Guy's Live Updates!

VIDEO: Guy Cosmo - ALMS Winter Test, Day One

Guy Cosmo — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:21:04 +0000

Rolex 24 Recap - Guy Cosmo Interviews ESM Crew

Guy Cosmo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:21:04 +0000

Almost there!

Guy Cosmo — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:37:07 +0000

We're almost there! About 5 hours remaining, and we're still running! Granted, we're down a bunch of laps, but we're still in it. And for our first 24 as a team, that's not too shabby! The #03 Patron Ferrari was VERY quick last night in the cool conditions, but starting to become a bit more of a handful as the sun came up and the track gets warmer. I did a double stint this morning, and although I wanted to stay in for a triple, my stomach is absolutely killing me and it was best I got out. Resting and recovering now, likely try to eat something and then take a little nap. Scheduled to be back in somewhere around 2 pm, and might wind up finishing the race - which is always cool.

Keep you posted via the Twitter feed above!

Good morning from Daytona!

Guy Cosmo — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:39:24 +0000

Good morning everyone! Well, 16 hours or so into the 24... We've had some troubles with the car here and there, with fuel warning problems and some electrical gremlins which resulted in us crawling around the track in 'limp mode', at very low speeds. We've also had some air jack failures and ultimately went to the garage to take care of a number of these issues.

The car has been getting faster and faster though, really responding to the cooler conditions, along with the crew making mild adjustments during pit stops. Unfortunately we're 16 laps down right now, but hey - you never know. A win is certainly unlikely but a top ten could be possible.

I'm off to pit lane for my next triple stint. Will report more when I'm back! Thanks for following!

Guy

Guy Cosmo Ready To Rock Around The Clock At Daytona

Guy Cosmo — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:05:28 +0000

With practice and qualifying out of the way, Guy Cosmo is setting his sights on two trips around the clock and a run for the checker flag when Extreme Speed Motorsports takes their maiden GRAND-AM run for the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona. The #03 Patron Ferrari will take the green flag at 3:30pm Saturday.

"Kicking off the season with the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona with ESM & Patrón is a really special treat," said Guy Cosmo. The Rolex 24 is an event we all want to be a part of and win. "Better yet, we get to do it together as a team with two seasons experience under our belt. The team is really strong, and regardless of our result our presence will be felt for sure. This is an extremely challenging and unpredictable race. I just can't wait for the green flag to drop."

"My teammate, Ed Brown, is really developing into a pro-level driver," Cosmo noted. "He has made great strides these past two years, and I really believe this is the year we'll get to show our true potential. For the 24 Ed and I will be teamed up in the #03 Patrón Ferrari with Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek. I wouldn't trade teammates with anyone."

Friday Update

Guy Cosmo — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:16:31 +0000

Howdy! It's Friday at Daytona, and although this is the FRIDAY update, let's start with a little info about yesterday. Thursday is always the 2nd longest day of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. We had team meetings, driver meetings, two practice sessions, qualifying, then night practice. We were at it all day! The car ran well despite a tiny gearbox oil leak in the first session that cost us most of our track time in that session, but it was an easy fix and the car ran flawlessly for the rest of the day. Johannes van Overbeek qualified our #03 Patron Ferrari, but not as well as he would have hoped. We were a bit off on the setup and he battled understeer during the qualifying session, ultimately finishing in the 12th spot - in an amazingly competitive GT field of 40-something cars. However, we've got a very solid car that we know will be fast for 24 hours, so we're not too worried about the starting position.

After that, I did finally get behind the wheel during night practice and had a good, short run - and that was it! Driving time is pretty minimal at an event like this, especially when you're sharing the car with three other drivers!

Today? It's been a pretty easy day for us! Slept in a bit, watched Johannes turn a few laps in one of the practice sessions this morning, then had a little team meeting and spent some solid time doing driver change practice - and that's about it! Hanging around and relaxing, updating all my social media :), and about to sit down with the engineers and my teammates for our race strategy meeting. Then we're done until all the pre-race ceremonies tomorrow, for the big day!

I'll update a bit more tonight. Thanks for reading!

Pre-Qualifying

Guy Cosmo — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:00:41 +0000

We call him "Yoyo", and this is the calm before the storm! About to Qualify!

Practice 1 - Pics

Guy Cosmo — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:19:32 +0000

Some pics from pit lane

Wednesday: Move-in Day!

Guy Cosmo — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:41:27 +0000

Well, I've made it to Daytona! Today all the teams parked, unloaded & got all set up for the big race. I met up with the ESM crew to say hi, check out the car, go over final fitment & cockpit changes, go over our run plan for the week and get all settled in! The weather is amazing, probably the best I've ever seen at Daytona for the Rolex 24. Let's hope it stays that way!

Had a nice dinner with my teammates tonight and am getting to bed early, as we've got an early and LONG day tomorrow with team meetings, drivers meetings, two practice sessions, qualifying and then night practice! Everything happens in the first day, it's crazy!

I'll report throughout the day, so keep an eye on the Twitter feed above. At the end of the night I'll whip up another quick blurb about the day.

Who's planning to attend this weekend? Leave a comment below and get the conversation going!

Leading up to the Rolex 24!

Guy Cosmo — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:02:45 +0000

Ok, here's a little info to get you up to speed on my drive in this year's 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona!

Long story short, Extreme Speed Motorsports - my full-time drive in the American Le Mans Series - has chosen to expand thier racing program and compete in a partial season of Grand-Am Rolex Series competition, in addition to our full-season assault on the 2012 American Le Mans Series championship. That decision required an all-new Ferrari 458 Italia GT racing machine built specifically to Grand-Am specifications, which arrived in early December. Since then we've tested the car twice with much success. Earlier this month at the official Rolex 24 test at Daytona International Speedway we left on top of the time sheets, and learned a lot about the new machine - which differs quite a bit from the ALMS/GT2 spec cars.

Since then the team has worked tirelessly on the race week preparation of the car, all the equipment and all of the spare parts that need to be readily available in case of emergency during the race. As for me, I've continued to work with Ed Brown (President & CEO of the Patron Spirits Company - and my teammate) on driving simulators and data review in preparation for the event, as well as keeping up my fitness program and loving life in general... :)

Tomorrow is move-in day when all the teams park their trailers and unload all of the beautifully prepared race cars, and we finalize all remaining details before practice starts on Thursday.

Wish us luck, and stay tuned to this page for more updates throughout each day!

Guy ~