Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) ramped up its driver lineup for the balance of the 2013 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón season by signing Anthony Lazzaro as a co-driver to Scott Sharp.
Sharp and the Tequila Patrón-sponsored ESM team originally enlisted the talents of Lazzaro to drive the No. 01 Tequila Patrón Honda Performance Development (HPD) ARX-03b at Baltimore. Following a runner-up P2 finish last weekend, ESM decided to bring on Lazzaro for the remainder of the year.
He was first behind the wheel of the No. 01 machine at Baltimore, led the race and set some of the fastest laps in the P2 class.
Lazzaro has experience with the Florida-based ESM and the prototype race car. In addition to the Baltimore race, Lazzaro teamed with Ed Brown and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 02 Tequila Patrón HPD at the 12 Hours of Sebring, where the trio finished fourth in the P2 class.
In 2012, Lazzaro competed with ESM at Sebring International Raceway and Road Atlanta in the No. 02 GT car. He was part of the seventh-place effort at the 12 Hours and earned a ninth-place finish at Atlanta.
The Atlanta native won the 1999 24 Hours of Daytona and has raced in all three of NASCAR’s touring series, plus ARCA, IndyCar and GRAND-AM. He also has a Formula Atlantic championship title.
Next up for the Extreme Speed Motorsports is the International Sports Car Weekend at Circuit of The Americas on Sept. 18-22.
Scott Sharp : “I’m thrilled that we were able to sign Anthony to ESM Patrón for the balance of the season. He’s a great driver and teammate, and I think we’re going to definitely be a threat to the competition. Anthony did a fantastic job in Baltimore plus he has experience the next circuit (COTA), knows the ins-and-outs of Virginia, and Road Atlanta is his home track. I couldn’t ask for a better co-driver to finish out this season. We’re glad to have him at ESM, representing Patrón and behind the wheel of the No. 01.”
Anthony Lazzaro : “Thanks to Scott, Ed Brown and the entire ESM Patrón team for bringing me on board for the rest of the 2013 season. This is truly an honor to drive for such a great team and sponsor. I’ve known Scott and the team for a while, so this really does feel like home to me. The crew guys are amazing, and they’ve worked so hard to get this P2 program up and running. I’m impressed with the progress they made since Sebring, and I can’t wait to help them bring it to the next level. We have our work cut out for us the rest of the season. My goal is to help the No. 01 team win races, get Scott that drivers’ championship and ESM the team championship.”