Petit Le Mans - Raceday

Race

8:05 pm ET - The officials have made the decision to call the race. Checkered flag. So... the No. 45 finishing position is fifth and the No. 44 7th. A very disappointing race for everyone. Because of the amount of water still on the track and the complexities of preparing the racecars to run again, it is an understandable decision. The Lizards will go into Laguna still in the lead in the championship - 19 points ahead of Risi Competizione No. 62 Ferrari. The No. 62 is the winner in GT2 in today's much shortened race.

8:03 pm ET - I've turned the radio back on, although we are still red flag.

7:31 pm - (Patrick says "Hi Lola" ...)

Still not much of an update. The weather appears to be lightening up and we just heard the track blower go by as they work to try and dry out the track. They want teams to be on stand by to restart. I have clarification on the "official race" status. The clock is still running, so the race has passed its 50% required running time and is an official race so points will count. If the race is restarted, the No. 45 will have a chance to improve from the P5 position. the No. 62 Risi Ferrari is currently in the lead in GT2. If they do not restart the race, we will finish in fifth. The No. 45 and the No. 62 are the two cars in contention for the GT2 championship. If the race is not restarted, the No. 45 will go into the season finale at Laguna still in the lead, but only 19 points ahead. There are 25 points possible at Laguna. In that scenario, at Laguna, the No. 45 would win the championship if they finished in tenth or better position, regardless of where the No. 62 finished. But the car would have to finish.



6:56 pm - Race control notified the teams to be ready at 7:30 pm ET and that their goal is to restart the race if the weather clears up enough to allow them to clean the track and get it dry enough to race. It is still raining heavily.

6:22 pm - An update from race control that there is a possibility that the race will restart. At this point, I'm unclear if the race is considered official or not. I'll update you as I know more.

5:33 - Still on rain hold and still raining. Race control will give us another update at 6:00 pm. We are pretty drenched at this point.

4:55 - We are still on a rain hold. The race clock is still running - it is at 4 hours and 25 minutes left to go. It's difficult to tell from the radar, but we estimate that it will be at least an hour of this rain.

4:20 - OK we are on on a red flag rain hold. The track is a skating rink and is undriveable. Cars are parked in pit lane and covered with tarps. Hopefully this weather cell will go through and things will dry out again in time to finish out the race. Positions: P1 No. 62; P2 No. 92; P3 No. 87; P4 No. 4; P5 No. 45; P6 No. 3; P7 No. 44; P8 No. 28; P9 No. 21; P 10 No. 40; P11 No. 17; P12 No. 90; P13 No. 11.

4:03 - The No. 62 is in the pits for a change of their rear decklid. They had a full lap lead on the rest of the GT2 pack, so they should still retain the GT2 lead.

3:56 - The No. 3 Corvette is off under yellow deep in gravel. Positions: P1 No. 62 (which is now 1 lap ahead); P2 No. 92; P3 No. 87; P4 No. 4; P5 No. 45; P6 No. 3; P7 No.44. No. 92, 87, 4, and 45 are all on the same lap. Still yellow.

3:49 - No. 44 pits for driver change to Darren Law, rain tires, and fuel. No. 45 pits at the same time for a windshield tear off, rain tires, and fuel. It is now pouring rain. Positions: P1 No. 62; P2 No. 92; P3 No. 87; P4 No. 4; P5 No. 45. Cars are off everywhere - the No. 1 Audi off in 10, the 88 Drayson off. Both have continued. Standing water on the track. Stil yellow.

3:47 - Patrick reports zero visibility with oil smeared on the windshield.

3:44 - Green flag. Positions: P1 No. 4; P2 No. 3; P3 No. 87; P4 No. 92; P5 No. 5; P6 No. 62; P7 No. 44. The top six GT2 cars are all on the same lap. It is raining, but still fairly lightly.

3:38 - The No. 45 pitted for fuel and to clean the windshield. Still yellow. The No. 92 and No. 62 pitted shortly after that and both of them are on rain tires. the No. 45 is still on slicks.

3:30 - The No. 2 Audi which is in the overall lead spun in Turn 5 under yellow - he is able to continue.

3:19 - The No. 45 pits for driver change to Patrick Long, tires and short fuel. We will stay on slicks. The rain has not yet materialized. The No. 62 is in the pits, as is at least one of the Corvettes. This will be a lengthy caution. The No. 62 beat us out of the pits for position. The No. 92 did not pit, and I don't think either Corvette pitted but am not sure about that. Positions: P1 No. 92; P2 No. 4; P3 No. 3; P4 No. 87; P5 No. 62; P6 No. 45. Still yellow.

