Daytona 24: Guy Cosmo preview

Guy Cosmo Readies For Rolex 24

Daytona Beach, Fla. The 2008 Rolex Sports Car Series season gets underway this week with the 64th running of the famed Rolex 24 at Daytona. Guy Cosmo is back in the No. 09 Spirit of Daytona FABCAR chassis fitted with a new Lozano Brothers-prepared Porsche-based 5.0-liter V-8 engine, His goal for the week? Build.

The new No. 09 Spirit of Daytona car made its racing debut at the season-ending event at Miller Motorsports Park last September. Using that race as a real-world test of wheel-to-wheel competition to prepare for the 2008 season and the Rolex 24, Guy and the team continue their growth.

"Developing a new chassis and motor program at the same time is a huge undertaking," noted Cosmo. "We're being extremely realistic with our objectives and goals. And, not only for this race, but also looking at the big picture. We look at those teams that have succeeded in this series and we respect that their success didn't come overnight or easy. Spirit of Daytona is prepared to do the hard work."

In addition to Cosmo, the team has signed Rolex Sports Car Series regular Marc-Antoine Camirand. Camirand and Cosmo promise to be a force to be reckoned with as both drivers participated in the team's 2007 outing at Miller and their most recent test for the Rolex 24. The team also participated in the Pirelli tire test at Daytona back in November. They are joined for the Rolex 24 at Daytona by Rolex veteran Michael McDowell.

"The car keeps improving \and a lot of improvements were made at the January test and the Pirelli tire test in November," said Cosmo. "Those two tests provided a lot of data to use as a baseline for this race,"

"That said," added Cosmo, "our expectations are real. Our strategy for the 24 is to simply run a solid pace, work within the cars limits and be there at the end. A 24-hour endurance race takes on a much different complexion than any other form or racing. It requires a very patient approach and cool-headed management of your equipment. A top-10 finish is a very reachable goal for us, but more importantly, 24 hours of hard racing data will help improve the new car and build the program. But, I'm confident the Fabcar chassis is capable of running at the front of this very competitive field. The Lozano Brother's Porsche-based V8 motor is rock-solid and has great potential. Certainly it's as reliable as they come and we keep gaining more and more power."

"Lastly," Cosmo asserted, "the Spirit of Daytona team is here with the right attitude. They're prepared to work hard to reach their goals. You can't ask for more than that."

-credit: gc