Utah Raceday!

Race! Saturday May 17, 2009

5:00 pm - Checkered flag. No. 45 wins the Utah Grand Prix in GT2. No. 44 is sixth. Congratulations everyone! The Lizards extend their ALMS GT2 team and drivers' championship lead. Next stop Le Mans.... Check back with us June 10 for our first practice session for the 24 Heures du mans.

4:57 - Still green - 2 laps to go.

4:55 pm - 5 minutes left. The No. 45 is still in the lead. Patrick needs to be very cautious on the last few minutes and not overwork the tires. The No. 11 Viper is slow on track and has stopped on course. This may mean a finish under yellow. No. 45 is in the lead, No. 87 is P2, and No 62 is P3. The No. 44 is P6.

4:51 pm - The No. 87 had a slow lap - not sure if they are pitting or not. Yes, they came in the pits. The No. 45 is now 60 seconds ahead, and is in the leads.

4:47 pm - The No. 62 has passed the No. 45, but it was not for position. Patrick Long is in the lead. Car off in 8 - the No. 40 - but he continued.

4:45 pm - Patrick is on a faster pace than the No. 87- about 1 second per lap faster. He is now 22 seconds ahead of the No. 87 - 15 minutes left. the No. 62 Risi Ferrari is physically behind the No. 45 on track, but is one lap down.

4:42 pm - The No. 45 is now 19 seconds ahead of the No. 87, which is in second. He extended the lead during their respective fuel stops. The No. 62 is in third, but is one lap back from the No. 45 and the No. 87. The No. 44 is in sixth, 1 lap back from the No. 18 which is in fifth.

4:37 pm - The No. 45 pits for a short fuel, no tires.

4:34 pm - GT2 Positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 87; P3 No. 62; P4 No. 21; P 5 No. 18; P6 No. 44. 26 minutes left in the race. There will be one more stop for most cars for fuel. The No. 87 is in the pits for their fuel. They are doing fuel only, no tires. Patrick and Wolf are the only two GT2 cars on the same lap. No. 62 is one lap down.

4:32 - The No. 45 will pit in about 5 laps. The No. 87 should be in in about 3 laps.

4:30 - In the No. 45, Patrick Long is still in P1, and has extended the gap to the No. 87, which is in P2, to 15 minutes. On track, the No. 87 is behind the No. 44, driven by Johannes van Overbeek, but Johannes is 1 lap down.
4:20 pm - Patrick radios in that all is OK in the car. He has 40 minutes left to go.

4:11 pm - GT2 positions: P1 No. 5; P2 No. 87; P3 No. 21; P 4 No. 62; P 5 No. 18; P6 No. 11; P7 No. 44; P 8 No. 92.

4:07 pm - The No. 44 pits for fuel, tires, and driver change from Seth Neiman to Johannes van Overbeek. Johannes is back out quickly, now in sixth.

4:01 pm - Just under one hour left in the race. GT2 positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 87; P3 No. 21; P 4 No. 62; P 4 No. 44; P 6 No. 18; P 7 No. 11; P 8 No. 92; P 9 40; P 10 No. 90. There's one more stop left for most cars - both the No. 44 and No. 45 will stop again for fuel. Patrick radioed in that his seat has moved back and if it goes back any further he will not be able to reach the pedals.

3:58 - the No. 18 Vicci Porsche went flying off track and impacted the tire wall. He continued and is back on track.

3:51 - the No. 44 will stop in about 15 minutes. Patrick has maintained the gap in front of the No. 87, which is in second, Patrick is still 12 seconds ahead. Patrick got held up by the No. 92 BMW and lost a second on the last lap but he's by him now.

3:47 pm - A bit less than an hour and a quarter left in the race. Positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 87; P3 No. 21; P 4 No. 62; P5 No. 18; P6 No. 44; P7 No. 11; p8 No. 92; P 9 No. 40; P10 No. 90. Patrick Long is in the No. 45 and Seth neiman in the No. 44. Both cars will need to stop again for fuel. The No. 44 will have a driver change to Johannes van Overbeek. The cars may take new tires, depending on the situation when they pit.