3:17 - Big crash with the No. 12 prototype in the tires in Turn 1. No report on the driver. Yellow flag. No. 12 driver is shown on TV and appears OK.

3:13 - Marc has heavy pressure from the No. 92 BMW in P2, with both Corvettes (in P3 and P4 and both on new tires) closing rapidly. The No. 45 did not take tires on the last stop because they had expected they would have to stop shortly for rain tires.

3:10 - In the No. 45, Marc Lieb is in the lead. The No. 92 BMW is close behind him and the No. 4 Corvette is a few seconds back from them but closing the gap.

3:06 - Green flag.

3:05 - Positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 92; P3 No. 4; P4 No. 3; P5 No. 87; P6 No. 62; P7 No. 44. Still yellow. Both No. 87 and No. 62 are back on the same lap with the GT2 leaders.

3:02 - Still yellow. P1 No. 45; P2 No. 92; P3 No. 4; P4 No. 3; P5 No. 62; P6 No. 87. Heavy rain expected shortly - when the track is sufficiently wet, we expect that we will pit for rain tires. No. 44 pits for fuel. Johannes van Overbeek will stay in the car. No. 62 in the pits - they just made it out in time to get their lap back - so they are now on the same lap as the No. 45, 92, 4, 3, and 87.

2:59 - The No. 4 Corvette pitted, and the No. 3 Corvette pitted again for a second time.

2:57 - Positions: P1 No. 4; P2 No. 3; P3 No. 45; P4 No. 92; P5 No. 62; P6 No. 87. No. 44 is P7.

2:53 - Big crash with a loose tire in the middle of the track. Yellow flag. No. 11 Viper. No report on driver. Heavy impact direclty into the concrete wall, from the rear. The driver appears to be out of the car and walking. The No. 45 will pit under this yellow for fuel. Marc Lieb will stay in the car. No tires. They will stay on slicks for now. We expect heavy rain in the next 10 to 15 minutes. he is out again quickly. The No. 3 and No. 92 also pitted, I'm not sure about the 62 or 87. The No. 4 Corvette did not pit.

2:45 - Rain is 10 miles out and looks like it will hit us. Marc Lieb is P2. he is close behind the No. 3 Corvette, which is in the lead. The No. 4 Corvette, which is P3, has closed the gap and is catching up. Marc is now in a Corvette sandwich. The No. 3 Corvette has now caught up to the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche and the No. 62 Risi Ferrari - those cars are one lap down but are physically in front on track.

2:31 - The GT2 field is once again stacked nose to tail. The No. 21 Panoz, which is several laps down, is at the front of the train, with the No. 62 Risi Ferrari (1 lap down on the leader), followed by the No. 87 Farnbacher Porsche,, also one lap down, followed by the No. 3 Corvette (the GT2 leader), followed by Marc Lieb in the No. 45 (in P2).

2:26 - Big spin for the No. 92 BMW who was in P3. Marc Lieb moves to P3. Correction - Marc now P2. Positions: P1 No. 3; P2 No. 45; P3 No. 4; P4 No. 92; P5 No. 62; P6 No 87.

2:26 - Green flag. Marc Lieb is in the No. 45, in P4. Johannes van Overbeek is in the No. 44, in P 8

2:20 - At the 3 hour mark, the No. 45 is P4, the No. 44 is P8. Still yellow. The No. 44 is pitting for another splash of fuel. Some weather cells are developing Southwest of us - so far, we've been lucky and have had only light rain but I expect we'll see some heavier rain in the next few hours.

2:14 pm - Green flag. Marc Lieb is in the No. 45, Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 44. And once again, double yellow as the No. 20 car flies into the gravel at Turn 10.

2:11 pm - The order out of the pits was the No. 62 Risi Ferrari, followed by the No. 87, the No. 3 and the No. 4, then the No. 45. However, I believe that we gained a full lap on the No. 62 and No. 87.

Positions: P1 No. 3; P2 No.4; P3 No. 92; P4 No. 45; P5 No. 62; P6 No. 87.

Physically on the track, the No. 62 and the No. 87 are just ahead of the Corvettes, however they are one lap down.

2:09 pm - The No. 3, 4, 92, 62, 87 and 45 are all pitting at the same time. the NO. 44 will also pit shortly for driver chnage.

2:08 - The No. 88 is back underway but and slowly returning to the pits minus a wheel.

2:05 - The Drayson No. 88 prototype is in the wall after apparently losing a wheel. A very hard hit. Yellow flag. No report on the driver yet. The NO. 45 will pit under this yellow for tires, fuel and driver change to Marc Lieb.

