ESM Patron eager for COTA debut

STUART, Fla. (Sept. 18, 2013) – The new state-of-the-art Circuit of The Americas facility in Austin makes its American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (ALMS) debut this weekend. Touted as finest motorsports venue in the U.S., it would only be fitting that the Extreme Speed Motorsports team, sponsored by the premium Patrón Tequila brand, finishes the weekend on the top step of the podium.

A grand facility deserves an extreme winner.

The purpose-built, 3.427-mile circuit features a 20-turn counter-clockwise track where more than half the turns at COTA are left-handed. Coincidentally, half of the ESM driver lineup is actually left-handed. The two “lefties” competed at the GRAND-AM race in March in Austin – Johannes van Overbeek and Anthony Lazzaro. Aboard the No. 03 ESM Tequila Patrón Ferrari, van Overbeek finished seventh; Lazzaro finished fifth in the No. 69 Ferrari.

Scott Sharp, Anthony Lazzaro

Photo by: Martin W. Spetz

Scott Sharp, co-driver of the No. 01 Tequila Patrón Honda Performance Development (HPD) ARX-03b, is third in the P2 drivers’ standings and just eight points out of first. He looks to overtake the competition both on the track and in the championship. Sharp and co-driver Lazzaro in the No. 01 prototype will use track time early in the week to get familiar with the circuit.

Ed Brown and van Overbeek, co-drivers of the No. 02 Tequila Patrón HPD look to leverage a bit of local luck this weekend. Brown graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, while van Overbeek turned laps at COTA earlier this year with GRAND-AM race. In addition, lead engineer on the No. 02 HPD machine, Jim ‘Chachi’ Malicki, is an Austin resident.

The two-hour, 45-minute American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón race at Circuit of The Americas is the eighth round of the 10-race ALMS championship and takes place on Sept. 19-21. Qualifying for P2 cars is scheduled for 3:55 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 20.

Extreme Speed Motorsports