;)
At the most recent American Le Mans Winter Test Guy had a full week working with John Baker and the Alex Job Racing Team and then shifting gears (literally) jumping over to the Patron sponsored Ferrari with team mates, Scott Sharp, Johannes van Overbeek and Ed Brown.
"Spirits are really high over at ESM," noted Guy. "Though we've only had limited time with the new Ferrari 458, things look really promising for the 2011 season."
"At the time of the ALMS Winter Test we had only received one 458," added Guy. "Given we still had one of last year's 430s available to us, we made good use of our time getting Ed (Brown) and myself seat time. You can never have too much seat time at Sebring. So, while Scott and Johannes and the #01 crew shook down the new 458, we were hard at it working on the driver side and putting the crew through their paces. It was a good opportunity for us."
Guy and Ed did get a session each in the new 458.
"In a word, wow," said Cosmo. "The 458 is a very exciting car. While we have a tremendous amount of work to do leading up to the 12 Hours of Sebring, I don't recall ever driving a car that felt so race-ready right from the factory. We'll get the second car and get some testing in later in the month. It's really hard to curb your enthusiasm with such an exciting car."
Not only is the car exciting, the 2011 GT class will be a Championship for the ages. With marques like BMW, Corvette, Ford GT, Lamborghini, Jaguar, Porsche and Ferrari all lining up hungry for the gold, it's a given that GT will be where the action is. Look for Cosmo and crew to be right in the thick of it.
American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón will open 2011 at the 59th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. The race is set for 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 19 and will be shown live and in its entirety on ESPN3.com and americanlemans.com starting at 10 a.m. ET. ABC will provide coverage from 12:30 to 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 20.
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.