Guy Cosmo – Solid Run At Mid-Ohio Interrupted

Just as things were going their way, the Extreme Speed Motorsports No. 02 Patrón Ferrari of Guy Cosmo and Ed Brown was hit from behind putting an end to their day at the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge.

An abbreviated docu-drama of the Mid-Ohio race will air at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 15 on CBS Sports.

After chasing the set-up earlier in the week, Cosmo turned in a solid qualifying lap to put the car 6th on the GT starting grid. On race day, Guy took the wheel for the opening stint. Changing things up a bit, the team decided to have Ed Brown finish up the race. Ed did a great job getting up to speed while dealing with cold tires and late-race traffic. Then with just a half hour remaining in the race, Brown suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a punt from No.61 Risi Competizione Ferrari. The avoidable, if not blatant contact, put the No. 02 car in the outside wall at turn 9 and ultimately out of the race.

“Well, another interesting weekend for Ed and I in the No. 02 car,” laughed a frustrated Cosmo. “We struggled a bit with our setup early in the weekend, but got things sorted pretty well by qualifying. I got a good lap in late in the session and was able to qualify 6th on the grid. We were pleased with that.” 

“We made a decision to change things up a bit this weekend,” added Cosmo. “We decided let Ed finish the race in order for him to gain more experience. So I climbed in for the opening stint.”

“It was a blast running nose to tail with everyone at the start,” said the ALMS 2005 Rookie of the Year.  “We were fairly deep into the race before the first full-course caution, so my time in the car was full of intense battles and flat-out lapping. It was great. Driving the ESM Patrón Ferrari around Mid-Ohio under those conditions, in this series, with this team and sponsor – it was perfect.”

“Ed hopped in and did a great job,” said Cosmo. “He consistently turned his quickest laps of the weekend. He was very impressive. Unfortunately with about 30 minutes to go, former F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella shoved him off track and into a wall. It was extremely disappointing to see a driver of Fisichella’s caliber make such a bullish maneuver on the track while passing a lapped car. And even more so considering he’s a fellow Ferrari driver.”

“Despite all of our troubles,” noted Cosmo, “before I got out of the car, I had a great battle with ‘the boss’, Scott Sharp. That was fun. Scott & Johannes went on to take a 5th place finish in the No. 01 car so it was a great weekend for the team as a whole. We’ll be in top-form at the next race at Road America. I can’t wait!”

© RIF | ALMS