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TAKE ME TO...
Grand Am
IN THE COCKPIT: Guy Cosmo, Rolex 24
We were down early on, and that was disappointing, but at the end of the day, we were still at Daytona, and there was a long way to go. You never knew what could happen...
Guy Cosmo  | http://www.guycosmo.com  |  Posted February 01, 2012  
Guy Cosmo and co-drivers Scott Sharp, Johannes van Overbeek and Ed Brown finished a respectable 13th in the team's Rolex 24 debut. (Photo: LAT)
Oh, Daytona, you slippery, slinky little bugger, you. Daytona is a place that, no matter how many times I've been there, long races or short, I've never finished better than 2nd. Something always happens. Or at least, something has always happened - because next year, Daytona, you're mine!

But seriously, heading into this year's 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona with Extreme Speed Motorsports & Tequila Patrón, I had the best shot at success that I've ever had - and that even includes taking into consideration that this would be our first Grand-Am race as an organization, our first Rolex 24 as a team, and our very first race with the new Ferrari 458 Italia Grand-Am.

Even with those things in mind, this was the first year I was heading into this race with a rock-solid, well-funded, well-oiled program with a car that no-doubt was going to be competitive - and with a solid driver line up in Scott Sharp, Johannes van Overbeek, Ed Brown and myself. Especially after being quick in the January test, quick during most sessions of the Rolex 24 weekend (yes, we missed the mark in qualifying and wound up 11th, but even that's OK) and knowing that all we had to do was make no mistakes and keep it on track, we knew we would have a shot at a decent result. I really felt it...

And then the race started...

Just at the end of Johannes' very first stint of the race we had a fuel warning/pick up problem and nearly ran out of gas on track. As a result of that happening, the car went into 'limp mode' and limited the revs to 6000 RPM for a few laps, immediately putting us down a lap or two - one hour into the 24... I then got in and, figuring we would play it conservatively to ensure this wouldn't happen again, it actually did... even earlier than expected. Once again, trying to rectify the situation we went down a few more laps before pitting again to address it. We were now relegated to pitting much earlier than we wanted to be on the safe side of things, and already a number of laps down with a long way to go.

However, as in typical ESM fashion, we charged ahead and did the best we could.

For me, the driving aspect was both challenging and enjoyable. The paddle-shift system in the car began to act up early in the race, likely resulting from a sensor somewhere in the car going bad and skewing the calibration, which made the downshifts very 'jerky' (not enough 'blip' of the throttle to match the revs) which made the car very unstable under braking. The rear wheels would drag momentarily on each downshift and pitch the car sideways.

Long story short, it made braking & downshifting a conscious task, and one that required a lot of concentration to ensure you didn't spin the car just as you began to turn into the corners. That makes it very hard to 'charge' into the corners by braking late and rolling in big entry speed when the car is already upset and unstable before you've made it to the corner. However, it was something we all had to adapt to and drive around, to the best of our ability.

During the daylight we seemed to be a bit off on setup as we were in qualifying. The car wasn't 'hooked up' and was a bit of a handful, with the twitchy braking, a fair amount of understeer mid-corner and then a loose rear on throttle application at corner exit. You really had to be on top of it to keep it clean, keep it on track and keep a reasonable pace going.

During the night, however, the car was much better. The cooler temperatures favored our setup, and the car was much happier - and faster. Driving the graveyard shift at Daytona, to me, is some of the most enjoyable driving I can be asked to do. The temperature is nice and cool. It's dark, very late, and you're usually sleeping on any other day of the week at that point. The car was just sweet. I mean, it's a Ferrari. And not just any Ferrari - but probably the best one Ferrari's ever made.

It's just you, your car, the track... and yes, about 60 other maniacs, but for me it's just rhythmic, mesmerizing, soothing - and just awesome. I was in a complete zone. Lap after lap, pounding out consistent lap times and pushing myself to improve every lap, every corner - just tiny little bits. Pushing as hard as you can, but within a preset threshold where you know you will not allow yourself to make a single mistake. I loved it. I didn't want to get out of the car. However, I learned to share in kindergarten, and I decided I'd let my teammates have a crack at it too...

All in all, the whole race was really fun. We just have a great group of people on the team, and we all love what we do. We were down early on, and that was disappointing. But at the end of the day, we were still at Daytona, and there was a long way to go. You never know what can happen, and you just have to keep pushing!

I actually think it was pretty darn impressive, if I do say so myself! We ran a flawless race. Not any of us four drivers put a single wheel off the track. Nothing (in our reasonable control) went wrong with the car. No mechanical issues at all, no mistakes on pit stops, no bad strategy calls - nothing. Just a rock-solid performance that was hindered by a few electrical gremlins and a $10 air jack fitting that broke in the car, forcing us to spend time in the garage to repair it - so we could actually jack the car up during our pit stops and change the tires.

I was pleased. The team was pleased. We had fun, we ran strong and we've got one in the books now. I can guarantee we'll be back next year, and we'll be even stronger - and we'll do our best to ensure that nothing goes wrong. I want one of those Rolex watches, darn it!

Next? Testing for our ALMS GT program as our focus is now turned to prep for the Sebring 12 Hour. Another one I can't wait for, and think we have a good shot at. But there's lots to do before then, so stay tuned! It's about to get busy!

Thanks for reading,

~Guy



A driver for Extreme Speed Motorsports in both the American Le Mans Series and GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, Guy Cosmo is an accomplished prototype and GT veteran and 2005 ALMS Rookie of the Year. You can follow him on Twitter @GuyCosmo or on Facebook.
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