Flying Lizard Motorsports - Porsche Endurance Racing

Road America - Sat Aug 20, Raceday!

7:02- Checkered flag on the four hour Road America. Joerg finished fourth and Marco 9th (he lost two positions with an end of the race problem) in a very exciting race for all classes. Congrats to the Lizards on an excellent race.

6:59 -We think Marco has a right front suspension problem. He wlil stay out if he can. he is enough ahead of the No. 8 position GT car, that if he can stay out, he can hold position

6:57 - Marco has a problem- but not sure yet what it is.  But there are only five minutes left and he has a big gap to the next closest GT car. We need him to stay out.

6:51 - The No. 56 just blew by Joerg - clearly with more power  on the straight. Joerg did a fantastic job and holding him off cleanly. Joerg now P4. No. 56 moves to P3.

6:49 - Joerg still holding off the No. 56  but it's touch and go here...

6:45 - The No. 56 BMW has caught the No. 45 but has not yet found a way to get by.

6:42 - The top five GT cars are within 8 seconds of each other. The No. 56 BMW just overtook the No. 4 Corvette to take P4. No. 4 moves to P5. Joerg holds P3 but he's the next target for the No. 56. No. 62 leads, No. 55 BMW P2. Marco has moved up to P7. In his sights is the No. 17 Falken Porsche, in P6.

6:36 - No. 62 back in the GT lead. No. 55 BMW P2. No. 45 P3. Joerg has the No. 4 Corvette just behind him and the No. 56 BMW just behind him. Marco passes the No. 01 Ferrari to take P7. 24 minutes left.

6:30 - GT positions: P1 No. 55; P2 No. 62; P3 No. 45; P 4 No. 4; P 5 No. 56; P 6 No. 17; P 8 No. 01; p 9 No. 44. 30 minutes left in the four hour race.

6:28 - Amazing pass by Wolf Henzler in the No. 17 who shot by the No. 56 BMW as he was battling the No. 4 Corvette for position and Wolf used the opportunity and a slower  GTC car to his advantage to shoot down the middle to take P 17. There are nine GT cars all still on the lead lap - not bad after three hours.

6:25 - Joerg now P3. GT leaders: P1 No. 55 BMW, P2 No. 62 Risi Ferrari, P4 No. 56 BMW. Marco now P8 in the No. 44. Just over 30 mintues left.

6:23 - Green flag.

6:20 - GT pits are open; Patrick pits for driver change to Joerg, tires and short fuel. He was P4 at time of pit stop.  Seth will also pit in the No. 44 for driver change to Marco, tires and fuel. He is p8. The No. 56, No. 4, No. 55, and No. 62 all pit at the same time. No. 62 was in the lead.  I'll report positions in a few minutes.

6:08 - Double yellow - the No. 3 Corvette was involved  in one of the two separate incidents. The other is the No. 20 car in the Kink - which will require a tow.  The No. 3 had been P10.

6:01 - 1 hour left to go. The No. 4 Corvette got around Patrck to take P3. Patrick now P4. Patrick is nearing the end of his stint and will pit shortly for driver change to Joerg.

5:53 - Patrick still P3. Risi Ferrari leads. No. 44 P9.  Just over one hour to go. No. 32 off drivers left turn 12. Deep in the gravel. Local yellow. not a factor. No. 4 Corvette, in P4, still hard on Patricks' tail, looking for an opportunity to pass. No. 62 Risi Ferrari still in the lead.

5:42 - Green flag. Patrick is putting pressure on the No. 56 BMW which is P2. The No. 4 Corvette is right on Patrick's tail.

5:40 - Still yellow. The No. 62 is now in the lead. No. 56 BMW is P2, No. 45 P3, No. 4 Corvette P4. I am not sure if the No. 62 has pitted yet in this round but he's out of sequence with us.  .

5:38 - GT pits are open. No. 55 BMW is in the pits as is the No. 3 Corvette and the No. 01 Ferrari. I believe Patrick will be P3 or P4 now, with the No. 01 Ferrari moving back. Yes, Patrick is P3. No. 4 Corvette is P4.

5:36 - The No. 01 Ferrari of Johannes van Overbeek is slow  on course. Evidently he went by the pace car under yellow, after a pit stop under yellow while pits were closed. So he is going slowly to sort back into the correct position. But he will still have a penalty for pit stop in a closed pit. That's a shame - he was in the lead GT pack.

5:23- No. 44 is in the pits.Driver change to Seth Neiman, tires and fuel.  Just over 90 minutes left to go. No. 62 Risi also just completed their stop. The gold GTC Porsche is deep in the gravel. Full course caution. I'll report positions after the pit stops at the end of the yellow. I think the No. 45 will sort out back to P5.

