Flying Lizard Motorsports - Porsche Endurance Racing

Sun. July 11 - Salt Lake City Race

5:20 - Checkered flag. The No. 45 finished fifth and the No. 44 11th. It was a tough race for the Lizards - we had a podium pace in the No. 45 but two unplanned pit stops for tire punctures led to a fifth place finish. Next up is Lime Rock - always an exciting race! Back with you all in a few weeks **** Jennifer

5:13 - Patrick is 10 seconds back from the No. 90 and seven minutes left in the race.

5:11 - Patrick in the No. 45 is fifth:  minus ten seconds from the No. 3 which is in fourth and plus ten seconds to the No. 61 which is in sixth.  The No. 3 Corvette passed the No. 90 BMW to take third.

5:09  - 11 minutes left in the race. The No. 3 and the No. 90 are now battling for position, with the No. 3 in P4 less than 1 second behind the No. 90 in P3.

5:03- Patrick is in the pits. Just left rear tire change.  He is back out again quickly, now is in P5 16 minutes left in the race. The No. 62 is in the lead and is 30 seconds ahead of the No. 92 in second. the No. 90 is P3,  the No. 3 is P4. The No. 45 is 12 seconds back from the No. 3. The No. 44 is P11.

5:01- Patrick reports that it is getting worse, they are pitting him for left rear tire change. He is P3 right now and is 20 seconds ahead of the No. 90 BMW in P4.

4:57 - 23 minutes left in the race. Positions: P1 No. 62; P2 No. 92; P3 No. 45; P 4 No. 90; P5 No.  3; P 6 No. 61; P 7 No. 01. We have a tire pressure alarm on the left rear tire and may have to pit for a tire change.  We will wait for Patrick to tell us if he needs to come in.   A few cars got together drivers right turn 3 - but looks like they are continuing.

4:54 - The No. 3 Corvette served its penalty. Patrick is now in P3. No. 62 Risi Ferrari pitted for its final pit stop  but should retain the lead.

4:47 - The No. 90 just pitted - he is out again  in P5. Patrick in P4 is five seconds behind the No. 3 Corvette, which is P3. No. 3 received  a stop and go penalty for improper pit procedure, so they will have to go back to the pits. That will allow Patrick into second.  The No. 3 Corvette is right behind the No. 92  BMW which is P2. When the Corvette goes into the pits, Patrick will be just 2 seconds back from the No. 92. The No. 62 retains hte lead and has a large gap to the No. 92.

4:44 - The No. 3 Corvette, which was in  P3, is in the pits for tires and fuel. He retains P3  - we can see him on TV working to get his tires quickly up to temp. Between Patrick and the No. 3 is the No. 17 Falken, which is not on the same lap.

4:41 - He is back out after a clean pit stop. Still P4. The No. 3 in P 3 is still chasing the No. 92 in P2. If all goes as planned, that will be the final pit stop for the No. 45.

4:40 - Patrick is in the pits for tires and short fuel. He is in P4 right now and should retain that position after the pit stop.

4:35 - The No. 3 Corvette in P3 is putting a lot of pressure on the No. 92 in P2.  Patrick has closed the gap to the No. 3 to under 8 seconds.  The No. 62 in the lead has bult a solid gap ahead of the No. 92 - 15 seconds.

4:32 - The No. 45 will pit shortly.  Patrick is P4.  No. 62 is P1; No. 92 is P2; No. 3 is P3.

4:30 - No. 44 is in the pits for tires, short fuel, and driver change to Darren Law, who will finish out the race. The No. 44 was P10 at the time of their pit stop. Just under 1 hour left in the race. Unfortunately, speeding violation on the way into the pits - the penalty is a stop and go.

4:22 - Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 92; P3 No. 3; P4 No. 45; P 5 No. 90; P 6 No. 61. Patrick is minus 10 seconds to the No. 3 in P3. He is 1 minute ahead of the No. 90 BMW, which is in 5th.

