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.

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 ***

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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.

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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.

Sebring Raceday March 21, 2009

March 21, 2009

10:30 pm - Checkered flag. No. 45 finishes fourth and No. 44 fifth in GT2. Both Lizard Porsches complete another grueling Sebring. Congratulations to Risi Competizione for their win with the No. 62 Ferrari.

10:27 pm - 3 minutes left.

10:23 - Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 95; P3 No. 21; P4 No. 45; P 4 No. No. 44. P 6 No. 61. No. 62 is pitting for fuel.

10:21 - The No. 44 is in the pits - I think they are adding water, but looks like all is OK.

10:00 - 30 minutes to go. The 07 Peugeot has pulled off in Turn 7. I don't think that it will go yellow but it may.

9:50 pm - The No. 45 just has to hang on and do a fast enough speed to stay ahead of the No. 61 in P6. He is about 30 seconds ahead, and is going 1 to 2 seconds slower than the No. 61. There are 40 minutes left, a bit less than 20 laps. If Joerg can hold this pace, he has a good chance to stay ahead of the No. 61. Also the No. 61 still has one more pit stop and assuming that the No. 45 holds together, we can finish out the race with no more pit stops.

9:40 pm - 50 minutes left in the race. the No. 44 is P4, the No. 45 is still P5.

9:34 pm - Darren Law heads out of pit lane to rejoin in the No. 44. They are in P4. No. 62 is P1, No. 95 is P2; No. 21 is P3. The No. 45 is still in P5.

9:33 pm - Joerg thinks something may have broken in the front. He is still going but can't tell what the issue is.

9:30 pm - Joerg is out again. I think he will be in P6 once the timing and scoring catches up. Johannes meanwhile is now in P4 in the No. 44 and will pit shortly for the last planned driver change to Darren Law, tires and fuel.

9:27 - Joerg is in pit lane. He says that the car will steer to the right, but not to the left. The crew is evaluating if they can repair the car to continue racing.

9:25 - Things seemed OK on the No. 45 and they were ready to send the car out once they refueled, but they cannot get the fuel hose in because of the damage to the hood. They sent the car out again without refueling. Joerg reports that the steering is off and I expect that he will pit again. No. 21 also pitted and is back out again.

9:20 - So...looks like our chance for a podium for the No. 45 may be over but the No. 44 is still in the hunt in P5. I'll report status of the No. 45 once he is back in the pits and we know more.


9:18 - Marc had contact from the No. 21 and is limping back into the pits with significant damage. Tire damage, but we can't tell if the radiators are damaged - hopefully he can make it back in without damaging the motor.

9:13 pm - In the No. 45, Marc is still behind the No. 21 - the No. 21 will pit in 4 laps. He is putting a tremendous amount of pressue on the No. 21 in the corners but has not yet been able to get by. This is for position - if Marc can get by, he will move into P3. Johannes in the No. 44 is in P5. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari holds the lead and the No. 95 Ferrari is P2.

9:11 pm - The No. 45 got split by traffic. A Corvette is now between him and the No. 21.

9:07 - Marc Lieb is now nose to tail with the No. 21.

8:54 - Marc has closed the gap to the No. 21 to 5 seconds.

8:43 - No. 45 now just 9 seconds back from the No. 21 - for position. He'll have him in his sights soon. No. 44 still comfortably in P5. No. 62 is P1 and No. 95 Ferrari is P2. No. 21 P3.

8:41 - Gap narrows to 11 seconds.

8:36 - Gap from the No. 45 (in P4) to the No. 21 (in P3) now down to 13 seconds. Go Marc!

8:32 - Just under 2 hours left to go.

8:27 - Darren got the bobble and strategist Eric Ingraham calls him into the pits. Positions: P1 No. 62; P2 No. 95; P3 No. 21; P4 No. 45; P5 No. 44. During the pit stops, the No. 45 was able to close the gap to the No. 21 - now 16 seconds back. In the No. 44, Johannes van Overbeek is out, still in P5 and one lap up on the No. 61 in P6.

8:25 pm - No. 45 in the pits. Driver change from Patrick Long to Marc Lieb. Tires and fuel. Clean stop and they are back out.

8:23 pm - No. 45 has moved up one position to P3 while the No. 21 was in the pits. However Patrick in the No. 45 will pit on the next lap.

8:21 pm - No. 21 and No. 62 are in the pits for tires, fuel and driver changes. No. 45 will pit shortly. Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 95; P3 No. 21; P4 No. 45; P 5 No. 44. No. 45 is on the same lap as No. 21.

8:16 pm - The No. 45 will pit in 4 to 5 laps. We expect the No. 21 Panoz, which is one position ahead of the No. 45 to pit about soon as well.

8:02 pm - It's now completely dark on the track. 2 hours 28 minutes left to go.

7:57 pm- Patrick has closed the gap to the No. 21 by 2 seconds. Timing and scoring shows Dominik in the No. 21 - so the earlier Ian James must have been an error. They are on the same lap and Patrick is now running 1 to 2 seconds per lap faster.

7:47 - Darren slid off in 13 but continued without incident. Correction on the driver in No. 21 - timing and scoring is showing as Ian James now, not Dominik.

7:40 - Patrick is 22 seconds back on the No. 21 Panoz. They are both on a fast pace but Patrick is slightly faster. Dominik Farnbacher is in the No. 21. In the No. 44, Darren is also on a good pace, 2 laps back from Patrick.

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7:30 - Darren has passed the No. 61 and is back in P5. Patrick remains in P4 in the No. 45. Patrick is on the same lap as the next closest GT2 car - the No. 21 Panoz, and is going at a slightly faster pace. In the No. 44, Darren is 2 laps back from Patrick.

