Flying Lizard Motorsports - Porsche Endurance Racing

Sat. April 16 - Long Beach Race - No. 44 8th, No. 45 Retired

6:25 - After a big incident involving a GTC car, the course is full course yellow. We will finish under yellow - the No. 44 will finish eighth in GT. The No. 45 was retired near the 50 minute mark after an incident on Turn 8. Not the combined result we were looking for but it's a long season still to come.No. 56 BMW won in GT, No. 4 Corvette P2, No. 62 Risi Ferrari P3.  See you all in 7 weeks at Le Mans! 

6:19 - Darren is back out again. I believe he will be in P8.

6:18 - Darren in the pits for short fuel, tires.

6:14 - The No. 01 Ferrari  (Scott Sharp) has a problem after spinning on course and impacting the wall; he is going slowly back to the pits. Darren is now P8 after the No. 48, which was ahead of him had a problem.

6:10 pm - Positions: p1 No. 56; P2 No. 4; P3 No. 62; P 4 No. 01; P5 No. 17; P 6 No. 3; P 7 No. 48.

6:13 - Darren is closing on the No. 99 which is in P8 - he's just over 10 seconds behind and is running several seconds faster. There are just over 20 minutes left and the lap times are 1:21 and up, so he could catch the P8 car if they continue at this pace. The P 7 car though has a pretty good gap. We'll see how things sort out - a lot can happen in 20 mins

5:57 - Just over 30 minutes left in the race. No. 44 still P9. No. 56 BMW is P1, No. 4 Corvette P3; No. 01 Ferrari P3.

5:43 - Positions: P1 No. 48; P2 No. 56; P3 No. 4; P4 No. 01. No. 44 is P9.

5:28- Unfortunately, the No. 45 has a broken control arm, and this is not something we can repair in time to rejoin the race and will be retired. The No. 44 is still in the game, and is P12.

5:22  - Full course yellow - big hit by a GTC car and water is all over the track.

5:23 - After a heavy impact on the driver side, the No. 45 made it back into the pits, but there is significant suspension damage.

5:19 - Patrick got by the BMW to take P1. He got held up by traffic. Patrick hit the wall - not sure what happened - he's back in the pits - he radios in that there is heavy damage.

5:13- Patrick is working to get by the BMW but hasn't been able to pass. They are nose to tail.

5:11 - The No. 56 BMW, which was P3, got by the No. 45 and the No. 4 Corvette on the inside as Patrick and the No. 4 jostled for P2 while Patrick was passing the Corvette. Patrick still P2, Corvette P3. 5:09- Stop and go penalty for the No. 44 for pit lane speed violation

5:08 - Sorry your blogger had a perfect storm of technical problems but I'm back now. No. 44 is in the pits for driver change to Darren Law. Patrick is now P2. No. 4 Corvette is P1.

4:56 - Patrick is by the BMW to take P3.

• 4:53 - Green flag.

4:44 - Still yellow flag - Positions: P1 No. 56; P2 No. 4 Corvette; P3 No. 55 BMW; P 4 No. 45; P 5 No. 17 Falken; P 6 No. 01 Extreme Ferrari; P 7 No. 48.  No. 44 is P13.

4:35 - Yellow flag - the Jaguar is in the concrete wall with body damage, drivers left out of turn 7.

4:30 - Green flag.

4:20 - Good afternoon from beautiful Long Beach. We are just 10 minutes from race start. Patrick Long will start fourth on the grid in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman 13th in the No. 44.

Fri. April 15 - Long Beach - Practice & Qualifying

Friday April 15, 2011

5:28 - Patrick now P4. Looks like the No. 56 has the pole. No. 56 P1; No. 4 P2; No. 55 P3., No. 45 P4. Patrick is in the pits. He is currently P4.  He is done for the session.  No. 44 is P13. The No. 62 Risi Ferraris wing came off early in the sesion -they are P14.

5:27 - No. 56 BMW is now P1, No. 4 P2, No. 45 P3.

5:27 - Jan took p1 again in the No. 4 Corvette with a 1:19.429. Patrick is P2.

5:25 - Jan Magnussen in the Corvette was briefly P1, and Patrick improved his time to take P1 again with a 1:19.900.

 5:24  One of the Ferraris (No. 62 Risi Ferrari)  is missing a wing - we can see it on course just off line. Patrick is currently P1 with a 1:20.269. Still early in the session.

5:22 - Lamborgini spun drivers right, turn 5 - he continued, no incident.

5:20 - Green flag on qualifying. Patrick is in the No. 45 and Seth in the No. 44

5:10 pm PT - We are just 10 minutes from our 15 minute qualifying session today at Long Beach. Patrick will qualify the No. 45 and Seth the No. 44. The No. 45 was fastest in this morning's one practice session. Perfect racing weather - sunny with a light wind but starting to cool down a bit as the day winds down. We have a shortened qualifying session here, with the GTC cars qualifying separately and just before us. The checkered flag on their session and the green flag on ours will happen simultaneously -not exactly sure how this will work, but hopefully won't cause any confusion.

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8:40 - 35 minutes left in the morning session. No. 45 is P2 in the session so far. I'm signing off for now - we'll be back with you at 5:20 tonight for qualifying. Reminder that the race is broadcast live on ESPN3.com and tape delayed on ESPN2, Sunday at 2 pm PT. Patrick reports in that the balance of the car is very good - he still has some understeer on entry and oversteer.

8:32 - No. 44 is back in the pits for setup change. No. 45 is heading back out with Patrick back in the car. They are currently P2 with Bill Auberlen of the No. 55 BMW in P1.

8:20 - Joerg is back in the pits for more feedback. It's only now that the tires and the track are coming up to speed - so they have only a short time to make setup changes before the end of the session at 9:15. Darren Law is in the No. 44 - he is P7.

8:10 - Green flag.

8:06 -Still red flag -  one of the corvettes went off into the tire wall. Just over one hour left in the session.

7:45 - Joerg now P1 with a 1:21.326. Joerg is in the pits for a change - he says there is zero grip - no rubber laid down on the track yet and it's really slippery.

7:35 am PT - Good morning from Long Beach, California.  Morning practice is underway. It's another beautiful day here- clear, sunny and no wind. Joerg is heading out in the No. 45 for his first stint of the session. Patrick started the session and is currently P3.  Seth Neiman is in the No.44. This morning is our only practice session of the event weekend - this is always a tough event for getting track time when combined with IRL. Qualifying is tonight at 5:20 pm.