5:19 - No. 4 and No. 56 BMW in P1 and P2, pit simultaneously. We'll see who gets out first. No. 62 did not pit. No. 56 BMW is out of the pits first  to take the (effective) GT lead (once the No. 62  which is currently leading, and the other GT cars pit). No. 4 Corvette will be P2.

5:17 - Patrick now P9 after the pit stop. The GT leaders should pit in the next five minutes or so. I'll report positions in a bit. No. 4 Corvette still leads, No. 56 P2, No. 62 P3, No. 01 P 4.  Marco Holzer will stop shortly for driver change to Seth Neiman, tires and fuel. He is currently P7.

5:15 - Patrick in the pits - tires, fuel, drink bottle,  No driver change. The No. 17 Falken Porsche also pits.

5:13 - Patrick will pit shortly for tires, fuel, and drink bottle change. he will stay in the car for a double stint. He is P5 at the time of the pit stop. He's the first of the GT field to pit in this round. Marco P9 in the No. 44.

5:10 - Patrick reports a tire may be going down. The crew is getting ready but they aren't calling him in yet. We have tire pressure sensors which we are able read in real time using our telemetry.

5:04 - No. 62 Risi Ferrari slow on course. Not sure if there is an issue. No. 62 is P3 right now.

5:02 - The No. 01 Ferrari got by Patrick to take P4. Patrick now P5. Marco P9 in the No. 44. No. 4 Corvette in the lead.

4:53 - Approaching the 2 hour mark new GT leader No.  4 Corvette which was able to get by the No. 56 BMW to take the lead. No. 56 now P2. P 3 No. 62; P 4 No. 45; P 4 No. 01. No. 44 P9.

4:34  After the restart, Patrick held position as the GT leaders juggled for position. P1 No. 56; P2 No. 4; P 3 No. 62; P 4 No. 45; P 4 No. 01. No. 44 P8.

4:33 - Green flag.

4:32 - Still yellow. Patrick P4. Positions: P1 No. 56; P 2 No. 62; P 3 No. 4; P 4 No. 45; P 5 No. 01 . No. 44 P 10.

4:30 - No. 55 BMW, whidh was the leader, in the pits. No. 3 Corvette also in the pits.

4:29 - GT pits are open. Still yellow. No. 44 will pit for a fuel top up.

4:17 - Double yellow. The No. 55 and No. 3 did not pit in the last group of pit stops, so we expect they will pit at the end of this yellow, which will put Patrick into P3.

4:15  -GT positions: P1 No. 55 BMW; P2 No. 3 Corvette; P 3 No. 56 BMW; P 4 No. 62 Risi Ferrari; P 5 No. 4 Corvette; P 6 No. 45; P 7 No. 01; P 8 No. 17; P 9 No. 44.

4:10 - No. 4 Corvette and No. 62 Risi Ferrari got together as Toni Vilander in the no. 52 Risi appeare to have a problem with this driver door. Both cars spun but continued. The No.4 Corvette is now slow on course and the No. 62 Risi Ferrari also looks like it might have an issue.

4:09 - No. 4 Corvette and No. 56 BMW both in the pits. No. 02 Ferrari also in, as is the No. 62 Risi Ferrari. Marco is in the pits. Tires, fuel, no driver change. They will also make the chassis adjustment

4:04 - Joerg pits - driver change to Patrick Long, tires and fuel. The No. 17 Falken also in the pits. Risi getting ready for a pit stop. A problem-free pit stop for the No. 45. The rest of the GT field should pit over the next fiv eminutes or so - I'll report positions in a  few minutes once the field resettles. Marco will be in shortly. Patrick now P9 after the stop.

4:03 - No. 45 will pit this lap for driver change to Patrick Long, tires and fuel. He is still P 4.

3:57 - The No. 4 Corvette has taken the lead, with the No. 62 still P2. The no. 56 BMW is now P3. Joerg still P4. No. 55 BMW has moved up the field to P 5. We'll pit in about five minutes.

3:50 - Marco P10. Car off drivers left deep in the gravel Turn 12 and another GTc car also off. No. 97. Should be only a local yellow. Marco radios in that the car continues to get worse.

3:49 - Marco radios in that he's struggling with exterme oversteer on turn exit. The No. 55 BMW has gone by him and he is now P 9.

3:44 - Joerg still P4, Marco P 8. The No. 3 Corvette is putting pressure on Marco. Engineer Steve Conover would like to make  a chassis setup change when Marco pits next.  We had very limited setup time this week because of the number of red flags in the final practice session and the rain this morning.

