Excited to hit the wide open circuit at Virginia International Raceway with his Extreme Speed Motorsports Patrón Ferrari 458 GT, Guy Cosmo had this to say going into the American Le Mans Series present by Tequila Patrón, Cosmo had this to say about the track.
"VIR is a true road racers dream and one of the absolute best circuits to drive, ever," said Cosmo. "It's a very unique blend providing a driver everything he could ask for. The track has a great flow and a variety of challenges. You see some very technical slow and medium speed sections, two very long straights, killer braking and passing zones, and a few death-defying high speed sections that will have you holding your breath on every approach… and that will make you cry for your mamma if you get them wrong."
Cosmo didn't get it wrong.
In a text book demonstration featuring classic Cosmo style, Guy drove the No. 2 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patrón Ferrari 458 Italia from dead last to third in less than 35 minutes. Not long after that, he was sitting in second on the back bumper of the ESM sister car and race leader, Johannes van Overbeek.
"I was really confident going into the race," said Guy. "I was starting dead-last due to replacing all four tires as a result of a little mis-hap Ed had in qualifying. I knew we had four hours of racing to make our way to the front, and I certainly had the car to do it with. At the start of the race there was a massive pile-up in turn one. By the time I arrived, I spotted a small opening and zipped right through without skipping a beat. When I hit the entry of turn two, I was in the top seven and closing on the rest of the GT field."
"The car was very fast, very well balanced and just a dream to drive," noted Cosmo. I'm telling you, our Patrón Ferrari was hooked up! By time we were 35 minutes into the race I was 3rd in class and closing. On the way I set the fastest GT lap of the race and was making quick work of our GT competitors on my way up to 2nd. I then began closing on the ESM sister car and class leader, Johannes van Overbeek."
Implementing a pit stop strategy that would have Guy drive the first and third stints of the four hour race, Guy pitted and turned the car over to co-driver, Ed Brown.
"After catching up to Johannes, I handed the car off to Ed," Guy recalled. "Ed was very quick as well and the car was great. About half way through his stint the car suffered an alternator failure relegating Ed to the garage for repairs. The ESM crew made quick work of the situation but a few additional and unforeseen problems meant we were in the garage for nearly an hour. Our hopes for a decent finish were over."
Once back on track Ed resumed the driving duties to the finish logging his laps. Brown kept it clean and brought the No. 02 Ferrari home unscathed.
"A friend of mine came to me in the middle of the race," said Guy. "He said 'Boy, if it weren't for bad luck, you'd have no luck at all.' "That about sums the season up… really! This was yet another challenging and disappointing weekend for us. We were very quick throughout practice, the car was great, the weather was perfect - I mean, we couldn't ask for anything more - just maybe some luck."
"It's really tough to have a year like this," Guy continued. "We've shown our pace, our strengths but haven't brought home a result. You just have to put it behind you and work harder at the next one. Unfortunately, there's only one more race left - the Petit Le Mans. Here's to hoping it goes better then!"
The final race of the 2012 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda. The 1,000-mile/10-hour race from Road Atlanta is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct 20. ABC's broadcast begins at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 21. Full, live coverage starts at 11:15 a.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 GTCseries, 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.