July 9, 2001
4:50 - Checkered flag. Congrats to Joerg, Patrick and the No. 45 crew for second place finish in GT -their first podium so far this season. The No. 56 BMW took the GT win - they led the entire race. Joerg battled hard to stay with the BMW, but with two tire punctures in the second half of the race he was unable to close the gap all the way. The No. 44, pushed far back in the field with an early ignition coil failure, fought back to a P7 finish for Seth Neiman, Marco Holzer and the 44 team. Congrats to the entire team.
4:43 - left front tire is going down. Joerg will pit. Very unfortunate becuase he is so close to the No. 56. He's back out quickly after one new tire, but gap now back to 34 seconds. Marco still P7.
4:39 - Joerg has moved through the field beteween him and the No. 56 - 10 minute left in the race. Joerg is 5 seconds back.
4:37 - Green flag. Joerg P2. Marco P7. Joerg is stuck behind two cars who are one lap down on hi- the No. 04 and the No. 01 Ferrari. Joerg was able to get by the No. 04 and also by the No. 01. Go Joerg...
4:30 - Double yellow to remove a Jaguar stopped on course. This could work to our advantage with both cars -allowing Joerg to catch the No. 56 earlier, and Marco to close the gap to the No. 48 which is P6. We are good on fuel. 20 minutes left.
4:28 - joerg is by now but has lost several of the hard won seconds that he gained earlier - he is - now minus 8 seconds to the No. 56.
4:27 - Joerg is not able to get by the No. 55 which is many laps down - he is losing some of the time that he has gained.
4:24 - Joerg less than 6 seconds back from the No. 56. 26 minutes left to go.
4:20 Joerg continues to close the gap - he is doing consistent mid 51s and is now 10 seconds back.
4:17 - Joerg now P2 - No. 17 Falken in the pits for what should be their final stop. No. 56 still leads, No. 44 P7. Joerg is 14 seconds back from the BMW. Just over 30 mins to go.
4:13 - Joerg is moving - a 51.573 - he is now less than 4 seconds back from wolf, who is on old tires.
4:10 - Positions: P1 No. 56; P2 No. 17; p3 No. 45; P4 No. 1; P5 No. 05; P6 No. 45; P 7 No. 44. Joerg just did a 52.4. No. 44 will pit shortly for tires and short fuel. Joerg just did a 52.300, he is 6 seconds back from Wolf Henzler in theNo. 17, who is P2. Marco is back on track quickly with new tires and fuel.
4:08 - Joerg pits for short fuel and tires. He is back out again quicly - he is now P3. That is the last scheduled pit stop for him. The No. 56 also in the pits. No. 56 was in the lead.
4:06 - No. 45 will pit now for short fuel and tires. He is pitting early with a possible tire puncture.
4:04 - Joerg is still P2 - he is 19 seconds back from the No. 56 right now. Marco P7. Positions: P1 No. 56; P2 No. 45; P3 No. 17; P4 No. 01; P5 No. 04; P6 No. 48; P7 No. 44. Joerg radios in a tire pressure alarm.
4:00 - Joerg has a problem - cannot shift - he is P2. He is going again - he's not sure what the issue is. He will stay out, but it could be a problem.
3:55 - Marco Holzer moves to P7 - he's one of the fastest GT cars on track right now. Joerg in the No. 45 holds P2 - he will pit shortly for tires, and short fuel.
3:49 - The No. 56 has passed the Ford, and Joerg now needs to get by quickly before he loses too much time and the No. 56 builds a gap. No. 17, 1 lap down, is just behind Joerg. He's by now - 1 hour left to go. Now a 3 second gap to the No. 56.
3:4 7 - Joerg has gotten back by the No. 17 and is now back on the tail of the No. 56. They are both being held up by the No. 04 Ford, which is in P4 but is also one lap down (same lap as the No. 17).
3:44 - No. 17 passed No. 45 - he's a lap down but obviously fighting hard to get back on the lead lap with Joerg and the No. 56.
3:40 - The No. 17 Falken Porche, which had been P3, pitted and came out of the pits immediately in front of the GT leader, the No. 56, with Joerg just behind him. Both cars were held up by the No. 17 on cold tires, but were able to get by witout incident. Joerg still P2, No. 56 in the lead.
3:33 - At the 90 minute mark, Joerg is P2 in the No. 45. He's close on the tail of the leader No. 56 with Dirk Mueller in the BMW. The No. 56 has led the entire race so far. No. 17 Falken is P3 and now close behind Joerg. No. 44 now P9. No. 62, which had mowed its way from back of the pack to P3 had a problem and is now behind the wall. Both Corvettes and the No. 55 BMW were knocked back early in the race after a large incident involving four GT cars - the No. 4, No. 3, No. 55 and No. 02 Ferrari. No. 44 is P9 with Marco Holzer in the car for his first stint. No. 44 had an early race problem - neededto replace an ignition coil - which pushed them back in the field.
3:27 - GT Positions: P1 No. 56; P2 No. 45; P3 No. 17; P4 N. 04; P5 No. 01; P 6 No. 48. Joerg radios in that traffic is a nightmare.