3:39 - In the No. 45, Patrick Long is in the lead. Seth Neiman in the No. 44 is sixth. The No. 87 is in second. The No. 45 is 13 seconds ahead of the No. 87, and is about one half of a second faster per lap pace.

3:35 - The No. 62 Risi Ferrari pitted for tires, fuel and driver change to Jaime Melo. They are now in fifth. Risi had a rough race start- after starting in 2nd, they fell to the rear of the pack after a tussle with a BMW at race start which sent the Ferrari spinning into the gravel.

3:28 pm - Very clean pit stop for the No. 45- Patrick is back out on track. He retained the lead. Positions: P1 No. 45; P 2 No. 87; P3 No. 21; P4 No. 62; P 5 No. 44; P6 No. 18; P 7 No. 11.

3:27 pm - The No. 45, in the lead, pits for driver change to Patrick Long, tires and fuel.

3:23 - The No. 87 is in the pits for driver change from Marc Lieb to Wolf Henzler, tires and fuel. At the time of their pits stop, they were in 2nd. Joerg, in the lead in the No. 45, will pit shortly.

3:21 - the No. 18 Vici Porsche just completed their stop - a bit of a wobbly restart for them but they are back out. they are in 7th. The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche, which is in 2nd, will pit in the next lap or so. The No. 45, which is in the lead will pit in 5 minutes.

3:20 pm - The No. 44 pits for driver change to Seth Neiman, tires and fuel. AT the time of the pit stop, Johannes was in third place, having climbed up from his ninth position start.

3:10 pm - Joerg in the No. 45 is in the lead and is now 8 seconds ahead of Marc Lieb in the No. 87. He will pit in 5 or 6 laps (just under 10 mins) for driver change to Patrick Long. In the No. 44, Johannes is P3. the No. 44 should pit in about 15 minutes. 1 hour and 50 minutes left in the race.

3:04 pm - Joerg has increased the gap over the No. 87 to 6 seconds. Joerg is P1, the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche is P2, Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 44 is P3.
Joerg radioed in that the track is getting faster now - more rubber on the track and more grip. Joerg will pit in about 10 or 11 laps for fuel, tires, and driver change to Patrick Long.

2:56 pm - Just over 2 hours to go in the 2 hour and 45 minute race.
The driver change window opens up shortly (the minimum amount that a driver may be in the car is 45 minutes).

2:48 pm - Joerg has increased the gap between him and the No. 87, which is in 2nd, to 2 seconds. Joerg is running about 1/2 a second faster per lap. Johannes radios in that the No. 44 is good but the track is very greasy.

2:41 pm - GT2 positions: p1 No. 45; P 2 No. 87; P 3 No. 44; P 4 No. 21; P5 No. 18; P 6 No. 40; P 7 No. 11; P 8 No. 62. If all goes as planned, this will be a 2 stop race. One driver change, 2 fuel/tire stops.

2:40 pm - Joerg is still P1, with the No. 87 running nose to tail. Marc Lieb in the No. 87 is putting a lot of pressure on Joerg, but Joerg is holding fast to the lead.
Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 44 is in third.

2:29 pm - Joerg Bergmeister is in P1 - he started on the pole, and was passed by the No. 87 on the start, and then passed the No. 87 again to retake the lead. In the No 44, Johannes has moved from ninth to third, but he is one lap down on the No. 45. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari is in 8th. The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche is in 2nd and is right behind Joerg.

2:28 pm - The No. 90 BMW is in the pits for repairs. Both BMWs have had a rough start to the race.

2:24 pm - We just lost our TV feed in the pits. Hopefully we'll get things back shortly.

2:23 - The No. 62 Risi Ferrari, which had started from second only to end up in a race start tussle with one of the BMWs, which pushed him to the back of the field, has pitted early for tires. He could not get hte car restarted and it was a long pit stop.

2:22 pm - Reminder that we are broadcasting our team radio live. To listen, click on the Follow the Race tab on our home page www.lizardms.com.

2:20 pm - GT2 positions: P1 No. 45; P 2 No. 87; P3 No. 21; P 4 No. 18; P 5 No. 44; P 6 No. 11; P 7 No. 40

2:18 pm - Correction, it looks like the No. 45 still has the lead. it was a very "raggedy start" for GT2.

