Long Beach Race!

April 18, 2009 - RACE!

5:58 pm - Checkered flag. The No. 45 wins in GT2. The No. 44 is fifth. A major car fire in the No. 28 Corvette resulted in a yellow flag ending - the driver of the No. 28 Corvette appears to be OK and we can see him waving to the crowd on the television.

5:54 pm - The car that caught fire was the No. 28 GT2 Corvette. The driver is out of the car and being assisted by safety personnel. The race may finish under yellow.

5:52 pm - A fire in a Corvette in Turn 1. Fire crews are on the scene. I'll report more in a minute.

5:48 - The No. 45 is by the No. 18 and has clear running right now. The No. 62 is in P2 but is 26 seconds back. The No. 44 is in fourth. Nine minutes left.

5:45 pm - 13 minutes left. Joerg is in P1 in the No. 45. He is stuck behind the No. 18 Vici Porsche, which is on a slower pace and is in fourth. The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche, which is P11 after a lengthy pit stop early in the race, is behind Joerg on track. Darren Law in the No. 44 is fifth.

5:40 pm - 17 minutes left in the race. GT2 positions: P1 No. 45; P 2 No. 92; P 3 No. 62; P 4 No. 18; P 5 No. 44; P 6 No. 21.

5:37 pm - The No. 45 is still P1, 35 seconds ahead of the No. 62 which is P2. The No. 62 is doing a slightly faster pace. The No. 44 is now P6.

5:35 pm - Spin in the middle of Turn 17 - the No. 90 BMW and the No. 28 Corvette. A prototype narrowly missed them but no contact and all cars contiued.

5:29 pm - Under 30 minutes left in the race.

5:28 pm - The No. 45 is once again in the lead. The No. 62 is P2 and the No. 90 is P3.The No. 45 is 36 seconds ahead of the No. 62. Darren is now P6.

5:26 pm - The No. 62 is in the pits for tires, fuel, and driver change to Jaime Melo.

5:25 pm - The No. 62 has taken the lead during our pit stop, but they have not yet pitted. The No. 45 is P2. The No. 44 has moved up to P7. Both cars should be good for the remainder of the race with no additional pit stops needed.

5:23 pm - The No. 45, in the lead, pits for driver change to Joerg Bergmeister, tires and short fuel. The No. 21 has also just pitted, but most of the rest of the GT2 field has not yet pitted.

5:18 pm - Course wlil stay green. Patrick Long is still in P1, with a good lead on the No. 62 which has climbed from the rear of the pack into P2. The No. 44 has moved to P8. The No. 45 will pit in one or two laps for driver change, tires, and fuel. This is a critical pit stop - although the No. 45 has a 30 second gap to the No. 62 if the No pits under green, and then there is a yellow immediately after, and the No. 62 has not yet pitted, it will be able to pit under yellow, and possibly gain a position.

5:15 pm - The No. 3 Corvette was slow on course and has pulled off into the safety area. It's possible that the course may go yellow.

5:12 pm - The No. 62 Risi Ferrari has passed the No. 92 BMW to take second. He is 25 seconds back from Patrick Long in the No. 45. Neither car has pitted.

5:09 pm - Positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 92; P3 No. 62; P4 No. 18; P 5 No. 90. No. 44 is now P11.

5:04 pm - The No. 87 is in the pits, something appears to be wrong with the right front suspension. Patrick Long in the No. 45 has taken the lead and now has a 22 second lead on the No. 92 BMW which is in second. The No. 44 is in 12th.

5:03 pm - Patrick moves into P1, finally being able to safely pass the No. 87 as the No. 87 slowed, possibly with a flat, the npitted.

4:56 pm - Patrick is still P2 in the No. 45, behind the No. 87 Farnbacher Porsche.Darren is in P12 in the No. 44. Just under 1 hour left to go and no cautions or major incidents so far.

4:53 - The No. 11 Viper spun and contacted the tire wall but continued.

4:50 pm - Darren heads out in the No. 44 with new tires and fuel. Patrick is still P2, close behind the No. 87 but he has been unable to pass. He has built a gap of 18 seconds ahead of the P3 GT2 car- the No. 92 BMW.

