Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) was an American auto racing team based out of Riviera Beach, Florida. Founded by Scott Sharp and Patrón CEO Ed Brown, the team competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Tudor United SportsCar Championship, and American Le Mans Series since 2010 until 2018 when the team sold its equipment and race cars and shut down following an exhaustive sponsor search after the withdrawal of Patrón.
American Le Mans Series The Extreme Speed Motorsports team first entered the American Le Mans Series with two Ferrari F430 GTCs in 2010. The pair of Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek managed a second-place finish at the season ending Petit Le Mans, finishing tenth in the Drivers' Championship with teammates Ed Brown and Guy Cosmo finishing thirteenth and landing fifth in the GT class Teams' Championship.
The team received two new Ferrari 458 GTEs for their second year of ALMS competition. 2011 season would prove to be a difficult season for the team with the #02 car failing to finish at several races. The team's best result came at penultimate race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with a third-place finish for the #01 car. Sharp and Van Overbeek would finish the season seventh in the GT Drivers' Championship with the team landing sixth in the Teams' Championship.
2012 would be the most successful season yet for the team and its Ferraris. The #01 car of Sharp and van Overbeek was awarded a victory after a post race technical inspection disqualified the #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche at Mosport and earned another hard-fought win at the season finale Petit Le Mans. Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek finished second in the GT Drivers' Championship with Ed Brown and Guy Cosmo fifteen and sixteen respectively. They would finish third in the GT Teams' Championship behind the factory efforts of BMW and Chevrolet.
2013 saw the team move up to the LMP2 class with two HPD ARX-03bs. 2013 would be the final season before the American Le Mans Series would merge with the Rolex Sports Car Series to form the Tudor United SportsCar Championship. Although 2013 was to be a preparation and development year for the team's new prototype machinery, the team fared well against their main rivals Level 5 Motorsports, claiming a win and second-place finish at Long Beach. The team finished the season second in the Teams' Championship with Scott Sharp second in the Drivers' Championship.
Year Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Position Points 2010 Ferrari Ferrari 430 GTE Ferrari 4.0L V8 SEB LBH LGA UGP LRP MDO ROA MOS ATL 5th 91 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 Ferrari 4.5L V8 SEB LBH LRP MOS MDO ROA BAL LGA ATL 6th 81 2012 Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 Ferrari 4.5L V8 SEB LBH LGA LRP MOS MDO ROA BAL VIR ATL 3rd 125 2013 HPD ARX-03b Honda HR28TT 2.8L Turbo V6 SEB LBH LGA LRP MOS ROA BAL AUS VIR ATL 2nd 169
United SportsCar Championship The Extreme Speed Motorsports team entered the inaugural season of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship with a two car LMP2 effort in the premier prototype class. Scott Sharp and Ryan Dalziel would pilot the #1 HPD with Johannes van Overbeek and Ed Brown sharing the #2 car. IMSA's balance of performance left the LMP2 teams with a substantial gap in top speed to the much higher powered Daytona Prototypes throughout the entirety of the season, preventing the team from consistently competing for overall victories. Brown and Overbeek would claim a win victory at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca,Days, John (May 4, 2014) ESM Takes Breakthrough Win in Monterey a track that favored the LMP2 cars' cornering speeds. The team withdrew the #1 car from the eleventh round to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship race at the Circuit of the Americas,Days, John (August 8, 2014) ESM Enters FIA WEC at COTA, Scales Back TUSC Entry later deciding to withdraw both cars from the season ending Petit Le Mans to enter the Shanghai FIA WEC race in preparation for a 2015 campaign in the seriesDagys, John (September 20, 2014) ESM Withdraws from Petit Le Mans, Enters FIA WEC Race in Shanghai
For the 2015 season, the ESM team originally committed to run the North American Endurance Championship rounds as a supplement to their FIA WEC campaign.Days, John (November 19, 2014) ESM Commits to NAEC Rounds Only in 2015 However, after unsuccessful results at Daytona and Sebring, the team would not return to complete the rest of the North American season, choosing to focus its resources on the remainder of the WEC season.Dagys, John (May 5, 2015) Patron ESM to Forgo Remainder of NAEC
In 2016, Tequila Patron ESM run a Ligier JS P2 in four North American Endurance Cup races of the United Sportscar Championship, winning both the 2016 24 Hours of Daytona and the 2016 12 Hours of Sebring, with the JS P2 becoming the first car to defeat a Daytona Prototype at the 24 hours, as well as the team becoming the first to win the so-called "36 Hours of Florida" since 1998.
