I could shake that guy no matter how much I swerved!!

Now for a nice dinner with teammate Stu (Tetreault) & team manager John (Tecce), then some rest & up early to hit "The Glen", courtesy of Chin Motorsports!

Stay tuned, and Happy Mothers day, moms!!

Cosmo Motorsports Camp, Part 1

Today I'm embarking on a little adventure - The Cosmo Motorsports Camp! A mid-season training program for my BGB Motorsports teammate Stewart Tetreault. Our mission: tracktime at some key tracks in the Northeast, and faster laptimes for Stu! We'll be runnng a BGB built & prepped SCCA T2 spec Porsche 911.

Today's mission: ROAD TRIP!!! Since I created the idea of the program & put the whole deal together, I'm the lucky guy that gets to drive the whole rig from BGB's shop in Daytona, FL, to Watkins Glen, NY!! FUN!!!

Stay tuned to the Cosmo Blog for daily updates on what is going to be a VERY fun & productive trip - and wish me luck getting up there!!

Here's a few pictures to start the adventure.

My Return to the Long Beach Grand Prix

Man, what an amazing event!  I've raced just once before at Long Beach - 2001 in the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship.  That was my very first Atlantic race, and what a race it was.  I was blown away by the sheer magnitude of the event back then - the fans, the energy, the course - it was magical for a young driver like me.  NINE years later, I'm back and I'm driving a Ferrari.  Not a bad return to the beach!

We really didn't have much track time while we were there, but boy did we stay busy during the two days.  My teammate Ed Brown had never been there before, so my top priority was to quickly make sure the car was drivable and relatively competative, and then get Ed the majority of the seat time to learn the course and get up to speed.  He did a great job!

After the sessions it was all about data analysis, video analysis, track & car reports, debriefs with the engineers and coming up with our plans of attack.  Add a few appearances for the 400+ friends and guests of Patron Tequila, some autograph sessions and some interviews - we were some busy boys!

I got to qualify the car, which was a blast... There's nothing I like better than qualifying, when the car is low on fuel, trimmed out with the setup, sticker tires and you go and just RIP off the absolute fastest time you can post.  LOVE IT!!!  And although we had gone considerable quicker than we did in practice, it was only good enough for 8th and 9th place for Scott (Sharp) and I.  However, 4th place through 8th place were separated by less than ONE TENTH of a second, so we were still in great shape.

The race: just awesome.  What a great time.  Ed did a great job to start the race and ran really well in traffic - but given the nature of the course and how traffic spreads out and people get jammed up behind each other, the leaders begin to lap traffic very quickly and we ultimately wound up a lap down to the positions in front of us.  We had a great pit stop though, and I was off!  That stint was probably one of the most enjoyable stints I've had behind the wheel - just pushing the car hard lap after lap, chucking it through the corners as fast as possible but still trying to leave enough room on the table to ensure you won't stuff it into the walls on exit - and turning our fastest laps of the weekend while at it.  Actually, I had turned the fastest race lap of all the Ferrari's - including Risi's Ferrari (who've been at this a lot longer than we have!).

We finished 8th, a lap down but right behind our teammates Scott and Johannes in 7th on track, and escaped without a scratch on the cars... VERY important for us right now...!  8th is still decent points for the championship, and I'm very optimistic about our progress and the rest of the season.

To say I had a good time would be an understatement.  That may only have been round two of the championship, but this is all looking really good.  The Sebring 12 Hour and the Long Beach Grand Prix as the first two of the season?  You can't beat it.

I am one happy 'Guy', and I am READY for the rest of this season.  I'm not sure if our competition is expecting too much from us right now... and I like it like that... but they are in for a surprise... ;)

Barber with BGB Motorsports / Continental Tire Challenge

This past weekend I raced with BGB Motorsports at the BEAUTIFUL Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, for Grand-Am's Continental Tire Challenge.  It was a really fun weekend - as is any race weekend with the BGB crew.  They have got to be one of the most fun and family-like teams I've ever driven for, and they really make the race weekends purely fun and relaxing - even when I stress myself out about the competition!

My regular teammate Stu Tetreault was unable to make it to this race, so my long time friend and BGB team manager, John Tecce, was going to share the wheel with me.  Long-story-short, we knew John would drive very little during the race so I could get in and charge towards the front, so we didn't give him any time in the car during practice outside of one 20-minute run!  We did that so we could continue developing the setup on our old tried-and-true 911 Porsche, as it's now VERY hard to be competitive with the higher-horsepower Mustangs, Camaros and BMW M3's with our lower-horsepower 3.6l engine.

Although we did initially struggle with setup a bit throughout testing, our last practice session showed signs of brilliance and a definite improvement in performance when looking at our session split times (even though we didn't log a full 'fast lap').  Then the focus was on letting Tecce qualify the car, which he did well - especially for not having any time in the car during practice!

An even longer-story-short, we battled our way from basically dead-last (due to a stop-and-go penalty we received early in the race) to finish 11th.  For the last 30 minutes I was clearly the fastest car on track and made a HUGE charge through the ENTIRE ST classs (30-something cars) before I made it to the first GS car in our class - and THEN started slicing through to make my way up to 11th.  We had an INSANE amount of time under full course cautions - something like 80 minutes of it, so it really hindered my ability to race further up the charts.  But all in all I was pleased, when you look at the fact that during the race I had to have passed at least 80-90 cars! (61 cars total between the two classes - and TWICE I had to pass the ENTIRE ST class, and pass 20 GS cars to finish 11th - many of which I passed twice because of our pit rotation, and having to pass many of them again in the last 30 minutes...!!!)

Either way - Fun.  The team did great, my teammate/team manager John did great, and once again our little Porsche prevailed as a car that is ALWAYS in the hunt for the long run.

Our next race together is now less than two weeks away, as we race at VIR April 24th!  Click here for event details if you're interested in attending, or for information on live timing & scoring as well as the SPEED TV broadcast information!

http://www.grand-am.com/schedule/event.cfm?series=k&eid=1504

Here's a link to some great photos from the event as well:
http://bgb-motorsports.smugmug.com/Other/2010/2010-Barber-Motorsports-Park/11728136_saT8o#831011264_W7n5L