Flying Lizard Motorsports - Porsche Endurance Racing

Mosport - Raceday! July 24, 2011

5:50 pm ET- Checkered flag on the  2011  Grand Prix of Mosport. It was a very disappointing race for the Lizards - A spin at hour 1 cost Joerg the lead, then a mid-race problem with the power steering system reqiured a lengthy pit lane repair, costing the No. 45 nine more positions to P14.  Patrick Long was able to gain back two positions in his stint to P12, but the No. 45 was too far down to make any more progress. The No. 44, which started 14th on the grid, finished 8th in class - in a problem-free race for Seth Neiman and Marco Holzer. The No. 4 Corvette won in GT, No. 62 Rsisi Ferrrari was P2, No. 55 P3.

5:32 - Positions: P1 No. 4; P2 No. 62; P 3 No. 55; P 4 No. 56; P 5 No. 17; P6 No. 3; P 7 No. 04; P 8 No. 44. No. 45 P12.

5:29 - No. 55 received a stop and go penalty for avoidable contact on course. He is in the lead   - this will give the No. 4 Corvette, which is now P2, the lead.  No. 62 is now P3. Patrick in the No. 45 still P 12. Marco Holzer in the No. 44 P8. 21 minutes left.

5:26 - No. 45 pits for fuel and tires. Car has spun between 9 and 10  - he has rejoined. Still P12.

5:16 - Positions: P1 No. 55; P2 No. 62; P3 No. 4; P 4 No. 56; P 5 No. 17; P 6 No. 3; P 7 No. 04; P 8 No. 44; P 9 No. 48; P10 No. 98; P11 No. 01; P 12 No. 45. Patrick in the No. 45 is 7 laps down on the GT leader, the No. 55 BMW.

5:04 - No. 44 is in the pits for tires and fuel. Marco will stay in the car. He was P8 at the time of the pit stop.

5:02 - Positions: P1 No 55; P2 No. 62; P3 No. 4; P4 No. 56; P 5 No. 17; P 6 No. 05; P 7 No. 3; P 8 No. 44; P 9 No. 01; P 10 No. 48; P11 No. 01; P 12 No. 98; P 12 No. 45.

4:52 - No. 45 is P13 after the earlier power steering problem. He is 6 or 7 laps down on the GT leader, the No. 55.  No. 44 is P9.

4:47 - Positions: P1 No. 55; P2 No. 62; P3 No. 56; P 4 No. 17; P5 No. 54; P 6 No. 3; P 7 No. 04; P 8 No. 48. No. 44 is P10; No. 45 P 14.

4:40 - In the No. 45, Patrick is back on course after the replacement of a power steering hose. They lost 9 positions during the repair- from P5 to P14.

4:32 - They have done a driver change to Patrick but still sitting in the pits to repair the power steering pump issue - they are working on it in pit lane.

4:27 - Joerg is in the pits. They are working on the No. 45 in the pits to see if they can resolve the problem without a major repair.

4:24 - Joerg radios in that he has lost power steering in the No. 45.  Thomas Blam tells him to stay out for now if he can.

4:20 - 90 minutes left in the race. Joerg is P5, Marco Holzer P11. Joerg gained the GT lead earlier in the race during a fast pit stop under yellow, but a spin on course  pushed him back several positions.

4:15- Marco Holzer takes the wheel of the No. 44. in  a clean pit stop.  They are in P11 now.

4:14 - Positions: P1 No. 55: p2 No. 4; P3 No. 62; P 4 No. 3; P5 No. 45; P 5 No. 17; P 7 No. 57; No. 44 P10.

4:10 - Joerg radiod in that he locked up when the Musclemilk prototype braked in front of him and Joerg spun - he says all OK. He is now P5. No. 55 BMW takes the lead.

4:07 - Positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 55; P3 No. 4; P4 No. 62; P 5 No. 3; P 6 No. 04; P 7 No. 17.

*** We are having technical difficulties with our team radio broadcast today. I will notify you if we can get it working but it's not looking good - sorry about that. ***

3:58 - No. 40 pits and Joerg takes the lead. The No. 17 Falken Porsche also received a penalty and lost several positions.

3:52 - Green flag. No. 56 was given a stop and go penalty for avoidable contact in pit lane as he was leaving during the last pit stop. He is currently P7.

3:47 - Still yellow.  Joerg is in the pits for short fuel and tires. He will stay in the car.  He was P2. The No. 56 also pitted at the same time as did most of the GT pack.  Joerg made it out of the pits ahead of the entire pack  and ahead of the No. 56, the No. 62 and the No. 17 - taking the (effective) lead from the No. 56. The No. 56 is now P7.  The No. 04 Ford, which did not pit, is in the lead.

