Sebring - Thursday/Friday Practice Sessions

Friday March 20 - Morning Practice

10:57 am - checkered flag. In the No. 45, Patrick retains P1 in the session with a 2:03.722. Darren was P3 with a 2:03.988 and the No. 87 (which hit the tire wall in practice and went back to the garage early for repairs) was P2. We'll be back with you tomorrow, race day! for morning warmup at 8:00 am ET - see you then -- Jennifer ***

10:46 - Green flag. Johannes is out in the No.44 and Patrick in the No. 45.

10:36 - Just under 20 minutes left in the session. Patrick long is still P1 in the No. 45. Johannes van Overbeek is just getting into the No. 44, taking over for Seth Neiman. Red flag - Richard Lietz is in the wall in Turn 9 the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche.

10:23 am - Patrick heads out again in the No. 45. Seth Neiman is still in the No. 44

10:20 - Patrick pits for fuel, check tire pressures, and a setup change. Still P1. No. 87 now P2. No. 44 is P3.

10:15 - Patrick Long is now P1 in GT2 with a time of 2:03.794, on fresh tires. Darren is P 2. Darren pits for driver change to Seth Neiman.

10:11 am -Darren is now P1 in GT2 with a time of 2:03.988.

10:08 am - Darren Law is now in P2 in the No. 44. Times are slower than qualifying - the track is cold and still a bit damp from the mist and fog which covered the area this morning. The sun is starting to warm things up a bit. I expect race start tomorrow to be very similar conditions. One of the most challenging aspects of a race like Sebring is the range of track conditions that teams can face - the race starts at 10:30 during the start of the heat of the day and ends at 10:30 at night - temperatures can differ significantly, even here in temperate Florida.

10:05 am - Patrick will pit for fresh tires. Darren is still out in the No. 44. Patrick is currently P3, Jaime Melo (who has just arrived from Italy) is P2 in the No. 62 Risi Ferrari. P1 is the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche with Wolf Henzler at the wheel.

9:50 am - Patrick Long is in pit lane in the No. 45 and Darren Law is in the No. 44.
Stefan Pfeiffer gave us the run down on this morning's practice - Patrick will go out on used tires for the first few laps to do a shakedown. Then they'll switch to fresh tires and start their setup work.

9:45 am - Good morning - we are just about ready for morning practice which starts at 9:55 am. It will be a bit of a hustle this morning to finish setup work - we weren't able to do much last night in the night practice session because of the rain and resulting wet track. A reminder that we'll be broadcasting our radio all day tomorrow - for details go to www.lizardms.com - the "Follow the Race Tab."

Our store at the track is up and running - everything looks good. I'm glad it was there since I lost my watch this morning - Paul (who manages our store) got me set up with a Flying Lizard Bulova watch - very cool... you can check them out at www.lizardms.com/store


Thursday March 19
8:53 pm - Darren and Patrick pit together and the evening practice is complete for the Lizards. All six drivers have done their 3 laps so we are heading back to the garage. We'll see you tomorrow for the 1-hour Friday practice at 9:55 am ET.

8:49 - Patrick asked for a few more laps so he could check the traction control.

8:46 pm - Thomas Blam calls Patrick into the pits - he's done and most likely they will head back to the garage. In the No. 44, Darren will just do his 3 laps and then they are done.

8:41 pm - Seth pits for driver change to Darren Law. We couldn't hear Seth on the radio but believe he said an alarm of some sort. They will check it before Darren goes out. Patrick's driver ID is now working.

8:40 pm - It appears that Patrick's driver ID is not working so they are pitting him to plug in his driver ID plug, then they'll send him out again for one more lap.

8:34 - Johannes has done his 3 laps and is pitting for driver change to Seth Neiman. Joerg has also done his 3 laps and is pitting for driver change to Patrick Long. 25 minutes left...

8:27 - The No. 44 is idling in pit lane in the No. 45 pit stall. The No. 45 is refueling and is now in No. 44 pit stall. Johannes is cleared to go out in the No. 44 and Joerg will head out as soon as the fuel is done.

8:20 - Marc is in the pits after doing his 3 laps and then completing a fuel test. Joerg is getting ready to get in. By the end of his stint, Marc's times were down to 2:05.464 - just a few seconds off of the qualifying times. He reports that the track is now almost dry. Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 44 is heading from the paddock to pit lane. 40 minutes left in the session.

8:04 pm - Marc is out on track. Lap times are 12 seconds slower than earlier today -- everyone is being very careful.

8:00 pm ET - Looks like we have some action now - Marc Lieb is on the radio in the No. 45 heading to pit lane. The No. 44 will be another 20 mins or so. We have one hour to complete the 3 laps for each drivers. Neither car will attempt any setup changes during this session - it's cold, wet and will soon be very dark so it will not be of much use for setup work. Marc will head out on slick tires - the track is now dry enough.

7:45 pm ET - Evening practice is underway but only a few cars are on track - the two GT1 Corvettes and the Audis. We had very heavy rain around 5:30 pm today which flooded the track and paddock. Luckily the rain was over by 6:30 and there's a nice breeze so things are drying out quickly. The Lizards should be underway in the next 30 minutes or so. Each driver is required to do 3 laps during this night practice. Patrick Long took advantage of the break to be a guest on the SpeedTV evening show tonight being filmed above pit lane.