1:50 - The No. 62 has overtaken the No. 87 for P5. The No. 87 is P6. Darren is now P8 in the No. 44. The Corvettes now have a hefty gap to the rest of the GT2 field - 16 seconds to Joerg. Positions: P1 No. 3; P2 No. 4; P3 No. 92; P4 No. 45; P5 No. 62; P 6 No. 87.

1:34 - Joerg is by the Viper, but the No. 92 BMW also got by Joerg. The No. 87 and No. 62 are close behind. Positions: P1 No. 3; P2 No. 4; P3 No. 92; P4 No. 45; P5 No. 87; P6 No. 62. The No. 44 is physically on track between the No. 45 and the No. 87, but he is several laps down.

1:30 - Positions: P1 No. 3; P2 No. 4; P3 No. 45; P4 No. 87; P5 No. 92; P6 No. 62. The Corvettes are being held up by the Viper and the No. 44. The Vettest are both by the No. 44, and now the No. 45 is also by. Positions remain unchanged. There's a bit of a gap now to the next closest GT2 car which is now the No. 92 BMW in P4. The No. 87 is P5 and the No. 62 is P6. Joerg is unfortunately now stuck behind the Viper, which is not on the same lap, and he's lost his gap.

1:26 pm - Green flag. We are two hours into the race. Joerg is P3 in the No. 45. Darren is P9 in the No. 44. The Falken Porsche, which is not on the GT2 lead lap, is between Joerg and the NO. 87 and the No. 62, which is giving Joerg a bit of space.

1:19 pm - The No. 62 Risi Ferrari, which was in P4, is in the pits. This will put the No. 87 into P4 and the No. 62 into P5.

1:16 pm - Still yellow. It is starting to drizzle again.

1:11 am ET - Joerg and the two Corvettes are now nose to tail. Joerg is on a faster pace and has caught the No. 3, which is P2. The No. 4 is P1. The No. 66 de Ferran prototype is in the wall at Turn 5- it should go yellow. This will not be good for the Lizards - it will allow the No. 62, which is now P4, to close the gap to the No. 45. the No. 87 is now P5. The No. 66 was able to continue but has front end damage and will return to the pits - it's been a tough race so far for that team.

1:05 pm - Green flag. Joerg is P3; Darren is P9. Heavy prototype traffic is threading through the lead GT2 pack.

1:00 pm ET - The No. 44 is in the pits. Positions: P1 No. 4; P2 No. 3; P3 No. 45; P4 No. 87; P5 No. 62; P6 No. 92; P7 No. 11; P8 No. 40; P9 No. 44.

12:56 - I believe the GT2 lead positions remain unchanged after they all pitted and returned to the track. Still yellow. No - correction - the No. 62 and No. 87 swapped positions - the NO. 87 is now P4 and the No. 62 now P5. Both cars changed drivers. The No. 92 BMW is now P6. Darren is pitting in the No. 44 - the crew will again change the left rear tire, which was damaged in the earlier incident with the Falken Porsche, and will do a careful inspection to see if they can figure out what is causing the handling problem with the No. 44.

12:53 - The No. 45 pits for a setup change, tires and short fuel. Joerg will stay in the car. Still yellow. He was in P3 at the time of the pit stop. The No. 4 (in P1) and No. 3 (in P2) Corvettes also both pitted, as did the No. 62 Risi Ferrari and the No. 87 Farnbacher Porsche.

12:52 - yellow flag to remove the debris. I expect both of the Lizard Porsches will put under this yellow. This will be both good and bad for the Lizards. It should allow the No. 45 to close the gap to the Corvettes, but it will aslso let the No. 62 Risi Ferrari catch back up to Joerg.

12:48 - The No. 45, in P3, is plus 26 seconds to the Ferrari, which is P4. Joerg is running a slightly faster pace than the Ferrari right now. Positions: P1 No. 4; P2 No. 3; P3 No. 45; P4 No. 62; P4 No. 87; P6 No. 92. Bodywork on the back straight - yellow flag. Looks like it is the decklid from the No. 40 Ford.

12:42 - The No. 90 BMW pitted with a mechanical problem, putting the No. 62 into P4 and the No. 87 P5. There is a 25 second gap between Joerg in the No. 45 and the No. 62. The BMW is going behind the wall. Jeorg reports that the car is not handling well - more and more oversteer. The engineers will make a change at the next pit stop, but Joerg will have to work with it until then.

12:39 - Darren did a bounce through the gravel in the No. 44 but was able to continue. He reports that the car is "a bit weird" when turning left.

12:35 - Lots of drama on track as cars are slip sliding everywhere. Positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 90; P3 No. 45; P4 No. 90; P4 No. 62. In the No. 44, Darren is P11. Penalty assessed to the No. 37 prototype for avoidable contact with the No. 66.