4:20 - The No. 61 pitted, and Patrick now in P4. The No. 45 will  also have to come in shortly for fuel, possibly tires.

4:14 - Patrick still P5 - he is now 5 seconds back on the No. 61.  He is stuck behind a slow LMPC car right now.

4:09- The No. 90,,which was in P3 just pitted, so moves Patrick to P5. Patrick is 17 seconds behind the No. 62 GT leader and 2 seconds behind the No. 61, which is the next closest GT car. When Patrick passed the No. 17 Porsche earlier (which is farther back in the field), sounds like they may have made contact. Patrick reports that he has big understeer.

4:09 - Chief strategist Thomas Blam says that one of the BMWs (the No. 90) doesn't sound right as they go by pit lane but so far they are both still running well - No. 92 is P1; No. 90 i sP3. Patrick is P6. He is still behind the No. 61.

3:58 - Patrick still battling traffic to try and pass the No. 61. Each time he gets close, they hit traffic. Patrick still P6. Assuming all goes as planned, we  will have one more pit stop for fuel/tires.

:53 - The No. 62 passed the No. 92 to take the lead. Patrick is putting a lot of pressure on the No. 61 as they both battle traffic.

3:50- Patrick, in P6,  now just behind No. 61 which is in P5.

3:49 - Green flag.

3:45 - Just over 90 minutes left in the race. Still yellow. Positions: P1 No. 92; P2 No. 62; P3 No. 3; P4 No. 90; P5 No. 61 (second Risi Ferrari); P6 No. 45; P7 No. 44. Patrick is on the same lap as the leaders, but he is at least 20 seconds back from the No. 61 and there is a lot of traffic between them.

3:42 -_ Patrick out again quickly - ahead of the No. 44, which also  received tires.  I believe the No. 44 was P6  and the No. 45 was P 7 at the time of the pit stop. I will report positions in a minute once they go around again. Still yellow.

3:42 - Still yellow. The No. 45 and the No. 44. received the waveby from the pace car which I believe puts us back on the lead lap. The No. 44 and the No. 45 are both pitting. Driver change to Seth Neiman in the No. 44 and Patrick Long in the No. 45. Fuel only for the No. 45.

3:35 pm - The No. 62 is in the pits as is the No. 92 - the No. 92 just edged out the No. 62 out of the pits.  Looks like the yellow worked against us, not for us as the top 3 GT leaders gained an entire lap on the rest of the field. Positions: p1 No. 92; P2 No. 62; P3 No. 3; P4 No. 90; P5 No. 44; P6 No. 61; P7 No. 45. The No. 45 did not pit with the No. 62 and No. 92 and the No. 3. We will pit shortly.

3:33 - Pits are open. The No. 92, No. 62, and No. 3 got  a lap up on the rest of the GT field at the start of the yellow when the pace car found the overall leader.

3:27 - Double yellow - to retrieve the Cytosport/Musclemilk Spyder. Hopefully we can use this yellow to our advantage to regain some of our lost positions.

3:27 - Positions: P1 No. 92; P2 No. 62; P 3 No. 3; P 4 No. 44; P 5 No. 90; P 6 No. 01; P7 No. 17; P 9 No. 45

3:25 - Joerg reports that something is wrong, but the crew thinks it is just low pressures. Once the tires warm up and come up to pressure it should be OK. He is now P9.

3:23 - Joerg is in the pits. He received a tire pressure alarm on the right rear. Fuel + 4 tires.  He had a tire puncture on the right rear. 

3:16 - In the No. 45, Joerg has passed Darren to take P3. Darren now P4 in the No. 44. Just over 2 hours to go. Joerg is 2 seconds behind the No. 62. The No. 3 Corvette is P5 and is on a faster pace than Darren.

3:16 - The other Ferrari, No. 61, which had moved up to 8th, just received a penalty for avoidable contact with the  No. 40 Ford (which sent the Ford off in the gravel) - stop and go penalty.