7:27 - The No. 61 Ferrari did get past the No. 44 while the No. 22 was in the pits so Darren is now P6. but he is close behind the No. 61 and will work to get past again once his tires are warmed up.

7:23 - Positions: P1 No. 62; P2 No. 95; P3 No. 21; P4 No. 45; P5 No. 44. The No. 44 is in the pits, Darren Law is in the car. They should be able to retain their P5 position after the pit stop. I'll report in a minute.

7:22 - In the No. 44, Seth has the fuel light and will get the bobble shortly. He should pit on the next lap.

7:19 pm - Joerg pits for driver change to Patrick, tires and fuel. He will go out on the same lap as the No. 21, which is still in P3.

7:18 pm - Both the No. 62 Risi Ferrari (in P1) and the No. 21 Panoz (in P3) pitted. The No. 21 is up in the air and they are working on it - calipers are off the car - probably a brake pad change.
7:13 pm - Joerg radioed in that he had a "little moment in turn 5" but continued without incident.

7:10 pm - No change in GT2. The No. 44 will pit in 15 minutes, the No. 45 slightly earlier.

7:00 - The 95, which is in P2, pitted and is heading back out, still in P2.

6:55 - Change of plans, Seth will stay out for now in the No. 44. he is in P5. In the No. 45, Joerg is P4.

6:52 - Seth reports a tire smell on braking. They will bring him in and driver change to Darren Law.

6:48 - Joerg radioed in that something fell apart and he can't fix it. I think it was related to his drink bottle or cool suit. He has 14 laps to go.

6:46 - Joerg in the No. 45 has passed the No. 44 and is now one lap up. Both cars retain their positions.

6:41 - Seth reports that in the No. 44 the engine does not sound right at the top of sixth gear. The No. 44 still in fifth, No. 45 still in fourth.

6:27 - 007 is smoking on track and going slow. Unclear what happened. May have lost a motor. They are off course so will probably not go yellow. 4 hours left to go -more than 1 hour longer than our standard 2 hour and 45 minute race.

6:24 - The No. 44 spun but continued. He may pit for tires. Seth radioed in that tires are OK and he will stay out.

6:20 pm. Positions are: P1 No. 62; P2 No. 95; P3 No. 21; P4 No. 45; P 5 No. 44. No 45 and 44 are 4 laps down on the GT2 leader, the No. 62 Risi Ferrari. They are 2 laps down on the No. 95 in P2 and approx 1 lap down on the No. 21 in P 3. the No. 62, 95 and 45 are all running a similar pace. The No. 21 is slightly slower.

6:15 - No. 44 is pitting for driver change to Seth Neiman, tires and fuel. No. 45 is also pitting for driver change to Joerg Bergmeister, tires and fuel. No. 62, which is stil in the lead, is also in the pits, but the No. 45 beat them out of the pits, gaining back one of their laps. The No. 45 is still several laps down on the No. 62 but we have 4 hours left to go!

6:13 pm - No. 21, which was in P3, is in the pits, No. 61 is also pitting.

6:07 pm - 4 or 5 laps before the No. 45 pits for driver change to Joerg Bergmeister for his third stint, tires and fuel.

6:02 pm - In the No. 45, Marc is now by the No.95 Ferrari, but not for position. Marc is still 2 laps back from the No. 95, which is in second. Under 20 minutes remaining for Johannes in the No. 44 in his stint.

6:00 - The 95 Ferrari came out of the pits and on track just in front of the No. 45.

5:58 pm - The No. 95 Ferrari is in the pits for what appears to be a standard pit stop. They were in P2 at the time of the pit, now 2 laps down from the No. 62 Ferrari, still in the lead. Marc Lieb still in P4 in teh No. 45, Johannes van Overbeek still in P5 in the No.44.

5:29 - In the No. 45 Marc has passed Johannes and taken 4. The No. 44 is 5th. They are both 2 laps down on the next closest GT2 car, the No. 21 and 3 laps down on the 95 in P2 and approx 4 laps down on the No. 62 in the lead.

5:25 - The No. 45 has nearly caught the No. 44 and the pack.

5:20 pm - The No. 45 has free running but the No. 44 is stuck behind the GT2 leaders (but is several laps down) who are going at a slower pace.

5:17 pm - Green flag. No. 44 now P4 and No. 45 P 5.


5:12 pm - No. 45 pits first. No. 44 second. No. 45 took a longer fuel and tires so the No. 44 was out first. No driver changes in either car. The wind is coming up so our rain may be coming.

5:10 pm - Both Lizards are running together and both got the wave by. The No. 45 is in front. Latest plan is that both Lizards will stop for a short fuel. The cars which received the wave by now need to catch up with the rest of the field and they will go green.

5:05 pm - No. 44 reports that there was a fire in the right rear of the No. 45- oil. He says that the fire is now out. Marc Lieb in the No. 45 is P4 and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 44 is P4. Still yellow. Just under 5 and a half hours to go.

5:00 pm - Marc Lieb caught the pack in the No. 45 - hopefully he will get the waveby. Still yellow. The No. 44 will stay out. The No. 45 may come in for a short fuel but Marc will stay in the car.

4:56 - Tequila patron prototype in the tire wall. Double yellow. Marc radios in that the No. 87 is really slow on course.

4:53 - Darren made it to the pits, driver change to Johannes van Overbeek, fuel and tires. He was in P4 when he pitted. He may need to retake the No. 61 again on track to get back to P4 - I'll confirm that in a minute.

4:50 - In the No. 45. Marc did a 2:04.294 - fastest GT2 race lap so far.He is on the same lap as the No. 61 Ferrari and is working on reeling him in to move to P5.

Darren radios in that he is out of gas. He is pitting. Fuel light and bobble and on reserve heading into Turn 7.

4:37 - In the No. 44, Darren passed No. 61 to take P4. Marc Lieb in the No. 45 P 6.

