;)
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.