3:13  - The No. 62 Risi Ferrari has passed Darren to take P2. Joerg is now behind Darren. Positions: P1 No. 92; P 2 No. 62; P 3 No. 44; P4 No. 45.  The No. 62 is 10 seconds back from the No. 92.

3:10 -Lead GT positions remain unchanged. P1 No. 92; P2 No. 44; P 3 No. 62; P 4 No. 45; P 5 No. 3; P6 No. 01. No. 62 is fastest GT car on track right now. No. 92 has a gap to the No. 44, but the rest of the GT group is running close together. .

3:06 - Penalty assessed on the No. 4 Corvette for "work performed outside the pit box" - stop and go penalty. The No. 4 had a problem early in the race which put it back in the field.

*** Reminder that the race is broadcast live on SpeedTV. Lizard team radio is live - listen in at www.lizardms.com (click on the Follow the Race tab).

3:03 - Joerg overtook the No. 40 Ford for P4. Positions P1 No. 92; P2 No. 44; P3 No. 62; P 4 No. 45; P 5 No. 40. Of that group, the No. 92,  No. 44, and No. 40 did not pit for fuel in the last pit stop.

2:59 - Green flag.

2:54 - The No. 62, which had been in the lead, was first out of the pits. The No. 45 was out second, gaining a position on the No. 01 Ferrari, which had been in second. Positions: P1 No. 92 (did not pit); P2 No. 44 (did not pit); P3 No. 02 (which did not pit); P4 No. 40 (did not pit); P5 No. 62 (did pit); P6 No. 45 (did pit).

2:53 - No. 45 is in the pits. The No. 90 BMWs and both Risi Ferrraris and the No. 01 Ferrari and the No. 03 Corvette are also pititng. Fuel only for the No. 45. It looks like the No. 92 BMW, which had been in P3, stayed out.

2:52 - The No. 45 may come in for a splash of fuel. We are waiting for strategist Thomas Blam to give the call to pit or stay out. No. 44 will stay out.

2:49 - Looks like a large group  of the GT3 cars got together, they have nearly all continued, but caused a bit of a kerfuffle. Double yellow to retrieve the No. 80 GT3 car which is out on course.  GT positions remained unchanged. P1 No. 62 Risi Ferrari; P 2 No. 01 Extreme Ferrari; P3 No. 92 BMW; P4 No. 45. 

2:46 - Green flag. At start, Joerg is fourth in the No. 45, just behind the No. 92 BMW. They have a LMPC car ahead of them. The No. 4 Corvette is back out - not sure what the issue was, but it appears to have had a fast fax. He has the No. 90 MBW right behind him, with the No. 40 right behind the No. 90.

2:44 - Green next time  by.

2:39 - No 4 Corvette is slow  on course. Not sure what the issue is. Now he is stopped.  Double Yellow

2:37  - Clean start for the field except for the Jaguar, which lost a hood on the start. Luckily it flew off into the run off and there was no incident. Joerg is P4, the No. 92 BMW moved into P3 on the start. P1 No. 62 Risi Ferrari, P2 No. 01 Extreme Ferrari, P3 No. 92 BMW, P4 No. 45. No. 44 is P9. .

2:35 - Green flag. 

2:34 - Pace lap is underway

2:24 -  Drivers are in their cars and we are just about ready for the single pace lap.

*** Reminder - our radio is broadcast live during the race. To listen, click on the follow the race tab on our home page

2:00 pm MT - Good afternoon from beautiful Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.

We have just completed our recon laps and both Porsches are on the grid. Joerg is starting in the No. 45 and is third on the grid. Darren Law is starting in the No. 44 and he is 11th on the grid.

Three cars are starting from the back of the grid - the No. 17 Falken Porsche, which was damaged in a fire in practice on Friday and did not make qualifying; the No. 61 which qualified third but did not pass post-qual tech inspection; and the No. 89 PC challenge prototype.