4:47 - 30 minutes into the race. 1 hour 10 minutes left to go. Driver window is now open and drivers will begin to pit for driver change. No yellows so far int he race. The No. 44 will pit for driver change to Darren Law, tires and fuel.

4:44 pm - GT2 positions: P1 No. 87, P2 No. 45; P 3 No. 92; P4 No. 18; P5 No. 90; P 6 No. 62; P 7 No. 17; P 8 No. 11; P 9 No. 40; P 10 No. 28; P 11 No. 21; P 12 No. 44.

4:42 pm - The driver change window will open shortly (30 minutes).

4:33 pm- Reminder that we are broadcasting our team radio - go to the home page for details (Follow the Race tab). Radio le Mans is also broadcasting live - http://www.radiolemans.com.

4:30 - Thankfully, so far it has been an uneventful race. Patrick in the No. 45 is still P2, and Seth in the No. 44 is P12. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari has moved from the back of the pack up to eighth.



4:23 - The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche, which started in the lead, and Patrick Long in the No. 45, which started in second are nose to tail. They have already built a good gap from the next closest GT2 car, the No. 92 BMW.

4:21 pm - The first few laps of the race will be a challenge as the GT2 field sorts itself out. We have some fast cars, including the No. 62 starting from the back who need to thread their way through.

4:20 pm - Green flag

4:18 pm - Correction, it will be a double file restart.

4:17 pm - Yellow flag start - not sure what happened but they did not go green. They will go single file on the restart. The race clock did start, but still yellow.

4:12 pm - Pace laps have begun. Patrick Long will start second in GT2 in the No. 45. Seth Neiman will start 10th in the No. 44.

4:10 pm - Engine start. Five minutes to race start.

3:55 pm - Green flag for the recon laps which precede the gridding of the cars. The race will start at 4:15 pm PT.

3:53 pm - Seth Neiman will start in the No. 44 and Patrick Long in the No. 45. We qualified third in the No. 45 and eleventh in the No. 44. However, several cars, including the pole setter no. 62 Risi Ferrari, have moved to the back so our new starting positions will be second and tenth.

*** A special note to the Big Lizard in Ohio - hi from Seth! **

3:45 pm ET - We are just 30 minutes away from the start of the Long Beach race. The race is the shortest of the season - 1 hour and 45 minutes long. The race will be broadcast on ABC - tape-delayed on Sunday, April 19 - in most markets it will start at 9;30 am PT - check your local listings to confirm the time.

** We are broadcasting our team radio - to listen, go to www.lizardms.com, click on the "follow the race" tab and follow instructions. **

Long Beach - Practice & Qualifying

April 17, 2009 -

4:30 pm - Unfortunately, on Patrick's last lap, he had to negotiate traffic from a slower GT2 car, and will settle for third. The No. 62 Risi is on the pole and No. 87 is second. Seth Neiman in the No. 44 will start 11th in GT2.

4:20 - Patrick will go out for one last try at bettering his time. 4 minutes left. The No. 62 is P1; No. 87 is P2, No. 45 is P3.

4:17 pm - Patrick is in the pits. I think he's done for the session but there's a chance they may send him out again. He is currently P2, with Jaime Melo in the No. 62 in P1. Seth Neiman in the No. 44 is P12.

4:14 pm - The No. 62 went into the run off but did not impact the wall and continued.

4:13 pm - Patrick is P1, + three-tenths from the nearest GT2, the No. 87. 11 minutes left.

4:09 pm - Green flag.

4:07 pm - Red flag to remove debris from the track. This should be a short red but since the session is only 25 minutes,every minute counts.

4:05 pm - the No. 21 Panoz brushed the tire wall and is stopped but is clear of traffic. both Lizard cars held back at the start, which turned out to be a good decision as teh No. 28 Corvette and the No. 21 Panoz collided exiting pit lane, and the No. 21 lost his rear bumper.

4:00 pm PT - Green flag on qualifying.

3:48 pm - Good afternoon - we are just a few minutes away from this afternoon's qualifying session for Saturday's race. Seth Neiman will qualify the No. 44 and Patrick Long will qualify the No. 45.

