Guy Cosmo geared to repeat at Mazda Raceway

When Guy Cosmo returns to the Monterey Peninsula for the American Le Mans Series Monterey presented by Tequila Patron there will be two significant changes to the race format. First, the race will take place five months earlier in the year. Second, the race will run six hours; two hours longer than previous years. One thing that will not change is Cosmo’s determination to put the #02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari GT430 at the front of the pack. The third round of this year’s American Le Mans Series, takes place on Saturday, May 22.

In the 2009 event last October, Cosmo copiloted the No. 43 GT Challenge Porsche to the top step of the podium. Everything in his 2010 program points to repeating that performance in the highly competitive GT2 class. Aware that it’s a lofty goal, Guy is confident the pieces are in place. He’s done the math.

“Heading back to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca represents a true test of our teams progress to date,” Cosmos assessed. “If you consider how well the ESM Ferraris ran in our first outing at Sebring, arguably one of the toughest tracks in the world, and then look at the solid performance at Long Beach, I think we’re right on target. Add to the mix we were the fastest Ferrari in Long Beach, the win I had at Laguna last fall and my co-driver, Ed Brown, literally tore the place up in testing last week. I’m confident. I’m real confident.”

As the schedule shifts into summer and a stretch of natural terrain course, many of the American Le Mans Series’ teams are looking forward to this part of the season. American Le Mans Series Monterey presented by Tequila Patron at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has year after year produced classic on-track battles. Popular among drivers, given it’s twisting, climbing and long configuration, Mazda Raceway is a sports car driver’s track in the purest sense. Changing the event from four hours to six is a perfect and natural progression.

“No doubt this is a ‘dream sequence’ event,” laughed Cosmo. “You’ve got it all. It’s a fast challenging track. Our competition is among the best in the world. When you throw in the six-hour format, it’s like icing on the cake. Drivers will need to drive smart. Teams will need to prepare and execute a smart race strategy. Make no mistake, the whole shooting match is going to come down to who’s got the car going into the last hour.”

Round three of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron will be run at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on May 22. The 2.2-mile, 11-turn circuit known for its famous Corkscrew Turn will see the field start the race at 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon, run six hours and finish in the dark at 8:30 p.m. PT. The race will be televised, tape delayed, on May 29 at 1:30 p.m. ET on CBS. The full race will be streamed live online at www.americanlemans.com starting at 5:30 p.m. ET in partnership with TodoCast.tv.

Guy’s fans can follow the weekend’s activities at his newly designed Web site http://www.guycosmo.com – The site will feature news and photos from the event along with personal entries from Guy posted daily to his blog.

Guy Cosmo, 2005 American Le Mans Series Rookie of the Year and also a former ORBIT Racing driver, competed last season in the No. 47 Porsche 911 GT3. He finished the season 3rd in the Challenge class championship qualifying on the pole three times. Cosmo has 19 starts in the American Le Mans Series, finishing in the top-five 17 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.

Extreme Speed Motorsports is sponsored by Tequila Patrón, along with support from Ferrari Corse Clienti and the team’s official tire technical partner Michelin. Patrón, a longtime supporter of motorsports racing, is the presenting sponsor of the full American Le Mans Series.

© RIF | ALMS