Here is the final grid, in PDF format at IMSA Timing

July 10, 2010 - Salt Lake City Practice & Qual

3:15 - Checkered flag on qualifying. Joerg Bergmeister qualfied the No. 45 fourth in GT with a 1:47.921, and Seth Neiman the No. 44 12th. Risi No. 62 is P1 (1:47.667)- Ferraris are P1 through 3. We'll be back with you for the race tomorrow, which starts at 2:35 pm Mountain Time (1:35 Pacific/4:35 Eastern)

3:05 - No. 61 Risi Ferrari is now P3.  Ferraris are P1through 3. 10 minutes left. Joerg now P4.

3:04 - Johannes van Overbeek is now P2 with a 1:47.921. Joerg now P3. No. 92 and No. 90 BMWs are now P4 and P 5, with Corvettes now P 6 and 7.

3:02 - Joerg improved his time with a 1:47.921. He will pit now and I expect that he is done for the session.. He is still P2. No. 62 is P1. No 3 and No. 4 corvettes are 3 and 4, respectively.

3:01 - In the No. 62, Giamaria Bruni is P1 with a 1:47.667. I think that is their fastest time of the day so far.

2:59 - After his first lap, Joerg is P1. It is still early in the session and only half of the GT cars are out.  The times will certainly continue to come down.

2:55 -Green flag on qualifying. Joerg will qualify in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman in the No. 44.   Both cars went out at the start of the session.

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2:45 - checkered flag. Qualifying begins in 10 minutes.

2:40  -  Joerg is in the pits. His last time of 1:48.114 put him into P2. That is it for the No. 45 for the session - he'll get back in the car for qualifying in a few mins.

2:34 pm - The No. 61 Risi Ferrari is now P2 with a 1:48.224. the No. 92 BMW is P3 and the No. 45 P4.

2:29 - Jeorg is in the pits. They will make a shock change.  Darren is also back in the pits for a change.

2:20 - Darren Law is now behind the wheel of the  No. 44 for his first stint of the day.

2:10  - Bruni has done a 1:47.837. Patrick still P2. - Patrick has pitted for driver change to Joerg. Joerg will finish out the session, then qualify.

2:06 - Seth Neiman is in the pits for a setup change.

2:03- Patrick is in the pits for what I expect will be the final setup change. He'll go back out for a short time, then turn it over to Joerg to prepare for qualifying.

2:00 - In the No. 62 Risi Ferrari, Gianmaria Bruni now P1 iwith a 1:48.230.

1:59 - Patrick is now P1 with a 1:49.207.

1:57 - Patrick is now P2 with a 1:49.362.  Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 01 Extreme Ferrari is P1 with a 1:49.299.

1:49 - Patrick heads back out. He will do an out lap, and four timed laps, then back in. This is the last chance for the engineers to make any setup changes before qualifying.

1:46 - Patrick pits. Engineers want to check tire temps and Patrick's radio.

1:45 pm MT - Green flag on the session. Patrick Long is in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman in the No. 44.

1:40 pm MT - Good afternoon from Miller Motorsports Park. The temperatures have climbed into the low 90s and the track temperature is approacing 115 degrees. There is a light breeze and some cloud cover, which will hopefully keep us from cooking out here.

We are just about ready for the second, and final practice session of the Utah weekend. The session starts at 1:45 and ends at 2:45, followed shortly after by qualifying. Joerg Bergmeister will qualify in the 45 today. I'm not sure yet about the 44.

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10:30 am MT - Checkered flag on the practice session. The No. 45 was third fastest in GT2  with a 1:48.704. The No. 62 was P1, the No. 90 BMW P2. We'll be back with you for the afternoon session which starts at 1:45 MT, then qualifying at 2:55.

10:21 - In the No. 62, Gianmaria Bruni just did a 1:47.943 - fastest time so far in the session. 9 minute sremaining in the session.

10:15 am - Joerg is back in the pits with a driver change to Patrick Long. Seth Neiman is still in the No. 44. 15 minutes left in the session. On his last few timed laps, Joerg improved his time with a 1:48.704. The No. 90 BMW is now P2 with a 1:48.623, and the No. 62 is still P1 with a 1:48.032

10:06 am - No. 62 is still P1 - I think it was Bruni who set the time of 1:48.403. Jaime Melo is now in the car. Guy Cosmo in the No. 02 Extreme Ferrari is P2; Joerg is P3 with a 1:49.194.