4:34 pm - The No. 44 retook P 5 when the No. 45 pitted and he is now just behind the No. 61 Ferrari. The No. 44 should pit in the next 15 minutes or so for their driver change.

4:33 pm - No. 45 pits for driver change to Marc Lieb, tires and fuel. The No. 45 is P5 - close behind the No. 61 Krohn Racing Ferrari which is P4.

4:10 pm - 9 or 10 laps until the No. 45 pits.

4:06 pm - GT2 positions: P1 No. 62; P2 No. 95; P3 No. 21; P 4 No. 61; P 5 No. 45; P 6 No. 44. The No. 62 is on its own lap, nearly two laps ahead of the No. 95 and No. 21. The No. 61 is 3 laps back from the N. 62. Patrick Long in the No. 45 and Darren Law in the No. 44 are 4 laps back.

3:59 pm - The No. 45 is now only 5 laps from the GT2 leader, the No. 62 Risi Ferrari

3:53 - In the No.45, Patrick passed Darren to take fifth. Darren now in sixth. .

3:52 - Darren is back on track in the No. 44. He will be on the same lap as patrick Long in the No. 45 and is just a few seconds in front of Patrick.

3:48 - The No. 44 got the bobble and will pit for tires,fuel and driver change to Darren Law for his second stint of the race.

3:47 pm ET - Positions: P1 No. 62; P2 No. 95; P3 No. 21; P 4 No. 61; P 5 No. 44, P 6. No 45; The No. 92, which had been in the front pack, appears to have a problem and has pitted, dropping back several positions and allowing No. 44 to move to P 5 and No. 45 to move to P 6. No. 62 Risi Ferarri pitted in what appears to be a scheduled pit stop and is back out again, still in the lead, 1 laps ahead of the No. 95 in P2.

3:42 pm - Patrick successfully negotiated being passed by the overall leader (the 02 Audi) and the No. 08 Peugot who are battling for P1 and driving nose to tail.

3:30 pm - Patrick Long is out again in the No. 45 after tires, fuel and driver change. He is in P7.

3:26 - Joerg reports the fuel light is on and he will pit.

3:20 pm - 4 laps until No. 45 pits for driver change from Joerg Bergmeister to Patrick Long, tires and fuel. about 15 minutes left until the No. 44 pits.

3:14 pm- Race control says that No. 95 in P3 has no headlights. Regularions require that all cars run with working headlights. Correction - race control confirms that 95 does have headlights now.

3:10 pm - GT2 positions remain relatively unchanged: No. 62 has led most of the race since the No. 87 had its problems early on. The No. 92 is in 2nd, and the No. 95 in third. The No. 21 is P4, No. 61 P5, No. 44 P 6 and No. 45 P 7. Joerg radioed in that something fell off the dashboard but doesn't know what it was.

3:06 pm - 10 laps until the next No. 45 pit stop.

3:01 pm - Joerg just passed the No. 44. But he is sill one lap behind him - sorry my earlier info was incorrect. Joerg is P 7, Seth is P 6 in the No. 44.

2:53 pm ET - One of the Peugeots just navigated a huge spin on course - avoiding contact with anyone and continuing.

2:49 - Joerg radioed in tha the car is getting quicker - the grip is coming up on the tires and track.

2:45 pm - No. 44 is out again with Seth Neiman behind the wheel. They are in sixth, No. 45 in seventh.

2:40 Joerg radios in that there is a big vibration in the rear. Actually he said "Bid" , which we guess is mix of big and bad. Joerg says his right foot keeps falling asleep - he may have to pit early for a drive rchange. No. 62 Risi Ferarri, still in the lead, heads out from their scheduled pit stop. The No. 44 will pit shortly for fuel and driver change to Seth Neiman. They are now in their second round of stints.

2:37 - No. 92 is in the pits.

2:34 - Joerg just did a 2:02.997- fastest GT2 race lap so far. He is running 2 to 6 seconds faster than the rest of the field in P 7. He is 2 laps back from the next closest GT2 car, the No. 61 in P 6.

2:30 pm - Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 92; P 3 No. 95 - they are all spaced approximately 1 lap apart. P4 No. 21; P 5 No. 44; P 6 No. 61; P 7 No. 45; P 8 No. 007; P 9 No. 11; P 10 No. 40. No. 87 is back from behind the wall and has rejoined the race after a lengthy repair. They are in 12th.

2:24 - Marc pits. Short fuel, tires. Joerg is in the car for his second stint and quickly out again.

2:21 pm - Marc got the bobble and will pit this lap. Tires, fuel and driver change to Joerg Bergmeister. He is in P7.

** Lizard online store special **
As a thank you to our fans, we are offering 15% off anything in the online store for today only - valid through midnight ET March 21. ** To get the 15%, enter the code "sebring09" without quotation marks in the coupon code box on checkout.

**

2:07 - Johannes passed the No. 61 Krohn Racing Ferrari and moved into P 5. Marc lieb in the No. 45 is 2 laps down from the No. 61. He is running 5 seconds per lap faster than the No. 61.

2:05 pm - In the No. 44, Johannes is closing in on the No. 61 for position. If he passes, he'll move into P5. Positions: P1 No. 62; P2. No 92; P 3 No 95; P4 No. 21; P 5 No. 61; P 6 No. 44; P 7 No. 45. No. 87 is still in the garage under repair.

2:00 pm - With No. 28 in the pits, Marc Lieb in theNo. 45 moves to P8. No. 44 is P6. They are 2 laps apart.

1:56 - No. 28 Corvette slow on course. Just when we thought things couldn't get any better, rain is forecast for 4 pm ET - 2 hours from now.

1:44 - No 11 Viper went off but avoided wall contact and continued.