3:38 - Looks like the No. 02 Ferrari got by Marco to take P7. Marco P8.

3:29 - Joerg now P4. Not sure what happened, but the no. 3 Corvette which was P4 is now P 11. Marco now P7. The No. 4 Corvette which is P3 is putting a  lot of pressure on the No. 62 Ferrari in P2. The No. 56 is on a faster pace than the rest of the field - he's P1 and now has a 10 second lead to the No. 62

3:25 - Green flag.

3:23 - No. 55 BMW is in the pits. He was P12. The No. 45 will not pit. Green this time by.

3:20  - Still yellow. GT pits are open. Positions: P1 No. 56; P2 No. 62; P3 No. 4; P 4 No. 3; P 4 No. 45. Looks like several of the GT leaders are getting ready to pit under yellow for fuel.-

3:11 - Double yellow - pits are closed. This is to remove the No. 18 from the gravel. This will help the No. 44 close the gap to the GT leaders.

3:10 pm CT  - Car off in gravel drivers left turn 9. The No. 18.  Not a factor. GT lead positions unchanged. Joerg P5; Marco P9.

3:03- That was a really hairy start for the GT field with cars three across as they jockeyed for position. Joerg made contact with one of the BMWs but continued.  He is still P5. Positions: P1 No. 56 BMW; P2 No. 62; P3 No. 4; P 4 No. 3; P5 No. 45. No. 44 is P9.

 3:02 - Green flag.

2:55 pm CT - Engine start. Cars are on the grid ready to head out for their pace lap. Race start 3:00 pm CT.

2:45 pm CT - Good afternoon from Road America. We are just a few minutes from race start. Joerg is in the No. 45, starting fifth on the grid and Marco is in the No. 44, starting ninth. The weather has held - it's very pleasant - warm with a nice breeze and  some cloud cover. But it looks like the rain will pass us by and it will be  a dry race.

Reminder that we are broadcasting our team radio live - listen at http://tinyurl.com/46ds4qr

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Sat. Aug 20 - 2011 - Raceday!

10:35 - Checkered flag on the am session. We weren't able to make quite as much progress on setup as we had planned because of the rain, but the good news is everyone else is in the same boat.  Marco was P2 in the session with a 2:23.895 and Joerg was P1 with a 2:22.748. Both cars were on rain tires. Race start is at 3:00 Central Time today.

10:30  am CT - Good morning from Road America. Rain just before morning warmup meant the Lizards headed out for the final track session before the race on rain tires. Joerg is currently P4 in the session, Marco Holzer is P2. Just  5 minutes left in the session.

The race will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com today and tomorrow, Sunday, on ABC. For details see the schedule at lizardms.com.

 

 

 

Road America - Practice - Fri. Aug 19

3:40 - Checkered on the qualifying session. Joerg is P5 in GT, Marco was P9. The No. 56 BMW was on the pole.

3:36 - Joerg now P5, Marco P9. No. 55 BMW has moved to P 4. The top three cars (the No. 56, No. 4 and No. 62) are separated by just two tenths and the No. 56 and No. 4 are just 5 one-hundreths apart.

3:34 - Joerg still P4 with a 2:06.379. He is done and will pit.  Dirk Mueller in the No. 56 is P1, Jan Magnussen in the No. 4 is P2; Toni Vilander in the No. 62  is P3. Marco is P 8 in the No. 44.

3:30 - The No. 56 just did a 2:05.447. He is now P1. Joerg is p4 in the No. 45. Marco is P 5.  (after 2 laps) The No. 56 is slow on course. Joerg went briefly airborne on the last lap after dropping a wheel. he's back on pace now.

3:25 - Green flag on qualifying - GT only. Marco Holzer is in the No. 44 and Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 45.  Joerg has some space in front and behind him - looks like he has a good position for his flier. Both BMWs are ahead of him on track.

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2:50- Checkered on the session. Qualifying begins at 3:25 pm. Marco Holzer will qualify the No. 44 and Joerg the No. 45. qualifying will be streamed live in ESPN3.com.

2:48 - Two cars off in  Turn 12. Red flag. No. 45 still in the pits, No. 44 will come in now. Separate incidents - the GTC ar avoided contact but the prototype impacte the wall. Unclear if we will go green again.

2:46 - Joerg pits immediately for another change.

2:43 - Green flag. Just 17 minutes left in the final practice session before qualifying. Joerg is now in the No. 45. Marco in the No. 44.

2:29 - One of the Jaguars had a problem  - looks like they lost a motor on the exit of turn 3- and is stopped just of course. Red flag. Could be a lengthy red as they clean up from this - lots of oil on the track.

