Photo by John Thawley Fountain Motorsports Effort Suffers Another Setback.
Although it wasn’t in the cards for Fountain Motorsports #127 BMW 330i KONI Challenge car, Guy Cosmo made the best of his effort in the brand new Fabcar/Porsche Daytona Prototype for Spirit of Daytona.  Joining Doug Goad and Marc-Antoine Camirand, Cosmo and company made great strides in Salt Lake City this week at the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve season finale at Miller Motorsports Park.

Spirit of Daytona is utilizing a Fabcar chassis fitted with a new Lozano Brothers-prepared, Porsche-based 5.0-liter V-8 engine, and was looking to learn as much as possible about the new combination by taking it to the best classroom available--long-distance competition--as the team prepares for the 2008 season starting with the 46th annual Rolex 24 At Daytona next January.

Spirit of Daytona used the seven hour enduro as an extended test opportunity. The solid performance and reliability of the new car provided the perfect test and development scenario. The No. 09 car did not miss a single lap of practice or qualifying. The team was able to work with a variety of set-ups as they continue to develop their data collection and familiarity with the package.

"The whole race weekend was great,” remarked Guy Cosmo.  “All of us at Spirit of Daytona Racing came into the race with the mindset of using the weekend as a test to continue development on the Porsche-based V8 by Lozano Brothers and get more familiarized with the Fabcar chassis.  Our number one goal is continued preparation as the team looks ahead toward the Daytona 24 next year. Certainly,  there was no better way than to race this car against all the competition for 7 hours."

The team remained focused on the job at hand and was well aware of the car’s challenges.

"We knew coming in that we had a few things holding us back from a performance standpoint,” noted Cosmo. “But every time we made a change on the car we made progress and made the car faster.  I'm impressed with the Fabcar chassis and as Cheever Racing has proved with their Fabcar, it's capable of running at the front of this very competitive series. “

“The Lozano Brother's Porsche-based V8 motor was absolutely rock-solid,” Cosmo continued. “This motor has huge potential and is absolutely as reliable as they come.  We've only had this car on track just four times before we arrived at Miller, and it's been a scramble to make it here.  Given that, we came with the conservative approach to ensure reliability and allow us to get as much track time as possible.  We know there is more power to be gained from the motor and we know exactly how to get it.  I'm confident this package will run up front next year."

“I have to take my hat off to Troy and Michelle Flis and the entire Spirit of Daytona crew,” said Cosmo. “What they've accomplished in just over one month is phenomenal.  To finish the debut race of a new car and completely new motor absolutely trouble-free for 7 hours is a testament to their dedication and ability."

Cosmo’s KONI Challenge Series outing in the No. 127 Fountain Motorsports BMW did not go as well.

"It was another tough weekend for us at Fountain Motorsports,” noted Cosmo. “We battled some intermittent electrical gremlins that popped up on both cars just before race time. We simply ran out of time to diagnose and fix them before the race.  Both cars actually started the race strong with no signs of problems, but as we continued to run the problems worsened.”
Then things went from bad to worse.

“I had a misfire in the #127 BMW,” said Guy.  “Then, with just ten laps to go, the motor let go - big time.  It was a Formula One-style blow up with a huge cloud of smoke.  It's disappointing to see these cars struggle because the team works so hard and the cars usually run strong.  But of course, these things happen and we'll re-group for the KONI Challenge 6-hour Finale at VIR and end the season on a high note.”

The SunChaser 1000K was the season finale for the Grand Am Rolex Series, while the KONI Challenge will wind up with a 6-hour finale at Virginia International Raceway October 5-7.

Guy Cosmo's extensive background with open-wheel formula cars and sports prototypes has earned him a reputation as one of the most successful and versatile young racing drivers in North America. The 2005 American Le Mans Series Rookie of the Year ranks among the top-level road racers in the world. He has earned overall racing titles and major successes in many disciplines including karting, Formula Ford, Formula 2000, Star Mazda, Toyota Atlantic, Grand American and American Le Mans. You can learn more about Guy Cosmo at www.guycosmo.com.

The Grand American Road Racing Association, which operates and sanctions the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve and the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series, is the premier road racing organization in North America. The 15-race 2007 Rolex Series schedule and the 12-race KONI Challenge Series calendar will deliver professional sports car racing to key markets throughout North America. All 2007 Rolex Series events will be televised in the United States and Canada on SPEED and distributed globally through ESPN International. With title sponsorship support from Rolex Watch USA and presenting sponsorship from Crown Royal Special Reserve, the Rolex Series showcases emerging and legendary drivers from around the globe and thoroughbred racing machines from the industry's leading constructors and the world's top automobile manufacturers. Learn more about Grand-Am at www.grand-am.com.