1:42 - Green flag. No. 45 in P8 is five laps behind the GT2 leader, the NO. 62 Risi Ferrari. No. 44 in P 6 is 3 laps back. The No. 44 is one lap down on the next closest GT2 car, the No. 61. The No. 45 is 1 lap down on its next closest car, the No. 28.

1:40 pm - Still yellow. Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 92; P 3 No. 95; P 4 No. 21; P 5 No. 61; P 6 No. 44; P 7 No. 28; P 8 No. 45; P 9 No. 11; P 10 No. 007.

1:38 - Darren pitted for fuel and a quick fix in the cockpit. No. 45 will pit shortly for fuel top up and tires.

1:36 - Race control notified us that the No. 45 (and the No. 40) will both receive the wave by - this is to fix the problem from earlier in which the 45 was held up by the No. 40.

1:31 - Still yellow. The No. 45 crew is very frustrated because they were held up by another car during the yellow who was going very slow and did not receive the wave by, costing us a lap. No. 44 did get the waveby. First ten positions before the restart: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 95; P 3 No. 92; P 4 No. 21; P 5 No. 61; P 6 No. 44; P 7 No. 28; P 8 No. 45; P 9 No 11; P 10 No. 007.

1:25 - The No. 37 is off track between turn 10 and 11. Double yellow.

1:13- Both Lizards pit - the No. 45 is in first and Marc Lieb gets in the car. Tires and fuel. Johannnes van Overbeek takes over in the No. 44, tires and fuel.
No. 45 is out first. No. 45 was in P8 and No. 44 was P 6 at the time of their pit stops

1:11 pm - The No. 11, in P8, had a flat and pitted, moving Patrick into P 8.

1:09 pm - Both crews are ready for their pit stops. We don't have radio communication with Patrick so we aren't sure if he can hear our instructions when to pit. But he'll get the "bobble" soon, which is his sign that he needs to switch to reserve fuel and pit.

1:04 pm - Both Lizard Porsches will pit in the next 10 mins or so for driver changes, tires and fuel. Johannes van Overbeek will get in the No. 44 and Marc Lieb in the No. 45.

12:57 - The No. 87 Porsche just went by, being pushed by its crew as they head behind the wall.

12:50 - No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche has requested permission to go behind the wall - whatever the issue is they can't fix it in pit lane.

12:45 pm - We've lost radio communication with Patrick in the No. 45 - we think he can hear us but we can't hear him. He has 12 laps to go before his pit stop for driver change. He is in P9.
Positions: P1 No. 62 Risi Ferrari, P2 No. 92 BMW, P 3 No. 95 Ferrari, P4 No. 21; P 5 No. 61; P 6 No. 44; P 7 No. 28; No. 8 No. 11; P 9 No. 45.

12:34 - patrick radios in that he has a problem but we can't get clarification on what it is. The crew is ready for a pit stop just in case.

12:31 - Patrick Long now P9. Darren Law P 6.

12:30 - Positions: No. 62 P1; No. 95 P2; No. 92 P 3; No. 61 P 4; No. 21 P 5; No. 44 P 6; No. 11 P 7; No.28 P 8; No. 87 P 9: No. 45 P 10. No. 87 still in the pits, next lap Patrick in the No. 45 will move to P 9.

12:26 - The No. 28 is back out again in P8. Patrick is 2 laps down from them in P 10. No. 87 still in the pits.

12:22 - The No. 28 GT2 Corvette was in the tire wall (after apparent contact from one of hte Audis) both cars continued. No. 87 still in the pits, I believe. Wiht the No. 28 and the No. 87 both in the pits Darren Law moves up to P 6. in the No. 45, Patrick is still 2 laps down on the No. 87 and No. 28, so we'll see how long they stay in the pits and if Patrick will move up in position.

12:19 - No. 87 in the pits for an unexpected pit stop. No. 90 also in the pits. Sounds like the No. 87 may have had contact with another car on course - TV shows the crew working on the right rear suspension. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari now in the lead.

12:16 - Positions: P1 No. 87, P 2 No. 62 (both on the same lap with the No. 62 nose to tail with the No. 87); P3 No. 95 (one lap down); P 4 No. 92; P 5 No. 61 ; P 6 No. 21; P 7. No. 28 ; P 8 No. 44; P 9 No. 11; P 10 No. 45; P 11 No. 007; P 12 No. 40; P 13 No. 90. Smoke reported from center rear of No. 90. No. 44 is 3 laps down on the No. 87; No. 45 is 6 laps down.

12:15 - Patrick has passed the 007 to take 10th. Darren is now in P8.

12:12 - Green flag.

12:05 - Darren pits for a short splash of fuel. No. 45 stays out and gets the waveby and hustles to catch the back of the pack. Patrick will pit this lap for 8 seconds of fuel.

12:04 - In the No. 44, unfortunately Darren in the No.44 is just behind the overall leader so he will not get a chance to get a waveby and catch the back of the GT2 pack. In the No. 44, Darren is now P9. In the No. 45, Patrick is P 11.

12:00 - still yellow. The overall leaders are now starting to pit for tires, fuel and driver changes. Darren radios in that the No. 44 is "very reasonable - pretty stable, that if it stays like this he should be good for the whole stint."

11:55 - The Tequila Patron prototype and the No. 40 got together - right in front of Darren but luckily he was able to avoid the incident. Damage to both cars but both have continued back to the pits. Double yellow. The Patron car didn't stop in its pit stall but continued back on track. Hopefully both cars will get the wave by and possibly regain a lap on some of the GT2 field.


11:52 - No. 45 in the pits. Fuel and tires. Patrick Long heads out. They are in P12. Clean, fast pit stop.