10:01 am - Joerg is in the pits for tire pressures and fuel, and to give feedback to enginer Stefan Pfeiffer. Seth is also in the pits for tire pressure check.

9:56 - Joerg narrowly avoided the Cytosport MuscleMilk prototype which which spun and stopped on course.  Joerg is currently P3 in he session. No. 62 Risi Ferrari is P1 and No. 02 Extreme Ferrari is P2.

9:50 - Green flag. Joerg and Seth are back out in the No. 45 and No. 44 respectively.

9:38 - Major car fire with the Falken Porsche. Luckily the driver was able to get out of the car quickly. However, the fire had definitely taken hold before the fire crews were able to get to it and the car sustained significant damage.  Red flag. It will be some time before the session begins again.

9:30 am MT - Good morning from Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. It's a beautiful day here at the track new Salt Lake City. The cars are on track for the first of two pratice sessions today - it's a combined session this morning from 9:30 to 10:30 am MT, then again from 1:45 to 2:45 this afternoon, followed by qualifying which begins at 2:55 pm MT.

Joerg Bergmeister is starting the session in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman in the No. 44

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Fri. July 9 - Salt Lake City Afternoon Practice

3:00 - Checkered flag on the GT portion of the practice session. We'll ba back with you tomorrow, Saturday, at 9:30 am MT for morning practice, the first of two practice sessions tomorrow. Qualifying is at 2:55 MT tomorrow. It will be broadcast live on www.speedtv.com and www.americanlemans.com.

2:53 - Joerg is back in the pits for another rollbar change in the front. He is currently P3 with a 1:48.534. No. 62 Risi Ferrari is still P1 with a 1:47.442.

2:24 - Darren Law is in the No. 44 for his first stint of the session.

2:39 - Joerg is in the pits. They will do a rear spring change. Joerg reports that the car is still on the stiff side - quite "bouncy" over the bumps.

2:36 - Joerg radios in that it's an improvement so far - the front is less responsive and the car is more balanced. He also thinks the understeer is a bit better on the slow corners.

2:29 - Joerg will pit this lap for some front suspension changes. On High speed corners, he reports front is too good on the intial turn in and the rear can't follow. On the slow speed corners - signfiicant understeer. They are making a roll bar and shock change.  Joerg is back out again.

2:19 - Green flag. Joerg is heading out in the No. 45 and Seth will go back out in the No. 44

2:12 - Red flag to retrieve a prototype stuck on course. Both cars are in the pits and the engineers are beginning to make changes.

2:07 pm - Patrick is in the pits for driver change to Joerg.

2:00 pm MT - Session is now combined, with LMP and LMPC cars on course. Seth and Patrick have used the start of the session to do install laps, bed brakes, and get the tires up to temp. I expect the engineers to begin setup work soon. They are also using the session to confirm fuel consumption at this altitude.

1:52 -Patrick is now P4 with a 1:48.929. No. 62 Risi Ferrari is P1 with a 1:47.860.

1:45 - Patrick is P1 at the moment in GT. We are fifteen minutes into today's sole practice session.

1:38 - Patrick Long is out on track in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman in the No. 44.  The session runs until 3 pm MT - 90 minutes total.

Looks like the worst of the rain will go by us. Here's what pit lane looks like at the moment

1:23 pm MT - Good afternoon from Salt Lake City. We are waiting for the start of the first practice session tihs afternoon and it is raining - heavy rain. Looks like it is just a squall which will pass over quickly, but bad timing with the session. We will wait until it passes by and dries out before going out.

there is only one practice session today. Darren Law and Seth Neiman are in the No. 44 and Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long in the No. 45. The No. 45 has a new chassis, and the No. 44 is the No. 80 which we ran at Le Mans - also a new chassis at that race.