Grant Ryley and Guy Cosmo both made their CART Toyota Atlantic Championship debuts this weekend at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, as part of the World Speed Motorsports Toyota Atlantic team. Ryley clearly established himself as a leading contender to challenge for this year’s championship, while Cosmo continued to impress with every consecutive lap in an Atlantic car.
For Ryley, who will compete in the entire 12-race 2001 CART Toyota Atlantic season for World Speed Motorsports in the #14 Northwest SpeedWerx/Cupertino Electric/Velocity Ventures/Del Monaco Specialty Foods Swift, it was a bittersweet weekend as he qualified fifth and ran near the top of the charts throughout practice and qualifying. While lining up for the start of the race, Ryley’s gearbox locked into first gear when part of a fractured reverse gear lodged itself in the transmission. Unfortunately, Ryley’s race was over before it had started.
“It was really a mixed weekend,” said Ryley, of Saratoga, California. “The team did a super job and, overall, we feel very encouraged about everything. Qualifying was great and up until the race, we were going faster in every session. We definitely could have been in the top three, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes in this sport. The gearbox was just one of those fluke things that happens once in a million laps. But, it’s behind us now so we’ll focus on the next race at Nazareth.”
Cosmo, who drove the #15 Martini Sunglasses/Ironclad Gloves/World Speed Motorsports Swift for a one-off ride at Long Beach, equally impressed in only his second day and first race appearance in an Atlantic car. While he set his 12th starting position in the first qualifying session, Cosmo took the field by surprise by setting the third fastest time in the rain-soaked second session. However, because of the wet conditions, the times from the dry, faster first qualifying session determined the final starting grid. In the race, Cosmo quickly began moving through the field, avoiding a first-turn melee and finishing ninth overall to score his first-ever Atlantic championship points.
“I had an absolute blast this weekend,” said Cosmo, of Long Island, New York. “Considering we were on a pretty steep learning curve, I’m very happy with how things turned out. I had only been in an Atlantic car for one day of testing before this race, so every lap brought more speed, comfort and familiarity. With more laps, I’m certain that we would have finished higher but, for me, it was a very successful weekend. I really owe this to Chuck West for providing me with this opportunity, and I hope to run some more races this year with the World Speed team.”
“Grant and Guy both did outstanding jobs this weekend,” said West, team owner. “It’s unfortunate that Grant’s race had to end the way it did, but I think we showed that we have what it takes to challenge for the championship. Guy also had an impressive debut and considering he had virtually no time in an Atlantic car really demonstrates his talent and potential. I hope we can put the pieces in place to run Guy some more this year. In the meantime, we’ll focus on Nazareth and do what we need to do to keep Grant up front.”
Ryley most recently captured second in the 2000 Star Mazda Pro Series – Western Division championship while driving for World Speed. His record included three wins, six podiums and three poles, as well as third overall in the Best Western National Championship series. In 1999, Ryley finished second in the rookie championship by virtue of one win, three podiums and two poles. For 1997 and 1998, he competed in the Skip Barber Formula Dodge Western Series and continues to serve as an instructor at the Skip Barber Racing School.
For 2000, Cosmo spent ten months in Denmark as the Mygale works development driver in the Scandinavian Formula 2000 series, scoring two wins, two poles and 14 top-five finishes en route to second place in the series championship. In 1999, he captured the US F2000 American Continental Championship by virtue of five class wins. This year, Cosmo will compete in selected Star Mazda races as well as a limited Atlantic schedule.
Northwest SpeedWerx was established to identify aspiring young drivers and assist them with the resources and promotional guidance to move their careers forward through participation in a multi-year driver development program. Focusing on CART’s ladder system, including the Toyota Atlantic Championship, the goal of Northwest SpeedWerx is to train the next generation of drivers for competition in the CART FedEx Championship.
Based in Palm Springs, California, World Speed Motorsports operates multi-car programs in CART’s Toyota Atlantic Championship, as well as the Star Formula Mazda Pro Series. Founded in 1991, World Speed has captured six Formula Mazda championship and five pro series Rookie-of-the-Year titles since its inception. Last season, World Speed captured their first Atlantic victory at Gateway International Raceway with driver Case Montgomery.
ESPN2 will broadcast the Long Beach round on Sunday, April 15th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, with an encore presentation scheduled for Wednesday, April 18th at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. The 12-race 2001 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship season continues on May 6 in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, as part of the Bosch Spark Plug CART FedEx Championship weekend.