11:49 - Joerg has the (fuel) bobble, goes to fuel reserve and will pit the next lap for tires, fuel and driver change to Patrick Long. No. 45 still P 12, No. 44 now P10 (the No. 007 still in the pits for repairs after their tire wall incident). The No. 87 passed the No. 45 cleanly as Joerg prepared to enter pit lane.

11:48 - Car off in turn 17. Looks like the 007 in the tires at turn 17. Looks like he will be able to continue and will pit.

11:44 am - No. 44 is out with Darren Law in the car. Sticker tires, full fuel.

11:40 - No. 44 will pit for fuel, tires and driver change from Seth Neiman to Darren Law. No. 45 will pit in a few minutes. Joerg in the No. 45 has made up a lap on the next closest GT2 car - the No. 28. Joerg is in 12 after being hit by the No. 40, resulting in a 12 minute pit stop to repair the left rear toe link. Seth radios in that the has a flat tire - he's coming in to the pits shortly.

11:34 - No. 87 back in the GT2 lead. No. 62 P2, No. 95 P3.

11:31 - Strategist thomas Blam notifies Joerg that he has 8 laps remaining in his first stint. Patrick Long will take over in the No. 45 for his first stint. The No. 44 has moved into P 10. The No. 44 will also pit soon and Darren Law will take the wheel.

11:30 - No. 87 pits for tires and fuel. No. 62 takes the lead. In P 12, Joerg is running at the pace of the No. 62 - they are by far the fastest GT2 cars on track right now, running 3 to 5 seconds faster than the rest of the field.

11:26 am - GT2 positions remain basically unchanged. No. 87 is P1, No. 62 is P2; No. 21 is P3; No. 61 P 4; No. 95 P5 (just received a 20 second hold for no balaclava for pit stop supervisor during pit stop); No. 92 P 6; No. 007 P 7; No. 28 P 8; No. 40 P 9; No. 11 P 10; No. 44 P11; No. 45 P 12. No. 90 has entered the race (after failing to get going from the grid and being pushed behind the wall for repairs) but is now 28 laps down on the overall leader.

** Lizard online store special **

As a thank you to our fans, we are offering 15% off anything in the online store for today only - valid through midnight ET March 21. ** To get the 15%, enter the code "sebring09" without quotation marks in the coupon code box on checkout.

**

11:00 am - Quick recap of the first 30 minutes - a rocky start for the Lizards - Joerg Bergmeister was in third position when he was hit by the No. 40 as it attempted to pass. The impact broke the left rear upright and cost the No. 45 12 minutes in the pits. Joerg is now in 13th. In the No. 44, Seth Neiman spun early in the race, requiring an early pit stop for new tires. he is in 11th. We still have over 11 hours to go.

10:54 am - Joerg is back on the pace and just clocked a 2:03.933 - the fastest GT2 times on the track right now. The No. 02 Audi is in the overall lead.

10:51 am - No. 87 is P1; No. 95 P2; No. 62 P3 (having moved up from the back of the pack); No. 21 P4; No. 40 P 5; No. 61 P 6; No 92 P 7; No. 11 P 8; No. 007 P9; No. 28 P 10; No. 44 P 11; No. 45 P 12. the No. 90 BMW has not yet joined the race and is in 13th.

10:47 am - No. 45 is back out he is in 13th and has lost 5 or 6 laps on the field during the pit stop to repair the suspension (replaced a toe link on the left rear) after being hit by the No. 40 early in the race. Joerg reports that the steering wheel is off to the left.

10:45 - Positions: P1 No.87, P2. No 95, P 3 No. 21, P 4 No. 62, P 5 No. 40, P 6 No. 61, P 7 No. 92, P 8 No. 11, P 9 No. 007, P 10 No. 28, P 11 No 44, P 12 No. 45, P 13 No. 90 (No. 90 has not joined the race yet).

10:44 - We saw a replay of the No. 44's spin early in the race, which resulted in an early pit stop. Neiman was able to avoid the tire wall, and no damage to the car.

10:40 - The No 45 still in the pits. The crew is replacing some of the suspension links in the pits.

10:36 - Joerg thinks that the left rear upright is damaged. The crew will fuel, then evaluate the problem. They are replacing the left rear upright in the pits.

10:35 - No. 45 was hit by No. 40 Ford when the 40 attempted to pass. Joerg thinks that the rear axle may be broken but the crew is hopeful that it is jut a rear tire. Joerg is pitting.

10:32 am - No. 87 is P1. The No. 95 Ferrari has taken second, the No. 45 is third. No. 45 is attempting to pass with the Robertston Ford just behind him in P4. Joerg Bergmeister is in the No. 45. The No. 44 is 12th. No. 44 is pitting - not sure what happened. Will report in a minute. Fuel and tires.

10:31 am - A clean start for the entire field. I'll report positions in a few minutes.

10:30 am - Green flag. The No. 90 BMW has gone behind the wall for repairs. the 2nd Peugeot has joined the race from pit lane.

10:26 am - The cars are heading out for their single pace lap today.
All cars appear to be on the grid except one of the Peugeots which is in pit lane under repairs. One GT2 car still on the grid - not sure which one it is - it's the 90 BMW - they are pushing it quickly back to pit lane for repairs.

10:22 am - 8 minutes to race start. One pace lap.

10:14 - Race control has notified drivers to get in their cars.

10:06 am - 24 minutes to race start.

9:46 am - The cars are on the grid. Looks like everyone except one of the Peugeots made the grid. We will be starting 2nd in the No. 45 and 13th in the No. 44. Joerg will start in the No. 45. Race start at 10:30 am ET. No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche is on the pole. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari will start from the back (in 15th) because they did not fulfill the requirement for all three drivers to drive 3 laps during night practice. Starting grid is here: http://www.imsatiming.com


***We are broadcasting our team radio today - to listen click on the "Follow the Race" tab at www.lizardms.com.***

---------------------------------------

*** We'l be back with you around 10 am ET for the race!!! See you then. Jennifer ***

8:25 am - Checkered flag.In the No. 44, Joerg is called into the pits. Both cars will do a set of pit stop practices with driver changes.