12:32 - Incident with two prototypes on course - the No. 37 and the No. 66 deFerran Acura. I believe both cars have been able to continue but the NO. 66 appears to have major suspension damage

12:30 - The No. 44 has another problem - there is smoke from the left wheel. Darren is pitting again - they crew believes it may be bodywork rubbing. Darren is in P11 right now.

12:27 - No. 44 was involved with an incident with the Falken Porsche - the No. 17 appears to have run into Darren. Both cars are in pit lane for the crew to check damage. the No. 44 left rear wheel is broken and is being replaced. Darren is back out again. Penalty assessed to the No. 17 for avoidable contact with the No. 44 - a stop and go penalty under green. Darren reports smoke on left rear.

12:24 - Power is out in the pits, unfortunately. Joerg, in P3, has a 10 second gap now to Bill Auberlen in the No. 90 BMW, which is in P4, and 16 seconds to the No. 62 Risi Ferrari which is P5.

12:20 - The first round of GT2 pit stops are now complete. I believe all GT2 cars are now on slicks. Positions: P1 No. 4; P2 No. 3; P3 No. 45; P4 No. 90; P5 No. 87; P6 No. 62. Some of the GT2 cars did driver changes (the Lizards did) but not all. 1 hour complete, 44 laps by the leader. The race will go to 1000 miles or 10 hours, whichever comes first.

12:17 - No. 45 is P3. The No. 90 BMW is just behind Joerg.

12:15 - The No. 44 is coming in now for slicks and driver change to DArren Law. Positions: P1 No. 4; P2 No. 90; P3 No. 17; P4 No. 17; P5 No. 45; P6 No. 40. No. 44 is P11.

12:11 am - the No. 3 Corvette came in for slicks. They were in the lead. The No. 45 is in for driver change to Joerg Bergmeister and a setup change and change to slicks. The No. 44 is also in the pits for slicks and driver change to Darren Law. The No. 3 had an incident heading out of the pits but was able to continue. The No. 6 Porsche spyder is spinning on track and in the grass. He as able to avoid impact with the wall, but appears to e having difficulty getting back onto the track. The No. 44 pit stop was aborted, so Seth Neiman is still out, but the No. 45 came in. Still green. The No. 62 Risi Ferari also pitted and made a decklid change.

12:08 - Patrick radios in that he may have a tire puncture and may pit. Joerg is hustling to get ready. Patrick is now P3 (as the No. 4 Corvette lost a few positions when it pitted for slicks.) All GT2 cars are on rains except the No. 4.

12:05- The No. 4 Corvette, which was in P2, is in the pits. Looks like he is moving to slicks - the first GT2 car to do so. The No. 62 has caught Patrick and is now right behind him. Both Lizard Porsches (and most of the field) are still on rain tires.

12:02 - In the No. 87, Wolf is now by Patrick, putting Patrick in P4. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari is in P5 - 3 seconds back. Positions: P1 No. 3; P2 No. 4; P3 No. 87; P4 No. 45; P5 No. 62. the Corvettes continue to pull away from the rest of the GT2 field.

11:57 am ET - Patrick and Wolf Henzler (in the No. 87 in fourth) are nose to tail.

11:51 - the No. 87 is right behind Patrick. Prototypes are continually threading between them, giving Patrick a bit of a gap, but the 87 is running at the same pace. Patrick is 16 seconds back from the GT2 leader, the No. 3 Corvette. The issue now is that the cars are on rain tires and as the track dries out, it will become more and more difficult to run on those tires. Patrick is looking for ways to cool the tires down but finding areas of water on the track. At some point, the engineers will need to make the decision to move to slicks. You can see on the TV all of the cars going off line to find areas of water to cool the tires down.

11:46 am - The No. 3 Corvette is in the lead, and has built a 15 second gap to Patrick, who is in P3. The No. 4 Corvette is P2. The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche is P4 and the No. 62 Risi Ferrari is P5. The No. 87 is close behind Patrick and he and the No. 62 are now on Patrick's pace.

11:38 - The No. 20 Dyson prototype, which started on the P2 pole, is in the pits for an unscheduled pit stop. The No. 28 LG Corvette is also in the pits for an early stop, as is the Oreca Matmut prototype.

11:35 - Positions: P1 No. 3; P2 No. 4; P3 No. 45; P4 No. 87;P5 No. 62; P6 No. 92; P7 No. 40; P8 No. 90; P9 No. 21; P10 No. 17; P11 No.11 P12 No. 28; P13 No. 44. Patrick is keeping pace with the two Corvettes and they are doing mid 1:32s.

