Photo by: Robert Lyon
POLE POSITION FOR NO. 01 ESM PATRÓN FERRARI; FIRST CAREER POLE FOR ESM AND VAN OVERBEEK
ALTON, VA – September 14, 2012 –Tequila Patrón Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) Ferrari star Johannes van Overbeek dominated the timesheets at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) today – going fastest in final practice, scoring his and ESM’s first ever American Le Mans Series pole position and then setting the qualifying track record at VIR.
Piloting the No. 01 Tequila Patrón Ferrari 458 Italia, van Overbeek will lead the GT field to the green flag for the inaugural American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón VIR 240 at Virginia International Raceway. Both van Overbeek and co-driver Scott Sharp eagerly await the start of Saturday’s four-hour event around the 3.27-mile, 17-turn circuit.
During qualifying, van Overbeek lapped track with a session best time of 1:45.988 (111.069 mph). Ed Brown in the No. 02 Tequila Patrón Ferrari qualified in the 11th position following late-session contact.
The top qualifying spot for ESM was not a surprise following Thursday’s test session and Friday’s practices. During the brief hour and a half test session on Thursday afternoon, Guy Cosmo, co-driver of the No. 02 Ferrari, ranked first and the No. 01 with van Overbeek aboard was ranked fourth.
In the Friday morning session, both Tequila Patrón Ferraris ranked in the middle of the GT field. Following a short break from on-track activity, the black and green racing machines returned to the circuit for Friday’s second and final practice session of the weekend. In the closing moments of practice, van Overbeek took the No. 01 machine to the top of the GT charts and Guy Cosmo was ranked fourth in the class.
2012 marks a season of firsts for the Florida-based Extreme Speed Motorsports. In July, ESM earned the team’s first win (Mosport), the first GRAND-AM Rolex Road Racing Series pole (Detroit in June), and a season-best four podium finishes (Long Beach, Mosport, Road America and Baltimore).
Green flag for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón VIR 240 is on Saturday, September 15, at 2:30 p.m. (ET).
ESPN2's broadcast begins at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 16. Full, live coverage starts at 2:15 p.m. ET on ESPN3.
Source: Tequila Patrón Extreme Speed Motorsports
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