In 2017, Tequila Patron ESM switched to Nissan engines, fielding two Nissan Onroak DPi units for Dalziel/Sharp and Van Overbeek/Brown. The pairing of Dalziel/Sharp would ultimately secure 5th in the drivers championship, while Brown would depart the team mid-season, and be replaced by Pipo Derani. The season was highlighted with 1 Pole Position at Watkins Glen, as well as 2 wins, at Road America, and at the season-ending Petit Le Mans.
In 2018, Tequila Patron ESM continued to run 2 Nissan-Onroak DPis, for Dalziel/Sharp, as well as Derani/Van Overbeek. The Season would be highlighted by 2 poles at Belle Isle, and at Road Atlanta, as well as winning the 12 Hours Of Sebring, and at Laguna Seca. However, due to the loss of title sponsor Patron, the team sold all its equipment and assets, and would ultimately close in December 2018.
Year Car Engine No. DAY SEB LBH LGA BEL WGL MOS IMS ELK AUS ATL Points 2014 HPD ARX-03b Honda HR28TT 2.8L Turbo V61 15 2 6 11 5 10 8 5 3 228 10th 2 7 5 7 1 7 11 7 7 8 4 262 7th 2015 HPD ARX-04b HPD ARX-03b Honda HR28TT 2.8L Turbo V61 10 9 45 12th 2 14 8 42 13th 2016 Ligier JS P2 Honda HR35TT 3.5L Turbo V62 1 1 9 2 128 9th
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship wins
# Season Date Classes Track / Race No. Winning drivers Chassis Engine 1 2014 May 4 Prototype Laguna Seca 2 Ed Brown / Johannes van Overbeek HPD ARX-03b Honda HR28TT 2.8 L V6 Turbo 2 2016 January 30–31 Prototype Daytona 2 Brown / Derani / van Overbeek / Sharp Ligier JS P2 Honda HR35TT 3.5 L V6 Turbo 3 March 19 Prototype Sebring 2 Brown / Derani / van Overbeek / Sharp Ligier JS P2 Honda HR35TT 3.5 L V6 Turbo 4 2017 August 6 Prototype Road America 22 Pipo Derani / Johannes van Overbeek Nissan Onroak DPi Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 5 October 7 Prototype Road Atlanta 2 Ryan Dalziel / Brendon Hartley / Scott Sharp Nissan Onroak DPi Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 6 2018 March 17 Prototype Sebring 22 Derani / Lapierre / van Overbeek Nissan Onroak DPi Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 7 September 9 Prototype Laguna Seca 22 Pipo Derani / Johannes van Overbeek Nissan Onroak DPi Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6
World Endurance Championship
The team first entered the FIA World Endurance Championship with a single car at the 2014 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, earning a 3rd-place finish. The team then entered two cars in the 6 Hours of Shanghai claiming 2nd and 5th-place finishes. The two events would serve as preparation for a full season entry in 2015.
For the 2015 season, Extreme Speed Motorsports would commit to a full season FIA WEC effort.Dagys, John (November 18, 2014) ESM Confirms Full Season FIA WEC Program for 2015 While originally planning to run the new HPD ARX-04b, testing issues meant HPD would delay the car's debut until the following season. ESM would instead use their ARX-03bs for the opening round at Silverstone, before switching to the Ligier JS P2 platform for the rest of the season.Dagys, John (March 10, 2015) ESM Reverts to HPD ARX-03b, Plans Switch to Ligier JS P2 Honda
Year Car Engine No. SIL SPA LMS NÜR COA FUJ SHA BHR Points 2015 HPD ARX-03bLigier JS P2 Honda HR28TT 2.8L Turbo V630 EX 8 5 6 4 4 Ret 7 62 7th 31 6 7 4 8 Ret 7 5 8 62 8th Year Car Engine No. SIL SPA LMS NÜR MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR Points 2016 Ligier JS P2 Nissan VK45DE 4.5L V830 8 5 7 9 8 7 4 2 5 78 5th 31 2 2 8 3 3 5 5 5 4 116 4th
24 Hours of Le Mans
Year Entrant No. Car Drivers Class Laps 2015 Extreme Speed Motorsports 30 Ligier JS P2-Honda Ryan Dalziel David Heinemeier Hansson Scott Sharp LMP2 329 28th 10th 31 Ed Brown Jon Fogarty Johannes van Overbeek 339 15th 7th 2016 Extreme Speed Motorsports 30 Ligier JS P2-Nissan Ed Brown Scott Sharp Johannes van Overbeek LMP2 341 16th 11th 31 Chris Cumming Ryan Dalziel Pipo Derani 297 42nd 16th
References
External links
Official Website Patron Official Website