9:40 - Checkered flag on this morning's practice session. We'll be back with you for GT2 qualifying at 4:00 pm PT. The No. 45 had the second fastest GT2 time in the session, the No. 44 had the ninth fastest time in the session.

9:37 - The No. 92 BMW is in the run off at Turn 9. He is continuing.

9:32 - Patrick Long will pit in the No. 45 for fresh tires then will finish out the session. Seth is still out in the No. 44.

9:29 - The No. 28 GT2 Corvette (with Boris Said driving for Long Beach) spun in Turn 10 but continued.

9:26 - No. 44 went into the run off at Turn 1, he'll pit for the crew to check out the tires. No impact with the tire wall. The No. 87 is back on track today after sustaining significant damage at the end of yesterday's afternoon practice. 12 minutes left in the session.

9:16 am - No. 44 is P3, No. 44 is P6. Seth Neiman is out in the No.44 and Patrick Long in the No. 45.

9:12 - the No. 4 Corvette is in the ptis with some damage to the right front. No. 44 is called into the pits for driver change to Seth.

9:10 am - Darren now P2. No. 45 engineer Stefan Pfeiffer calls Joerg into the pits for driver change to Patrick Long.

9:07 am - No. 62 Risi Ferarri is in the run off at Turn 8 but avoided impact with the tire wall. He has continued. Dirk Mueller in the No. 92 is now P1.

9:06 am - Joerg radios in that the tires are starting to come in after a few laps on course. He is currently P1 in the session. Darren Law is P4.

9:00 am - Green flag. Cars on course.

8:45 am PT - Good morning from Long Beach, California. The ALMS teams are in the pits waiting for our cars to arrive from the paddock for this morning's practice, scheduled to start at 9 am.

At Long Beach, we have limited on track time prior to the race. Yesterday there were two practice sessions, and today one 40 minute session prior to qualifying. In yesterday's sessions, all went well for the Lizards and we made a lot of progress on our setup - focused on gearing changes to suit the Long Beach course (see Craig Watkin's article on setup in the Daily Reptile - click on the Daily Reptile tab on the home page.)

Joerg Bergmeister will go out first in the No. 45. Darren Law is out first in the No.44.

Qualifying begins at 4:00 pm today, Friday.

St. Pete - Raceday!

April 4, 2009

3:15 pm - Checkered flag. Flying Lizard No. 45 Porsche wins St. Pete! Our first win of the season. No. 44 finishes fifth. Congratulations to the team for a seamless race.

3:05 pm - 10 minutes left. Joerg still 2 laps ahead of the second place GT2 car, the No. 92 Rahal Letterman BMW. The No. 66 is stopped on course but is offline and is local yellow only. The course is still green. They will leave the No. 66 where it is until the end of the race.

3:02 pm - Darren has passed the No. 40 for P5.

3:00 pm - Positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 92 (which passed the No. 21 a few laps ago); P3 No. 21; P4 No. 28; P5 No. 40; P6 No. 55. Darren now six seconds behind the No. 40 and running five seconds per lap faster.

2:54 - Darren has closed the gap to the No. 40, which is in P5. He is now 30 seconds back. 20 minutes left in the race.

2:52 - A good GT2 battle for second position among the No. 21, the No. 28, and the No. 92 - all fighting for P 2. The No. 21 passed the No. 28 and the No. 92 has also passed. So new positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 21; P 3 No. 92; P 4 No. 28; P 5 No. 40; P 6 No. 44.

2:50 pm - 25 minutes left in the race. Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 45 is P1; Darren Law in the No. 44 is P6. GT2 positions: P1 No. 45; P 2 No. 28; P3 No. 21; P 4 No. 92; P4 No. 40; P 6 No. 44. Joerg is still 2 laps up on the second place GT2 car.

2:45 pm - The No. 66 prototype is slow again on course - this is the third or fourth time he's been slow on the track.

2:42 - The No. 20 Mazda went on a lengthy off track excursion but continued. he's back in the pits.

2:41 pm - Darren radioed in that he's very happy with the car. He's running five or six seconds a lap faster than the No. 40, which is in fifth, 1 lap ahead of him.

