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