2:17 pm - On the replay, it looks like one of the BMWs took the Risi Ferrari out on the start, sending him spinning into the gravel. Risi was able to continue but spent some time in the gravel. The No. 92 BMW then went off track, spinning and having to pit immediately for repairs.

2:16 pm - Joerg Bergmeister started on the pole but it was a very messy start and he is now P2, with the No. 87 having moved past us. Johannes van Overbeek started in ninth.

2:15 pm - A rough start - The Risi Ferrari and both BMWs had issues on the start.

2:15 pm - Green flag.

2:14 pm - We are just minutes away from race start

Morning Warmup

Saturday, May 17, 2009

9:25 am - Checkered flag on the session. Both cars are safely bsck in the pits.
We'll be back with you around 1:45 pm MT for the race.

9:23 am - Patrick pitted for new tires. He's out again for the last few minutes of the session.

9:14 am - Patrick Long is now in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman in the No. 44 - all going well so far in the final track session before this afternoon's race.

The race will be broadcast tape delayed on SpeedTV, with coverage starting at 7 pm Pacific tonight.

9:08 am MT - Good morning from Salt Lake City. Morning Warmup is underway. Joerg Bergmeister is out in the No. 45 and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 44. Joerg is currently P1 in this morning's short session which lasts until 9:25 am.

Joerg put the No. 45 on the pole yesterday in qualifying, setting a new track qualifying record for GT2 of 1:47.120. Seth Neiman qualified ninth in GT2. The final grid has not yet been published - I'll post final starting positions once I know them.

It's a beautiful day here - very warm, not too windy and clear.

Salt Lake City - Practice

Saturday May 16

3:40 pm - Checkered flag on the session. Joerg Bergmeister put the No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche on the pole. Seth Neiman in the No. 44 is ninth.

3:36 - The No. 62 came in just over 1 tenth of a second behind Joerg, but wasn't able to beat his time. The No. 87 is making one more attempt. Right now, the top three GT2 cars are separated by 2 tenths of a second.

3:35 pm - Five minutes left - Joerg still holds P1. No. 87 is P2 and No. 62 is P3. Still a few minutes to go and there are a few cars out, including the BMWs, the No. 87 and the No. 62.

3:31 pm - In the No. 87 Wolf, who was in P2 and was working to beat Joerg's time, locked it up and spun on track. We'll see if Joerg's time holds. He is in the pits and we will not go out again.

3:28 pm - Joerg is now P1 with a 1:47.120.

3:36 - The cars are still getting up to speed. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari has already set some fast laps and is in P1 with a 1:47.720. The No. 45 has not yet had a time.

3:20 pm - Green flag on the qualifying session. Joerg Bergmeister will qualify the No. 45 and Seth Neiman will qualify the No. 44. The Lizards have had the fastest time of each practie session so far this week -- but the competition has definitely closed the gap over the last 2 days. We'll see what qualifying has in store for us.

3:10 pm - Checkered flag on the session. Joerg finished out the session with the fastest GT2 time of 1:47.768. Johannes van Overbeek had the sixth fastest time of the session. Qualifying begins in ten minutes.

3:04 pm - No. 87 is now P1 in the session, with a 1:47.848. The No. 62 is second with a 1:47.975 and Joerg is third with a 1:48.085. Six minutes left in the session. Qualifying begins at 3:20 pm MT. In the No. 44, Johannes is now sixth in the session.

2:50 pm - The No. 44 went in the gravel but he continued and is pitting for driver change to Johannes van Overbeek. There does not appear to be damage to the car but the tires are flat spotted so they'll do a tire change.

2:41 pm - Happily, an uneventful session so far. Patrick has the fastest time of the session so far with a 1.48:326. Joerg is currently in the No. 45 - he'll pit in a second for a setup change. Seth Neiman is still out in the No. 44. He currently has the eighth fastest time.

2:33 pm - Patrick pits for driver change to Joerg.

2:20 pm- We are a few minutes into the afternoon practice session - our final practice before qualifying. Red flag immediately into the session to remove a car from the track but we are underway again now. Patrick Long is out in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman is in the No. 44.


10:30 am - Checkered flag on the session. We held the fastest time of the session in the No. 45 (Joerg with a 1:48.123). All is well. We'll be back with you for this afternoon's practice session at 2:10 pm MT.