3:23 - Joerg still holding close behind the No. 56. Neiman in the pits in the No. 44 for driver change to Marco Holzer - they are P10. 1 hour 27 minutes left to go. No. 62 received a penalty for a pit lane violation. They are back in the pits.
3:20 - No. 62 in the pits. He was P4.
3:16 - Melo in the No. 62 appears to have a problem - maybe a puncture and he is slowing. No. 17 moves to P3.
3:11 - Traffic continues to thread through the GT leaders making it that much more difficult. Jaime Melo has caught back to Joerg in the No. 45. Seth Neiman still in the No. 44 - he is now P10.
3:05 - Green flag. Joerg in the No. 45. The No. 56, No. 45, and No. 62 are all nose to tail, with the No. 17 in P4, right behind.
3:01 - Patrick in the pits - fuel and tires, driver change to Joerg. P2 at time of stop. No. 56 P1, No. 62 P3. The No. 56 pitted at the same time, and was able to make it out ahead of us, so they retain P1. No. 45 still P2.
3:00 - Patrick will pit this lap for driver change to Joerg.
2:57 - Both Lizard Porsches reeived the pass around and will hustle around to recatch the pack.
2:51 - Car stopped on course - may go double yellow. Yes, double yellow. We believe both Lizard Porsches will get the pass around under yellow. Marco Holzer and Joerg Bergmeister are getting dressed and ready for driver changes.
2:50 - 45 mins into the 2 hour and 45 min race, Patrick Long is P2 in the No. 45, Seth Neiman P11 in the No. 44. On the start, Patrick moved from P3 to P2, and has stayed close with the GT leader No. 56 BMW. Both Corvettes (in P4 and P5), the No. 55 BMW (in P3) and the No. 02 Patron Ferrari were collected early in the race in a big incident which damaged all cars. The No. 44, which started P6, had an ignition coil fail, which required a replacement in the pits. They are now P11. No. 62 Risi Ferrari has moved up from last to P3, and is 7 seconds back from Patrick.
2:45 - Patrick reports problems on the downshift. He is still P2.
2:39 - The No. 3 Corvette is back on course after repairs. He has fallen to P13.
2:34 - Both corvettes and the No. 55 BMW still in the pits under repair. The No. 4 Corvette has gone behind the wall for repairs. Patrick P2 in the No. 45, No. 44 back on course after replacement of an ignition coil - back to P11. Positions: P1 No. 56; P2 No. 45; P3 No. 62; P4 No. 04; P5 No. 01; P 6 No. 17.
2:27 - Big wreck involving both Corvettes, the No. 55 BMW, and one of the Patron Ferraris. Patrick in P2 and the No. 56 BMW were both ahead of the incident and were able to avoid it. No. 44 was also not nearby and avoided the incident. Positions: p1 No. 56; P2 No. 45 ; P3 No. 04; P4 No. 62; P 5 No. 01.
2:22 - No. 44 back out after replacement of ignition coil. Now P15 - a shame for the No. 44 with their strong starting position of P6. Patrick sill holding strong in P2, plus 8 seconds to the No. 55 in P3.
2:18 - Seth radioed in that there is a problem - possibly another ignition coil problem that is causing a misfire. He made it back to the pits. They will replace the coil in the pits and send him back on his way.
2:15 pm - 10 minutes into the 2 hour and 45 minute race, GT positions: P1 No. 56 BMW; P2 No. 45; P3 No. 55 BMW; P4 No. 4 Corvette; P5 No. 3 Corvette; P6 No. 04 Ford; P7 No. 62 Risi Ferrari.
2:05 pm ET - Green flag. Patrick held position at the start under pressure from both Corvettes behind him - he was able to hold on the outside and overtake the No. 55 BMW which was P2. Patrick now P2.
2:01 pm - Cars are rolling for pace laps (three pace laps this year). Patrick is in the No. 45, Seth in the No. 44.
1:45 pm ET - The cars are on the grid for the race which starts at 2:05 pm ET. Patrick Long will start third on the GT grid, Seth Neiman sixth in the No. 44. No. 56 BMW is on the pole. the No. 62 Risi Ferrari did not make qualifying after an incident earlier in practice, and they will start from the back.
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10:15 - Checkered flag on morning warmup. Joerg was P3 in GT, Seth P12. We'll be back with you before race start at 2:05. Team radio will be live during the race. To listen go to the website - click on the Follow the Lizards tab. Nice article on Patrick today in the local paper
10:10 - Just under 5 mins left to go. Joerg currently P3, Seth P12. No. 45 will start third on the GT grid, No. 44 sixth. Race start 2:05 pm ET.
10:03 am - Joerg is back in the pits to give Craig feedback. We weren't able to make much dry setup progress yesterday because of the rain, so they are hustling this morning to make any final changes before the race. Joerg's main issue right now is low grip and understeer. He is currently P3.
10 am ET - Good morning from Lime Rock . Morning practice is underway. Joerg Bergmeister is in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman in the No. 44. The weather is cooperating a bit better today - it's sunny and warm but there's a light breeze. We've got some cloud cover on the horizon so possible we might see some light rain today. Reminder that we are broadcasting our team radio today - you can listen in from the website - click on the Follow the Lizards tab.
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