3:39 - Incident near Turn 1- looks like one of the ESM Ferraris and the Autocon prototype got together.  He is in the gravel - it is Johannes in the No. 01 Ferrari. Double yellow - we are getting ready for pit stops for fuel and tires for both cars. Positions: P1 No. 56; P2 No. 45; P3 No. 55; P 4 No. 62; P 5 No. 4; P 6 No. 17.  No. 44 is P14.

3:35 - Joerg caught a break with some traffic which gave him a small gap to the No. 55. The No. 55 now has the No. 01 Ferrari (Johannes van Overbeek) right on his tail.

3:32 - The No. 55 BMW in P3 is hard on Joerg's tail - trying to pass at nearly every corner. They are weaving throughout traffic - so far Joerg has held him off.

3:22 pm - Apologies - I am having Internet issues at the moment - so blog updates may be a bit less frequent than normal. Joerg is still P2. P1 No. 56 BMW, P2 No. 45; P3 No. 55; P4 No. 01 Extreme Ferrari; P5 No. 62; P 6 No. 4.  Joerg started third on the GT grid, and moved quickly to P2 at the start. No. 44 is P14.

We are broadcasting our team radio, however because the connection is intermittent you may have to restart it if the connection is lost. For details, see lizardms.com.

3:05 pm ET - Green flag on the Grand Prix of Mosport. It was a clean race start, Joerg started third on the grid in the No. 45. He was able to overtake the No. 55 at the start and moved to P2. Seth Neiman started in the No. 44 - he is now P12.

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10:25 - Checkered flag. Joerg is now P1, Marco is P9.  We'll be back with you for race start at 3:05 pm ET today. Race will be streamed live from ESPN3.com and a 2 hour broadcast on ESPN starting at 10 pm tonight. Flying Lizard will broadcast our team radio starting around 2:30 pm ET. Details at www.lizardms.com.

10:21 - Marco Holzer is P6. Joerg is P10. 4 minutes left.

10:18 - Green flag. 7 minutes left in the session.

10:13 - Sounds like we may be able to get back on track -they are extending the session until 10:25. Still red.

10:10 - Red flag - The Abruzzi had a hard off into the tire wall and there is a lot of debris. This will probably be the end of our now very short morning warmup.  We'll be back with you for the race which gets the green flag at 3:05. Race broadcast starts on ESPN3.com at 3:00.

10:00 am ET - Good morning from Mosport. Patrick Long is in the No. 45 and Marco Holzer is in the No. 44. Much cooler today with a nice breeze and light cloudcover.

Mosport - Sat. Practice and Qual. - July 23 - No. 45 P3 in Qual

4:03 - Joerg will not go back out again - he is P3.  No. 56 BMW has the pole, No. 55 is P2. Joerg's time was two-tenths back from the No. 55.  In the No. 44, Seth is 14th. We'll be back with you for the race tomorrow at 3:05 pm ET.

4:02 - Joerg improved his time on his fourth lap to 1:17.312, but he is now P3, with No. 55 coming up to speed at 1:17.142 and No. 56 at 1:17.083. Joerg will pit this lap  for a setup change, and he may go out  againfor one final lap.

3:58 - Even with traffic, Joerg has moved to P2 on his second lap. He is at 1:17.440. No. 56 still P1 1:17.083.

3:57 - Joerg's first flier puts him at P4 with a 1:17.764. He has hit traffic on his second lap. No. 56 is P1 with a 1:7.083. No. 01 ESM Ferrari is P2.

3:54 - Joerg is on course in the No. 45. 11 minutes left in qual session.

3:50 - Green flag on GT qualifying. Seth Neiman is out on course - it's  a 15 minute session.  Joerg will start in five minutes in the No. 45.

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3:25 - Checkered flag on the session. Joerg's time of 1:17.475 holds as the fastest of the session. Marco Holzer was P9. We have a 25 minute break until qualifying. It's quite hot this afternoon - around 100 degrees, but there is a light breeze which helps, and medium level humidity.

3:18  - Joerg currently P1 in the session with a 1:17.475.  Dirk Mueller in the No. 56 is P2, No. 62 Risi Ferrari is P3.

3:10  - Patrick is in the pits for driver change to Joerg. 15 minutes left in the session. He is still reporting  too much oversteer on some corners.