11:30 - The No. 3 Corvette has built a nice gap to the rest of the GT2 pack. The No. 4 Corvette is 4 seconds behind the No. 3 and Patrick in the No. 45 is five seconds behind the No. 4.

11:26 - Patrick is by the No. 40 and is now P3. Positions: p1 No. 3; P2 No. 4; P3 No. 45; P4 No. 87; P5 No. 62. The GT2 cars are bunched up and all nose to tail.

11:25 am - The No. 4 Corvette is now by Patrick as both cars are stuck behind the No. 40. Patrick Now P4. The NO. 40 Ford has a lot of power and it is very difficult to pass him.

11:23 - The No. 4 Corvette went off and Patrick moved up to P3. Positions: P1 No. 40 ;P2 No. 3; P3 No. 45; P 4 No. 4; P 5 No. 92. The No. 3 Corvette just passed the No. 40 to take the lead. Patrick is just behind the NO. 40 trying to get by, with the No. 4 Corvette right on his tail.

11:22 am ET - The No. 45 is P5. Positions: P1 No. 40; P2 No. 4; P3 No. 92; P4 No. 3; P5 No. 45; P6 No. 90.

11:21 am ET - Clean start so far for the field. The cars in pit lane have been released and have entered the track. Very wet track and poor visibility.

11:20 am ET - Green flag.

11:15 am ET - Cars are rolling for 2 pace laps. The No. 45 is fifth on the grid and the No. 44 tenth.

11:13 am ET - Engine start.

11:05 am ET - Just a few minutes away from race start. We qualified sixth (in the No. 45) and 13th (in the No. 44) but because several cars will start from pit lane the No. 45 will move up at least one position, and the No. 44 probably several.
I don't have an actual starting grid list, but the first five will be: P1 No. 40; P2 No. 4; P3 No. 91; P4 No. 90; P5 No. 45. The No. 28 Corvette qualified second, but did not make it out before pit lane closed before the recon laps so they will start from pitlane.

Pre-Race
10:52 am - The cars are on the grid. Quite a few cars did not make it out before pit exit closed, so they will start from pit lane. For GT2, I see the Falken Porsche and the 28 Corvette lined up. The Highcroft Patron prototype also is in pit lane - a new chassis, completely repaired for the race after the huge accident during practice on Thursday.

Morning Warmup

10:10 am - Checkered flag on the very wet morning practice. The cars will head out for their recon lap in fifteen minutes, then to the grid. This will definitely be a rain race. Hopefully the heavy rain will hold off at least for the start. The track could dry out quickly if the rain lets up. Yes, we just heard from race control that this is declared a wet race. This means that teams may run different tires (rain tires) than they qualified on. We'll be back with you in about 45 minutes. We'll broadcast our team radio during the race. See you shortly.

10:00 - Driver change in the No. 45 to Joerg Bergmeister. the No. 87 took an off course excursion but Wolf Henzler bounced right over the gravel trap, mowed some grass, and then and was able to continue back to the pits.

9:57 - Darren is safely back in the pits in the No. 44. I think they are done for the session. It's still raining steadily and the conditions are very slick. The temperature is dropping and it's at least 10 degrees cooler than it was at 6 am this morning. We have some schedule changes today - recon laps will be 10:15 to 10:20. The race is still scheduled to start at 11:20 am ET. Heavy rain is forecast for later today, so I expect at least some of the race will be run under yellow, or possibly red flagged due to rain. If that happens, the cars will wait in pit lane (on the fast lane side) until the conditions are safe to continue. Crews will not be allowed to work on the cars in pit lane.

9:55 - Darren Law is out in the No. 44 and Patrick Long is in the No. 45.

9:50 am ET - Warmup is underway. It's lightly raining and still very wet but both Porsches will go out for at least one install/warmup lap to ensure we don't have any issues. We are broadcasting our team radio this morning and during the race. Click on the "Follow the Race Tab" on the home page to listen.

9:00 am - OK, here's the update. Warmup will run from 9:45 to 10:10. The No. 45 will go out, the No. 44 will probably go out. The race will start as scheduled at 11:20. Several periods of very heavy rain are forecast during the race. The race will be official at the halfway point - 197 laps or 5 hours, whichever comes first.

8:05 am ET - Good Morning from Road Atlanta. After 2 hours of torrential rain, we are pretty darned wet. Warmup is scheduled for 8:15 this mrning but it's on hold for the moment. The track is a river. But the rain has let up and hopefully the track will dry out in time for race start. There are several heavy weather cells on the way though so it is going to be a wet one either way!

I'll update you as I know more, but for now, most likely no morning warmup.