8:21 am - No. 44 pits. Darren and Johannes will not go out this am. Joerg is still out in the No. 45.

8:18 am - 7 minutes left in the session.

8:16 am - No. 45 pits for a setup change and fuel. No. 44 is also called into the pits for tires.

8:10 am - The No. 44 pits for fuel and tires.

8:08 am - Joerg is currently P5 in the No. 45. Seth is P 7 in the No. 44. All good so far. This morning's warmup session is 25 minutes - till 8:25 am.

8:00 am - Green flag. The Lizard Porsches are out. We have timing and scoring now but no TV feed. Seth Neiman in the No. 44, Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 45.

7:55 am ET - Morning warmup

Good morning from Sebring. We are five minutes from our morning warmup- the final chance to make any changes before the race, which starts at 10;30 am ET. Joerg Bergmeister is in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman is in the No. 44.

*** Team radio - We are broadcasting our team radios all day today - you can listen in from the home page - click on the "Follow the Race" tab for info. ***

Unfortunately our TV feed just went south so we may not have TV or timing coverage for this session.

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.

Sebring - Qualifying

Thursday March 19, 2009
3:15 pm - Joerg qualified second in GT2 in the No. 45. The No. 44 will start 13th on the grid. No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche is on the pole.

2:55 - Joerg has moved to P2 with a 2:03.433. He is just 4 tenths of a second behind the No. 87 in P1. Strategist Thomas Blam has called Joerg into the pits. There's a lot of the dirt on the track now and Thomas and engineer Stefan Pfeiffer make the decision to bring Joerg in. Positions: P1 No. 87, P 2 No. 45, P 3 No. 95. No. 44 is in P 12.

2:55 - The No. 92 is in the pits with an apparent problem - they are putting it on rollers and heading back to the garage.

2:52 - Joerg is P3, No. 87 has moved into P1 with 2:03.051. No. 95 is P2 with a 2:03.579. Joerg is 2:03.642. Seth is in P12 in the No. 44.

2:51 pm - Joerg is P2, with a 2:05.859. Mika Salo in the No. 62 is P1 with a 2:04.930.

2:48 pm - Joerg radios in that there is less grip than this morning. He's warming up the tires getting ready to try his first fast lap.

2:45 pm ET - Green flag on qualifying. Joerg and Seth are both on track. This is a 25 minute, GT only session.

2:35 pm ET - Good afternoon from Sebring. Qualifying will begin in 10 minutes. Joerg Bergmeister will qualify the No.45. Seth Neiman will qualify the No. 44.

Sebring - Race week Practice Sessions

Thu, March 19

11:15 am - Checkered flag. Joerg in the No. 45 had the fastest time in the session with a 2:02.654. Both Lizard Porsches are heading back to the garage for final prep before this afternoon's qualifying session at 2:45 pm ET. *** See you then ... Jennifer ***

11:00 - Joerg Bergmeister is now in the No. 45 and is back in P1 with a 2:02.654. Seth is still in the No. 44

10:47 - Seth pits for a damper change. He will stay in the car.

10:45 - Patrick pits for fuel. He will stay in the car.
30 minutes left in the session No. 87 Farnbacher Loles is now in P1. The No. 21 is P2 and Patrick is P3.

10:33 - Patrick Long in the No. 45 is now P1 with a 2:03.940. Times are beginning to come down now.

10:28 am - No. 92 BMW is P1; No. 90 BMW is P2; No. 21 Panoz is P3. No. 45 is P4. No. 44 is P 12. Times are slower this morning than yesterday's sessions - the track is cold and tires are still warming up.

10:20 am - Green flag. Cars on course
A reminder that qualifying is this afternoon at 2:45 pm.
You can watch live coverage at SpeedTV.com

http://www.speedtv.com/programs/american-le-mans-series-qualifying-live/
And listen to radio coverage through radiolemans.com:

http://www.radiolemans.com/


10:15 am - Good morning from Sebring. It's a bit cooler today with some low clouds and a light breeze. Both Lizard Porsches are in pit lane preparing for this morning's practice session which starts at 10:20 am ET. The Daily Reptile newsletter is now available - see the Daily Reptile tab at www.lizardms.com. We'll publish this *most* track days at each race.
Darren Law is in the No. 44; Patrick Long in the No. 45.

Wed, March 18

Checkered flag - the top times of the session were: No. 87 P1, 2.02.591. No. 45 P2 2.03.258. No 62 P3 2.03.303. We'll be back with you tomorrow for the morning practice at 10:20 am ET.

3:30 pm - Patrick Long is now out in the No. 45.

3:19 pm - Seth Neiman in the No. 44 pits for a driver change to Johannes van Overbeek.

GT2 qualifying will be held tomorrow, Thursday at 2:45 pm ET.

3:04 pm - Welcome back - it's the second session of the day today and both Lizard Porsches are on track. The No. 45 missed this morning's sessoin as the crew worked to diagnose an electrical problem. All is now resolved and the No. 45 is on track with Joerg Bergmeister at the wheel. Seth Neiman is out in the No. 44.

11:37 - Checkered flag. We are heading back to the garage. We'll be back for this afternoon's session.

11:35 - Seth radios in that the Ferrari is stopped on track. Red flag. The No. 44 pits.

11;26 am ET - 14 minutes left in this morning's practice session. The No. 44 has been cycling through setup changes over the session. Seth Neiman is in the car and Chief Engineer Craig WAtkins calls him into the pits for a rollbar, damper and ride height change. The No. 44 is currently P5 in the session. The No. 95 Ferrari has the fastest time of the session so far, a 2:02.897. The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche is P2 with a 2.03.046. The No. 92 BMW is P3 with a 2:03.056. No. 62 Risi Ferrari is P4 with a 2:.03.096.