3:05 - Patrick is still P5. In the No. 44, Seth will pit this lap for driver change to Marco Holzer. Seth will qualify in the No. 44 and Joerg in the No. 45.

2:50 - Patrick is in the pits for a change.

2:48 - Patrick Long currently P6.  Seth Neiman is in the pits for a setup change.

2:33 - Joerg P1. He is pitting for a driver change to  Patrick Long for Patrick's first stint of the day.

2:25 - Afternoon practice is underway. Joerg is in the No. 45 and Seth in the No. 44. This is the final practice session (1 hour) before qualifying, which starts at 3:50 ET today.

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11:14 - Checkered flag on the session so they can complete repair to the tire wall. We'll be back with you in a few hours at 2:25 pm ET.

1:07- Incident at Turn 10 - the No. 02. Looks like he made impact with the tire wall. Red flag. Less than 20 minutes left in the session. Possible this may be the end of this morning's session. Afternoon session starts at 2:25 pm. Joerg now P2, 1:18.121. No. 56 now P1 with a 1:18.029.

11:00 - Joerg now P1 with a 1:18.121. He reports the car sliding at top speed. He will pit for another setup change. He's happier with the car than at the start of the session - front to rear is more connected. Still some oversteer when he leans on the car, low grip.

10:53- Joerg now P4 in the No. 45 with a 1:18.311. Seth P7 in the No. 44. P5 still the No. 55 BMW, with a 1:18.177.

10:48 -  Car 18 is off after a spin, Turn 5.

10:46 - Both Lizard Porsches are back in the pits. Seth Neiman will get into the No. 44, Joerg will stay in the No. 44.

10:43 - Marco now P6 with a 1.19.195. Joerg is P7. No. 55 BMW is P1.

10:35 - Car 11 off drivers right. Both Lizard cars are in the pits for their first setup changes of the session. Marco is P6, Joerg is P5. Both drivers report low grip.

10:32 - Joerg is p4 with a 1.19:648. Marco is P 10 with a 1:21.07.  Marco is in heavy traffic at the moment.

10:25 - Green flag.

10:20 am ET - Good morning from Mosport. It's warmer today than yesterday - low cloud cover but warm and humid with a light breeze.  Both Lizard Porsches are in pit lane awaiting the start of the first of two practice sessions today.  Joerg is in the No. 45 and Marco is in the No. 44. Yesterday was Marco's first time on the Mosport circuit - he came up to speed very quickly. 

Today's qualifying session will be streamed live at ESPN3.com.

Mosport - Friday Practice

4:40 - Checkered flag on the GT portion of today's practice sessions. No. 45 was Pe in the session with a 1:18.164. No. 55 BMW is P1 with a 1:17.933 and No. 56 BMW is P2 with a 1:18.096.  The No. 44 was P8 with a 1:19.743. We'll be back with you tomorrow for practice and qualifying at 3:50 pm ET.

4:31 - No. 45 is still P1 in the session with a 1:18.164 (set by Patrick). No. 55 BMW is P2 with a 1:18.267, No. 56 BMW is P3, No. 62 Risi Ferrari P4.

4:20 - Green flag. Marco is out first in the No. 44. They are still working on the setup change on the No. 45.

4:14  Joerg radios with feedback from corner to corner  - mostly fighting mid-corner understeer on most corners.  The rear is a bit nervous on some of the corners - especially in downhill corners. No. 37 is on the front straight against the wall. Looks like he spun and lightly impacted the wall.  Red flag. Marco is also back in the pits. Craig Watkins is calling for some chassis changes on the No. 45. 20 minutes left in the session.

4:05 - Patrick is  in the pits for more feedback and driver change to Joerg. He's happy with the direction of the setup so far in this session. Marco is also in the pits for feedback to Steve Conover. They will make a substantial change on the rollbar on the No. 44 to see if that gets the No. 44 moving in the direction they need.

3:46 - Session is now combined. Patrick is still P1 in the No. 45. Seth is currently in the No. 44.  1 hour left in the session.

3:24 - Patrick Long is in the pits to give his first setup feedback to Craig Watkins.

3:15 pm ET - GT practice is underway at Mosport. After a stultefyingly hot day yesterday, it's a bt cooler today with some light cloud cover and raindrops. The track is still dry - hopefully it will hold off until after the practice sessions today - GT only 3:10-3:40 and all  classes, 3:40-4:40. Marco Holzer is back with us again in the No. 44 with Seth Neiman, and Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long in the No. 45. Patrick is currently P1  in the No. 45.