Grand Am GT - Segal, Assentato And Cosmo Finish Third At The Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 4, 2011) – Jeff Segal, co-driving with Emil Assentato and Guy Cosmo, made a major move in the 2011 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT Championship standings with a hard-earned third-place finish in the No. 69 FXDD/SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 GT in Saturday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

Segal led 11 laps and joined his teammates in persevering through rainy conditions in the first half of the race and a couple of close-call contact incidents near the end to score his second podium finish of the year. He also joined Assentato in finishing a season-high second in March’s Grand Prix of Miami.

“It was definitely a good finish to what could have been a bad race,” Segal said. “There were a lot of things that went wrong, the weather at the beginning threw us a big curve ball, Emil kept the car out of trouble, and we actually kind of vaulted to the front on some strategy there, which was great.”

Cosmo, who joined the No. 69 team for the first time for the Sahlen’s, ran as high as second during his stint.

“We kept the car up at the sharp end the whole time,” Segal said. “Survived a couple of incidents with the same car each time, which was interesting, but we were looking pretty good at the end. We thought we would definitely be a factor for second place and, for a little bit, thought we could win it.”

Ultimately, the race’s fifth and final full course caution period prevented Segal and his team from having a shot at the win.

“Unfortunately, that last yellow that came out split the leader from second and third,” Segal said. “He kind of got a lap up automatically and we were left to pick up the pieces. Back on the podium is nice, it is good to be back at Watkins Glen, unfortunately we just wanted a little bit more.”

The Glen result has moved the No. 69 FXDD/SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 GT team up to sixth in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT Team Championship standings with 150 points. The No. 69 team is just one point out of fifth place and only 15 markers behind the current class leaders.