Extreme Speed Motorsports set for Sebring 12 hours

EXTREME SPEED MOTORSPORTS SET FOR ALL-AMERICAN DRIVER LINE-UP FOR SEBRING

STUART, FL – March 8, 2012 – The Tequila Patrón-sponsored Extreme Speed Motorsports squad heads to the opening round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón with an all-American driver line-up.

While the 60th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will attract the world's best sportscar drivers, the ESM Ferrari team will fly the stars and stripes with an all-American driver line-up of series regulars Scott Sharp, Ed Brown, Johannes van Overbeek and Guy Cosmo.

For the 12 Hours of Sebring event, ESM added Jeff Segal and Anthony Lazzaro to the mix. The ESM team will be the only two-car squad with all-American line-up of drivers in the landmark event this March. To mark the occasion, the ESM Ferraris will also feature a revised livery with an American flag adorning the rear ¼ panel.

Sharp, van Overbeek and Cosmo will be co-driving the No. 01 ESM Tequila Patrón Ferrari, while Brown, Segal and Lazzaro will co-pilot the No. 02 ESM Tequila Patrón Ferrari.

Segal has an impressive record that in includes two championship titles. Segal is the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT co-Champion with Emil Assentato and the 2007 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS co-Champion with Jep Thornton. Lazzaro’s racing career spans for nearly 15 years. He has raced in all three of NASCAR’s touring series, ARCA, IndyCar and GRAND-AM and has a Formula Atlantic title on his resume.

The 2012 season marks the first time in team history where the team competes in a tried and tested race car. During the ALMS-sanctioned test in early February, the ESM team set the pace as two of the quickest race cars and the top Ferraris in the GT class.

The 2012 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón begins with the 60th Annual Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida on March 14-17. Qualifying takes place on Friday, March 16, at 3:20pm. Green flag for the 60th Running of the 12 Hours of Sebring is on Saturday, March 17, at 10:30am.

The Sebring event - which doubles as the opening round of the World Endurance Championship - will be staged on March 17 with event highlights screened on ABC the following day.

Ferrari driver Jeff Segal

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

Scott Sharp
“I’m really excited to have Jeff Segal and Anthony Lazzaro join the ESM team for Sebring. They are two great guys, strong drivers and both have a lot of endurance experience. "Anthony has run Sebring a number of times, he’s run a bunch Ferraris and has quite a lot of experience under his belt. And Jeff, for his age, has run a lot of long distance races as well.

"Now running a Ferrari in GRAND-AM and got right in our car and ran very quickly, immediately. To top it all off, they are American.

"I think it is exciting to have six Americans on the team, having an all-American line-up and we’re going to have a special livery to celebrate our line-up. We’re excited.

"There’s some great drivers from all around the world that compete in our series and compete in the forefront of professional endurance sports car racing and I think it’s great for us to be able try to win this race with an all-American line-up.”

Ed Brown
“The ESM team has a terrific season-long line-up of drivers with Scott, Johannes and Guy, but we’ve enhanced our 12 Hours of Sebring by adding Jeff and Anthony.

“Sebring is a big race and we’re doing everything we can to ensure we have a solid and competitive race.

"I’m excited to co-drive with Anthony and Jeff. They are both great drivers with tons of experience. I love the fact that I will be able to learn a new perspective from two really good drivers. Our mission is to get a podium and I feel confident if I do MY job we have a very good chance!”

Anthony Lazzaro

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

Anthony Lazzaro
“There’s a lot of talent on the ESM team. Having gone to a couple of tests with them now, it’s a really cool atmosphere. It is very comfortable, very professional.

"It is cool and refreshing to have an all-American driver line-up. After being with the team for a couple of test, I realized how important it is to them and I’m glad I have the opportunity to be part of the team.

"Jeff and I have known each other for a long time and we’ve worked together at the Ferrari Driving Experience. Working with Jeff again is cool because us being together with Ed, we’re sort of plug and play. We’re totally used to driving together, the chemistry during the test was fantastic, in large part because Jeff and I already know each other. The race is going to be good. I’m looking forward to it.”

Jeff Segal
“I’m really excited to be a part of the top-notch Extreme Speed Motorsports and the Tequila Patrón racing team.

"These guys have really established themselves in the American Le Mans Series in the short time they’ve been running and I’m thrilled that they have the faith in me to bring me on board on this program. I’m looking forward to a great race. The cars are spectacular, really well prepared and very well engineered. It’s a great chance to drive.”