2:39 - the No. 87 is back on track after its lengthy repair, but is at least 13 laps down on Joerg, who is in the lead in the No. 45. Darren is in sixth.

2:33 - slow car in Turn 5 drivers right. No. 45 and No. 44 are by him, although it was a close call for the No. 44 as Darren went by.

2:32 pm - 43 minutes left in the race. GT2 positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 28, P3 No. 21; P 4 No. 92; P 4 No. 40; P 6 No. 44.

2:27 pm - Green flag. In the No. 45, Joerg is 2 laps heads of the No. 40 in P2. The No. 21 is in third, the No. 28 in 4th, and the No. 92 in fifth. The No. 44 is sixth.
Second through fifth place are all on the same lap, 2 laps down from Joerg. Darren in the No. 44 in sixth, is 2 laps down on that GT2 group. Of the starting GT2 cars, timing and scoring shows four have retired - the No. 62 Risi Ferrari, the No. 90 BMW, the No. 22, and the No. 11. The No. 87 is still in the pits - with a very lengthy pit stop.


2:21 pm - No. 45 still in the lead after its scheduled pit stop. Joerg Bergmeister is 1 lap up on the No. 92 in P2. He is right in front of the overall leader on track, so he will get the waveby and be able to gain an additional lap (or a portion) on the GT2 field.

2:18 pm - Joerg is now in the No. 45 and heads out to catch back up to the pack. The course is still yellow. The No. 40, which was in P3, also pitted. I'll report positions as soon as we get another beacon hit. I think the No. 45 will retain the lead.

2:15 pm - In the No. 44, Darren is now P6 He is 1 lap up on the next closest GT2 car. Patrick is in the lead in the No.45 - he will pit under this yellow for driver change to Joerg Bergmeister, tires, and fuel. Both Patrick and Darren report that the track is extremely slick - like driving on a wet track.

2:13 pm - Yellow flag. No. 87 appears to be still in the pits, as is the No. 90 and No. 62 - all with problems.

2:11 pm - GT2 positions: No. 45 P1; No. 40 P2; No. 92 P 3; No. 87 P 4 (still in the pits). The No. 44 is in P 9. The No. 11 Viper is in the wall drivers right through 10 - he is on the course and won't be able to continue Will go yellow.

2:09 pm - Patrick has passed the No. 87 to take the lead. the No. 87 is coming into the pits. It may have a problem -he was slowing over the last few laps. yes, the TV coverage shows them pulling on components in the right rear of the car - so it is a longer than normal pit stop so far.

2:07 pm - The No. 92 BMW went off into the grass, Patrick is now by the Corvette. Patrick is still P2, now 7 seconds behind the No. 87 in the lead. In the No. 44 Darren is in ninth. Both the No. 62 Risi and the No. 90 BMW appear to be stil in the pits with issues.

2:02 pm - Patrick just 1 second back from Wolf in the No. 87. He can now see him in his sights. Correction - Patrick is farther back - timing and scoring is incorrect. Patrick is getting boxed in by slower traffic as he attempts to move through. I'll report the gap between Patrick and No. 87 as soon as I can. Patrick is trapped behind the GT2 Corvette right now. Darren Law in the No. 44 is now in ninth.

2:00 - Seth is pitting this lap for driver change to Darren Law, tires and fuel.

1:56 - Appears to be big problems for the No. 62 Risi - they are in the pits and appears to be a major problem. They were running in P2 at the time. This puts Patrick into P2, with No. 87 in the lead. Patrick is caught in traffic as he works to try and close the gap between him and the No. 87. He is now 4 seconds behind Wolf.

The No. 90 BMW is also in the pits with an apparent problem - it looks like the car will not start.


1:54 pm - GT2 positions remain unchanged. So far, no major incidents in the race. St. Pete is a high consequence track - there is no runoff so a mistake here can easliy take you into the wall.

1:46 - Patrick is about 7 seconds behind the No. 62, which is in second. Now that he is past the BMWs, he is on the pace of the two GT2 leaders, the No. 87 and the No. 62 - all running 1:15s and change.

1:43 pm - GT2 Positions are: P1 No. 87; P2 No. 62; P3 No. 45; P 4 No. 92; P5 No. 90. No 44 is P11. Just over one hour and a half to go in the race.

