Extreme Speed Motorsports

Extreme Speed Motorsports–ESM Patrón Wins at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

MONTEREY, Calif., May 4, 2014 – Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) won today’s Grand Prix of Monterey at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and set a number of historical marks in the process. The No. 2 Tequila Patrón Honda Performance Development ARX-03b (HPD) of Ed Brown and pole-winner Johannes van Overbeek claimed the first overall victory for ESM in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

It was the first win for the duo of Brown and van Overbeek. On Saturday, van Overbeek, from Oakland, Calif., won his first overall pole position and brought home the win on Sunday afternoon in a caution-free event. He made the winning pass with 15 minutes to go.

Brown was the starting driver for the No. 2 machine. In a career-best run, Brown was competitive and kept a top-10 position throughout his 22-minute stint before turning the car over to van Overbeek. The team pitted under green and was shuffled back in the field.
 
At the start of his stint, van Overbeek was scored 12th and improved his position with each lap. In 13 laps, he was running fifth. Then 16 laps later, van Overbeek was the race leader.
 
Looking to out-strategize the competition, the team called van Overbeek to pit for fuel at Lap 50, shortly after the race’s mid-point. Following the pit stop, the No. 2 machine fell to third with 50 minutes remaining on the race clock. That’s when van Overbeek began his second charge to the front.
 
In a battle with a DP car, van Overbeek planned his move. By Lap 76, he was back in the lead with less than 15 minutes to go. Once in the lead, van Overbeek never looked back and went on to win the two-hour event.
 
Scott Sharp started the day for the No. 1 Tequila Patrón HPD. At Lap 25, Sharp moved into third and was the race leader by Lap 28. He pitted for a scheduled driver change on Lap 30 and turned the car over to Ryan Dalziel.
 
Dalziel posted some of the quickest times of the race and reached the second position. On Lap 45, he was experience mechanical issues. By the time he reached Turn 7, Dalziel identified the problem was in the gearbox. He stopped and was unable to complete the race.  Despite not finishing the event, the No. 1 team was scored in 11th place.