;)
Earlier this month, Cosmo and his Extreme Speed Motorsports teammates enjoyed a top-5 finish in the Grand Am Road Racing Series' Sahlen's Six Hours at the Glen. Teamed with Johannes van Overbeek and Mike Hedlund, Cosmo set the fastest race laps in the GT division while on the way to taking the No. 03 Tequila Patron Ferrari 458 GT to a 4th place finish.
This weekend, the two-car Extreme Speed Motorsports team will tackle historic Lime Rock Park. While technically challenging, the natural terrain course boasts some of the fastest speeds in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. Average qualifying and race speeds are well in excess of 100 mph. Though the track is only 1.53 miles in length, featuring only seven mostly right-hand corners, the big challenge facing ALMS drivers is traffic. With the ALMS mix of 30+ prototype and GT cars lapping in well under a minute, there's never a dull moment.
"I just love this place," said Cosmo. "It's super fast and it's crowded. With over 30 cars lapping the place, you cannot relax. You are always in traffic. And, given the ALMS four-class structure, you're dealing with slower cars in front of you and faster cars coming up on you…. and coming up on you fast."
"I'm anticipating a great result here," added Cosmo. "We had the opportunity to do some testing during the Le Mans break and the cars have been fantastic. Everyone on the crew has their game face on and we're ready to take these cars to the front and on the podium. To top it all off, we're home and we're here with friends and family. It's time!"
The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix is Saturday, July 7. The two-hour, 45-minute race is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET from the 1.5-mile, 10-turn Lime Rock Park circuit. ESPN2 airs the race the same day at 4 p.m. ET. Live coverage is available starting at 2:45 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. 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.