2:23   - Seth will pit this lap for No. 44 engineer Steve Conover to make a damper adjustment.  The No. 18 prototype spun on course but continued.

2:21 - Patrick heads out again after a setup change.

2:13 - Patrick is in the pits - reporting mid-to late corner oversteer and lack of rear grip.

 2:08 pm - Patrick is P2 in the session right now with a 2:09.007. Times have fallen from this morning's session.

2:00 pm CT - Green flag in this afternoon's practice session. Seth Neiman is in the No. 44, Patrick Long in the No. 45. Still clear and pleasant out - perfect racing weather.

*****

10:19  - Red flag and checkered on the sessios. We can't see tine incident to don't know the reason but neither Lizard car was involved. We'll be back with you this afternoon for the second practice session of the day at 2:00.

10:14 - Prototype off in Turn 12 and no. 66 off in the grass drivers left in Canada corner. Both are local yellow.

10:06 - Green flag. Just under 15 minutes left in the session.

10:01 - Red flag - No. 52 LMPC car stopped on course. No. 45 is still in the pits, No. 44 heading back. Patrick will go out next in the No. 45, Seth will stay in the No. 44.

9:58 - Joerg is heading back in the pits - driver change to Patrick Long. he is still P2, now with a 2:07.189. He reports still a bit too much mid-corner understeer. They will make a ride height change and then send Patrick out.

9:55 - Joerg now P2 with a 2:07.943. Oliver Gavin is P1 in the No. 4 Corvette. 25 minutes left in the morning practice.

9:53 - Marco is in the pits for driver change to Seth Neiman. Marco is currently P6 on the session. Joerg is P7 at the moment.

9:50 - Spin turn 12 drivers left. He is stopped just off course.

9:48 - Joerg is back in the pits for more feedback to the engineers. They are making a tire change, once these tires have come in , they will make a damper change.

9:43 - Green flag.

9:32 - The Autocon car is off drivers left at the Kink. Red flag. Joerg is currently P5. Marco is P 6. both drivers are reporting too much understeer, especially in the high speed corners - entry and exit.

9:25 - Good morning from Road America. Morning practice is underway. Joerg Bergmeister is in the No. 45 and Marco Holzer in the No. 44. Another beautiful day here.  Looks like we may have some cloud cover later in the day. Humidity is a bit higher today but still not too bad.

There are two practice sessions today - this morning from 9:20 to 10:20, then this afternoon from 2:00 to 3:00. GT qualifying begins at 3:25 and will be streamed live on ESPN3.com.

Road America - Practice - August 18, 2011

Aug 18, 2011 -

2:15 - Checkered flag. The No. 45 was P6 in the session, the No. 44 P 8. We'll be back with you tomorrow for morning practice at 9:20 am CT.

2:10 - The No. 45 is heading back to the paddock. Five minutes left in the session. The No. 44 will finish out the session.

2:06- Red flag to remove a car that's off in the gravel at the exit of Canada Corner. Marco is now P8, Patrrick is P6.

1:55 - one of the corvettes got together with a prorotype - doesn't look like major damage, but he is back in the pis.

1:51 -marco is pitting for a setup change. He came up to speed very quickly - he's only 7/10ths off of Joerg's time right now. joerg is back out aagain - he is currently P6. Both drivers are reporting similar feedback on the cars so far.  Patrick will take over the wheel of the No. 45. Damper change in the No. 44 to try and address the issue of the rear being too "bouncy" and nervous.

1:40 - Green flag. Marco is back out again. This is his first time driving at Road America so he is focused on getting acclimated to the circuit.

1:36 - Red flag. Joerg is in the pits for more feedback to Craig Watkins our chief engineer.

1:25 - Red flag after a  prorotype went off into the tire wall. He's continued but still red. Marco Holzer will take over now in the No. 44. Joerg will stay in the No. 45

1:11 - Back to green flag. Joerg is heading out now after a rotor and pad change.

 12:58 - Red flag - one of the Jaguars is stopped on course. Both Lizard Porsches are returning to their pit stalls. Joerg resports a lot of understeer in the Carousel and the Kink and in general a lot of push. They are ready to start making setup changes - we have 90 minutes in this practice session today.

12:48 - Joerg and Seth are back in the pits after an install lap  to confirm that any new components that were installed yesterday as part of car prep are functioning correctly. No issues so far.

12:45 - Good afternoon from Road America. It's a beautiful day here -sunny and pleasant with low humidity (!).  The first practice of the raceweek is underway. Joerg is in the No. 45 and Seth in the No. 44.