1:34 - Patrick made a clean pass of the No. 90 and is now in third. There's now a gap between him and the two GT2 leaders - the No. 87 Farnbacher in the lead and the No. 62 Risi in second. He will need to make up the lost time and get back into the hunt for the lead.

1:33 - Patrick is in a BMW sandwich - a tough position because he has to defend agaisnt the No. 92 behind him (which is in fifth) while still trying to pass the No. 90 ahead of him.

1:32 - Wolf Henzler in the No. 87 did a clean pass of the No. 62 to take the lead.

1:30 - The GT2 leaders are No. 62 Risi and No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche which are running nose to tail. There's a gap now to the No. 90 and the No. 45, in fourth.

1:28 - Patrick is putting a lot of pressure on the No. 90 BMW which is in third now and just ahead of him. Patrick radioed in that he was almost put into the wall in Turn 2 by the No. 90.

1:24 - GT2 positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 90; P 3 No. 87; P 4 No. 45; P 5 No. 92. No. 44 is P11.

1:23 - No. 11 Viper spun, the No. 44 was behind but was able to avoid him. The viper has continued. No contact with any other cars.

1:22 pm - In the No. 45, Patrick has passed the No. 92 BMW moving into fourth.

1:21 pm - Risi is P1, The No. 90 BMW is P2, No. 87 is P3 and No. 92 is P4 and No. 45 is P5.

1:20 pm ET - Green flag on the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg.

1:15 pm - Engine start, five minutes to race start, parade lap about to begin.

12:55 - 25 minutes to race start. The cars are ligning up on the grid. A thank you to Flying Lizard sponsors ShoreTel, eSilicon and RedlineCoffee.com, who is new to the program this year. I had some Redline Coffee this morning in fact - a great start to raceday. You can find out details on getting your own Redline at www.redlinecoffee.com

*** The race will be broadcast live on ABC, starting at 1:30 pm ET(the race starts at 1:20). We are also broacasting our team radio, to listen go click on the "Follow the Race" tab at www.lizardms.com ***

*** We are running a special at the online store for the race. Check it out ***


Click here to to the store.
***

12:45 pm ET - Countdown to the race begins. The pit exit is open and cars are out on their recon laps. Because we had so little time this morning to do a shakedown after the repairs on the No. 45, we are using the recon laps to ensure everything is OK. Patrick Long will start fifth on the grid in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman will start eleventh in the No. 44.

9:42 - Checkered flag. 1 lap - I think that sets the record as our shortest warmup ever.

9:41 am - Green flag.

9:39 am - Good news, we may have a short few minutes on track. Green flag expected in a minute.

9:33 - Not the best start to the morning - it looks like we will not have any warmup at all. They are wroking to remove the Mazda from the track but the session is scheduled to end at 9:40. This will make it difficult for the No. 45 - the car will not have any time to finish its setup after the repair from the crash yesterday in qualifying. We still have the recon laps prior to the race, but that's it.

Race will begin at 1:20 pm ET today - it will be broadcast live on ABC, with a "catch up start" with broadcast starting at 1;30 pm ET.

9:30 - Green flag, but then red flag - One of the Mazdas (the 16) is in the wall in Turn 4. Damage looks quite significant to the car. Driver is exiting the car and appears OK.

** Reminder that we are broadcasting our team radio during this morning warmup and the race. To listen, click on the "Follow the Race" tab on the home page at www.lizardms.com **


9:26 am - We are still on hold. Session should start in a minute. Because the session will end at 9:40, Joerg is now in the car and will be the only driver in the No. 45 for the session.

9:20 am ET - Morning Warmup - Good morning from St. Petersburg, Florida. We are in pit lane ready to head out for the final session before the race this afternoon. We are on a short hold but should start shortly. Seth Neiman is in the No. 44 and Patrick Long in the No. 45.

St. Pete - Practice Sessions

Friday April 3, 2009 -

2:28 - There's some damage to the No. 45 to the right rear of the car and the wing. We'll check it out once we get back to the garage, but it does not look too substantial. We are done for the day. Check back with us at 9:20 am ET for morning warmup, and then the race at 1:20 pm ET. The race will be televised on ABC.