10:16 am - All going well so far in the morning warmup. Patrick is back in the pits for another setup change. Seth is still out on the track in the No. 44.

10:09 am - Seth is in the pits for a setup change. 21 minutes left in the session. In the No. 45, Joerg still holds the fastest time of the session (Patrick Long is now in the car.) In the No. 44, Johannes van Overbeek holds the sixth fastest time of the session - Seth Neiman is now in that car.

10:04 am - Joerg pits for driver change to Patrick Long. He is still P1 with a 1:48.123.

9:57 - Seth also back on track in the No. 44. 30 minutes left in the session.

9:55 am - In the No. 45, Joerg is back on track.

9:51 am - Seth went off in the No. 44 and is pitting for the crew to look at the car. Joerg is pitting for fuel and new tires. He'll go out for a lap on the new tires, then back in for another setup change. Joerg is back in P1 with a 1:48.643.

9:48 am - Joerg is back on track again after a setup change. Seth Neiman is now out in the No. 44.

9:43 am - Joerg is in the pits for a change. He says the car is a bit looser and slippery than yesterday. He currently ahs the second fastest GT2 time so far this session. In the No. 44 Johannes is still out and has the third fastes time. The No. 62 is in P1.

9:36 am - Joerg as the fastest time of the session so far with a 1:49.390. Johannes is third in the No. 44. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari is 2nd. The track is still cold so we'll see times fall over the session.

9:30 am - Green flag on the morning practice. Joerg and Johannes are both on track.

9:22 am MT - Good morning from Miller Motorsports Park. It's a gorgeous day here at the track - crisp and clear this morning but it should get into the high 70s today and the mid-80s tomorrow for raceday. The first of the two practices today starts in a few minutes - 9:30-10:30 am MT. The second practice runs from 2:30-3:20 and then qualifying starts at 3:20 pm. Johannes van Overbeek will go out first in the No. 44 and Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 45.

Friday, May 15 -

4:07 pm - Checkered flag for GT2 on the session. In the No. 45, Joerg Bergmeister had the fastest GT2 time of the session of 1:48.215 - nearly one second faster than the next closest GT2 car. We'll be back with you tomorrow.

3:58 pm - They've figured out the problem in the No. 44 but won't be able to get it back on track before the end of the session so they are done for today. In the No. 45, Joerg now has the fastest time of the session - with a 1:48.435. Joerg is back out again after a pit stop for a setup change and will finish out the session. Less than 10 minutes left in the session. In the No. 44, Johannes was fifth fastest in the session. Lap times are still coming down as the track grip increases over the session.

3:45 pm - The No. 44 is heading back to the garage. There is gear oil "everywhere" so they need to figure out what's going on. They'll check it out in the garage.

3:31 pm - Patrick pits for a driver change to Joerg Bergmeister.

3:19 pm - Red flag to remove debris from the track in corner 14.

3:18 pm - Johannes van Overbeek is now in the No. 44 - he's currently P7 in the session. Patrick Long is still in the No. 45 - still holding P1, with a 1:49.139.

3:03 pm - Seth is in the pits for driver change to Johannes van Overbeek. This is Johannes' second race with us this year. He is alternating with Darren Law as Seth's co-driver for this season. Darren is at Laguna this weekend in Grand-Am driving with Brumos.

2:58 pm - Patrick is currently P1 in the session. Seth is P8. 14 cars on the track right now.

2:54 pm - Patrick pitted for a change and gave us the first report on the new Cup cars - he says it's very difficult to pass them. Those Cup cars are fast in the straights so we were expecting that.

2:43 pm -Green flag and we are on track. new for this race is the Challenge class - there will be five Cup cars from the IMSA GT3 Challenge series joining us on the grid.

2:35 pm MT - Good afternoon from Toole, Utah. We are at Miller Motorsports Park getting ready for our first practice session for this Sunday's Utah Grand Prix. A beautiful spring day here in Utah. The mountains still have a dusting of snow and it's still relatively cool. Temperatures are supposed to heat up by the race into the 80s. Patrick Long is in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman is in the No. 44. The session starts at 2:40 and will last until 1:10 pm.