Photo by: Darren Pierson
ESM CLOSES TOUGH WEEKEND ON STREETS OF BALTIMORE IN 9TH, 10TH
BALTIMORE, Maryland, Saturday, September 3, 2011 - Extreme Speed Motorsports completed a frustrating weekend at the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix by finishing ninth and 10th Saturday, Sept. 3 in the GT class of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón race.
Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek placed ninth in the No. 01 Tequila Patrón Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari F458 Italia, three laps behind the class-winning Porsche 911 RSR of Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers. Ed Brown and Guy Cosmo ended up 10th in the No. 02 Tequila Patrón Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari F458 Italia, on the same lap as their teammates.
The race will be televised at 4 p.m. (ET) and 2 p.m. (PT) Sunday, Sept. 4 on ABC. It also will be available for viewing at watchespn.com.
After recording a disappointing qualifying position of ninth Friday, Sharp and van Overbeek climbed to sixth in the 20-minute morning warm-up session Saturday. The promise of improved speed continued early in the two-hour race, as Sharp climbed from ninth to fifth by the third lap on the 12-turn, 2.04-mile temporary circuit through the streets of Baltimore.
But Sharp was forced to the pits just 19 minutes into the race after making light wall contact with the right front of his Ferrari. The damage appeared cosmetic, but it upset the balance of the car.
Sharp handed the driver's seat to van Overbeek 46 minutes into the race, just a minute before a full-course caution. Van Overbeek dove back into the pits during the caution period for more needed repairs to the car, costing more time.
Separate pit road penalties later in the race dropped the No. 01 Tequila Patrón Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari F458 Italia further down the order, and van Overbeek was forced to defend ninth place ahead of his ESM teammates for the rest of the race.
Gearbox problems that plagued the No. 02 Tequila Patrón Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari F458 Italia throughout the weekend persisted through the race for Brown and Cosmo. A problem with the paddle shifter in the cockpit started during the full-course yellow 47 minutes into the race, slowing Brown and Cosmo to the finish.
"It was a rough week right out of the trailer for ESM," Brown said. "Both cars had some mechanical issues. A five-and-a-half delay to get on track the first day of practice due to the track not being ready. But overall, the city of Baltimore hosted a fantastic race. The fans were enthusiastic; the stands were full. Everybody was huge Patrón fans.
"Both cars ended up getting points, and we got them out of here not damaged. So we look forward to getting to Laguna and going back to work."
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