11 am ET - Good morning from Sebring. Today is the first official practice day of Sebring race week. We've been testing since Monday. It's warm and fairly dry so far here at the circuit. we had some rain last night but sessions have all been dry.

Darren Law is out in the No. 44 right now. Darren will be driving with Seth Neiman and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 44. The No. 45 is in the garage and will not be heading out for this session. The No. 45 driver lineup is Joerg Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Marc Lieb. In the test sessions earlier in the week, the Lizard Porsches have been consistently running in the top lap times, with the No. 62 Risi Ferrari and the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche.

I spoke with Thomas Blam, Lizard Chief strategist this morning. He commented on the field so far, "Based on what we've seen in testing this week, it looks like we'll have some very strong competition in GT2. The European Ferrari entry is proving to be very quick - we now Bruni is fast and he's been showing it. The Rahal Letterman BMW has also been consistent - not the quickest, but in the top 5 or 6."
"The No. 45 Lizard Porsche did well yesterday - we are pleased with our progress so far this week. The No. 45 will be out for this afternoon's session. Our focus from there will be getting ready for qualifying - that's our primary goal for Thursday and also to make sure that everything is set for night practice. The track can be very dark here at night so we have to make sure that the headlights work well, and that the drivers can see effectively at night."

Sebring Winter Test

5:30 pm ET - Checkered flag on the last session of the 3 day test. Patrick and Darren will come in on the next lap and we'll head back to the paddock. Thanks for checking in with us. We'll be back on track for the Sebring race, March 21, 2009.
Talk to you all soon .. Jennifer

5:12 pm - No. 46 pits again for a shock change, rollbar change and other adjustments.

5:00 pm - Seth pitted in the No. 46 and Darren Law is now in the car. In the No. 45, Patrick is back in the pits in the No.45 - the last setup change went "in the wrong direction" so he is back in for a fix.

4:42 pm - Patrick is in the pits in the No. 45 for a setup change. The 45 finished their tire tests during the last session, so they are now working on their shock and other adjustments. Patrick has now had three days to get used to being back in an RSR (after a year in prototypes with Penske in 2008). The No. 45 crew will try and use as much of this last session as they can to progress on setup.

Jan 28, 2009 - 4:10 pm ET - We are on track for the final session of the three day test. Seth Neiman is in the No. 46 and Patrick Long in the No. 45. Red flag - we are not sure yet what the issue is.

2:40 pm - Checkered flag. Seth and Patrick will head back to the pits and we'll take the cars back to the garage. We'll be back this afternoon for the last session which starts at 4:00 pm ET. .. Jen

2:34 pm - The No. 45 has finished its tire test. Joerg pits for driver change to Patrick Long. Patrick will run out the session - just six minutes left - about 2 timed laps.

2:24 pm - Seth pits for more water in his water bottle and fuel. joerg is still out in the No. 45.

2:13 pm - Things are all good here but it's pretty quiet. Joerg Bergmeister has taken over for Patrick in the No.45.

9:32 am ET - Seth spun in the No. 46 and is back in pit lane for new tires. Patrick is still out in the No. 45.

January 28, 2009 - 9:20 am ET - Good morning from Sebring. It's the third and final day of our test and our first run with the 2009 Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs. Our test session this morning runs from 9:10 to 10:50 am. The second sesion is 1:00 to 2:40 and the last session is 4:00 to 5:00 pm ET.

So far so good this week, we have been progressing through our setup and development plans as scheduled. We have three cars here this week, two 09 Porsches and one of our 08 cars. The 09 Porsches are numbered the No. 45 and the No. 46 - these will run as the No. 45 and No. 44 during the season this year. The No. 44 that we are running here is the 08 Porsche.

Patrick Long is out now in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman is in the No. 46.

Darren Law is in the pits waiting for his turn in the car. I asked him about the new cars, "I drove the new car on Monday and did a few laps in it on Tuesday. In general, the cars have been really good so far. I think it says a lot that within the first two days of running the new cars, we've almost equalled our lap times from last year; it shows a lot of promise for the season, especially when you consider the additional restrictions that have been placed on the GT2 cars this year."

4:20 pm - Checkered flag. Testing Day 2 is complete. Thankfully, no major problems or incidents for the Lizards. We'll be back on the blog tomorrow for the first session at 9:10 am ET ... Jen

3:52 pm - The No. 46 is in the pits for a driver change from Joerg to Johannes. Seth is also getting into the No. 44.

3:45 pm - Darren just completed three laps in the No. 44 and is now bringing it in for Seth to hop in. Just over 30 mins left in the session. We have one more day on track on Wednesday, then will pack up and head home to Sonoma, California.

3:30 pm - Things are pretty uneventful here, which is great. The No. 45 is well into its tire test - No. 44 and No. 46 are continuing to make setup changes. We see Doug Fehan (Corvette Racing's Program Manager) next to our pits timing the GT2 cars... And some of the Risi contingent just appeared in our pits, checking in. They are not testing here this week.

3:14 pm - All going well during the afernoon test. The tire test is underway on the No. 45 with Patrick at the wheel, so things have been pretty quiet in the pits. In the No. 46, Craig Watkins is still working with Joerg on setup. One hour to go...

2:30 pm - Green flag. Patrick is out on the No. 45, Joerg in the No. 46 and Seth in the No. 44. Engineer Stefan Pfeiffer is still making incremental setup adjustments. Both cars have a tire test planned later in the session once the engineers are happy with the setup. In a tire test, the team compares the new 2009 tires with last year's tires - alternating between them in short and long runs.