2:24 pm - Patrick is in the tire wall. He is continuing and appears OK. Red flag on the session. That is it for the No. 45 for the session. With just a few minutes left in qualifying, Long is now in fourth with a 1.13.465. No. 62 is in P1; No. 87 is P2; No. 92 is P3. No. 44 is P11.

2:22 pm- Patrick now P3 in the No. 44. No. 62 is P1; No. 92 is P2.

2:20 pm -We saw Patrick go straight into the run off at a turn but made no contact but which messed up that lap for him. He'll regroup, and make another attempt.

2:19 pm - Patrick Long is P2 in the No. 45 - he is 1/10th of a second behind the No. 62, which is P1.

2:18 pm ET - GT2 qualifying - Patrick Long is out in the No. 45 and Seth in the No. 44. There's a lot of traffic and several cars got held up on their first attempts at a fast lap.

*** We are running a special at the online store for the race. Check it out ***


Go to the store.
***
2:05 - Checkered flag - 10 minutes to qualifying. In the No. 44, Seth Neiman will qualify but will use the session for setup.

2:00 pm - Green flag. Patrick is now P4 in the No. 45. The No. 44 is P 6.

1:55 pm - Red flag - debris in turn 10.

1:52 pm - 12 minutes left in the practice session. All good so far. The No. 45 is in the pits for a setup change. Patrick is still in the car. Patrick currently holds the second fastest time in the session, a 1:13.813. Fastest so far is the No. 62 Risi Ferarri, with a 1:13.602.

1:41 pm - No. 44 pits for a damper change on the front and fuel. Seth will stay in the car.

1:38 - Patrick pits in the No. 45. he said that he's "quite happy with the balance"

1:35 - Patrick is now in P5 with a 1:14.911

1:30 pm - Patrick is now in the No. 45.

1:28 - Seth joins the field in the No. 44. Joerg is now P6 with a 1:15.364.

1:25 - Darren pits for driver change to Seth.

1:23 - Darren is now P2 in GT2, with a 1:14.823. Joerg is P 8. No. 87 is P1.

1:20 pm - The No. 45 is out after a quick toe alignment in the pits. Joerg is in the car. Darren will pit in a minute for driver change to Seth Neiman.

1:12 - Darren is now P1 with a 1:15.280. We've had luck with the weather today - it rained at the end of our morning session and for several hours after that but has held off since then. We are hopeful for a dry session and qualifying.

1:07 pm ET - We are back for this afternoon's 1-hour practice session before qualifying. Darren Law is in the No. 44. The No. 45 is in the pits but should be going out shortly.

8:47 am - Heavy rain. We are done and will head back to the paddock area.

8:43 am - It's starting to rain. We had some luck this morning and had 40 minutes of dry practice.

8:36 - The No. 44 is in the pits for a quick setup change. Darren will go out again for another lap, then back in for driver change to Seth Neiman. Patrick Long is currently P2 in the No. 45 and Darren is P5 in the No.44

8:23 - Chief engineer Craig Watkins calls Darren Law into the pits.

8:21 - Engineer Stefan Pfeiffer calls Patrick Long into the pits. The drivers report they are not getting beacon hits, so no lap times are being displayed for them in the car.

8:18 am - Track is still dry. Darren is P2 with best time so far of 1:16.065. Patrick is P3 with best time so far of 1:17.245. The tires and the track are starting to warm up and times are beginning to fall.

8:14 am - Darren Law is P2 in GT2. Patrick Long is P3.

8:06 am - Green flag on the morning practice session. Heavy rain is imminent but we hope to get a few laps on dry track.

7:55 am Good morning from St. Petersburg. We are just 10 minutes away from our morning practice session - our first session of the weekend. Skies are threatening rain but so far things are still dry. We'll go out if it stays dry, if it begins to rain, we'll pit for rain tires and make a call if we go out again or wait it out. The session is 1 hour. We have a second practice session this afternoon, then qualifying.
Darren Law is in the No. 44. He'll bed the brakes on the first few laps, so hopefully it will stay dry for a bit here. Patrick Long is ni the No. 45.