Jan 21, 2:25 pm ET - We are 20 minutes into this afternoon's session. Patrick and Joerg have switched cars for this session - Patrick in the No. 45 and Joerg in the No. 46. Seth is in the No. 44. Red flag and all three cars are in the pits. This is the second and final test of the day and runs to 4:20 pm.

***Checkered flag on this morning's (Tuesday's) test session. We'll be back with you at 2:10 pm today.*** Jen

9:50 - Both the No. 45 and 46 are back in the pits for shock adjustments, ride height and other changes. The No. 44 is back on track with Seth behind the wheel again after a shock change. Craig told Patrick in the No. 46 to go ahead and run out the sessios (just 8 minutes left) and that this would be the last change they would do. the No. 44 is back in the pits for one more change from crew chief Tommy Sadler.

9:41 - Green flag. Patrick is out again in the No. 46 and Joerg in the No. 45.

9:36 am - Patrick is in pit lane in the No. 46 and was ready to head out again after a change when a red flag was called. We don't know what it's for yet. Seth Neiman in the No. 44 is also in the pits. Joerg was the last of the three back to the pits. We will sit tight until we get the go ahead from race control.

9:15 am - 45 minutes left to go in the session. Patrick Long is still in the No. 46 and Joerg in the No. 45.

9:00 am - Patrick Long just radioed in to warn the No. 44, which is running just in front of him that he's "on a hot one". The fastest time so far this morning is a 2:01.9 by Joerg in the No.45 on the 3.7 mile course. Patrick was just behind him with a 2:02.00 Although it's difficult to compare times from a January test here to a March race, the fastest practice lap time in 2008 (qualifying was not held) was 2:00.945 (Jaime Melo, Risi Competizione). So we are a second off of that. Chief strategist Thomas Blam said, "We are seeing some good times this morning. We are running under ideal track conditions - the sun is out and the track is fast. We will probably see times drop off this afternoon. The GT2 cars have been slowed down from 2009 (due to regulation changes - see the Car Prep Notebook tab on the www.lizardms.com home page for details) so it's difficult to really tell yet how things will play out in March."

8:45 am - Chief engineer Craig Watkins is sitting next to me in the pits. I asked him how things were going - "So far, overall, testing is going well. On the 09 cars, today our focus is on getting the damper comparisons done and test the 09 tires and make a few minor kinematic adjustments. We are still not at a point yet were we can tell the significance of the improvements of the cars from 2008 - we should have a better idea by the end of the test tomorrow."

Tue Jan 27 - 8:30 am - No. 45 and No. 46 are back in the pits. With the tires and the track starting to warm up, the drivers can now give more detailed feedback. The aero changes in the new 09 Porsche gave the car a lot more downforce. The Sebring circuit is very bumpy and rough, so the drivers and engineers are focused on figuring out how to set the car up to manage the bumps without sacrificing speed. Johannes is now also in the pits in the No. 44 with a driver change to Seth Neiman. We are running three cars at the test this week - the two new 2009 Porsches (the No. 45 and No. 46) and one of our 2008 cars (the No. 44 at this test). For the ALMS season, we will run just two Porsches this year - the No. 44 (running as the No. 46 at this teas) and the No. 45. Timing and scoring is not available to us in the pits so I won't have times until after the session.

Tue, Jan 27 - 8:23 am - All three Porsches pitted for the engineers to make setup adjustments. Joerg will stay in the No. 45 and just headed out again. Johannes is still in the No. 44 and Patrick Long is now in the No. 46, taking over from Darren. All three cars left the pits and are back on track. Because there are a limited on number of cars at this 3-day test, there is very little traffic, which makes it much easier for the drivers to focus on getting the cars dialed in vs. managing traffic. A few more cars just left pit lane - including the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche. They also have a new 2009 car this year. Because the new Porsches just arrived in the U.S. last week from Germany they are all white and won't have their full liveries until the SEbring race.

Tue Jan 27, 8:00 am - We are on track for this today's first session - all three Porsches are on track - Joerg is in the No. 45, Darren Law in the No. 46 and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 44. After just one lap, Joerg radioed in that the Porsche is "fast today." This is a 2-hour testing session and runs until 10 am ET. The new Rahal BMW is also on track right now. The track is still very cold - the fog has just lifted and it will take a while before things warm up. The No. 15 Lowes' Acura prorotype and the No. 66 Acura just left pit lane for their first runs of the day.

*** There is one more test session this afteroon, but the blog is signing off today - we'll be back for tomorrow's (Tuesday's) sessions. For full testing schedule, see the schedule tab on the Lizard home page.***

Patrick Long drove the new 2009 Porsche for the first time in this second session today. His take on the car so far "I did two timed laps just to get a sample. Joerg (Bergmeister), Stefan (Pfeiffer, No. 45 engineer) and Porsche have been working today through the rollout and I think we are just starting to get a balance on the handling. For me personally, it's great to be back in an RSR. It's the perfect blend of technology with the practical feel of driving. I'm looking forward to being back with the Lizards - this time for a full season."

Joerg is out of the car - his reaction "It's always hard to say at Sebring: the track is sometimes really fast and sometimes not so fast, timewise we are not as fast yet as last year, but the balance of the car feels really good. So now we have to focus on the details and dialing it in to get the car to where we need it to be."

Seth just got out of the car - his take so far, "Every year, we come to Sebring with a new car and our first challenge is to come to grips with how it is different. Clearly has made some advances with the front grip and it is also clear that we don't know how to make them go fast yet."

2:06 pm ET - Patrick Long heads out in the No. 45.Joerg is sitting on pit wall debriefing with Roland Kussmaul from Porsche and No. 45 engineer Stefan Pfeiffer.

2:00 pm ET - Things are going very well so far - Seth Neiman is just getting out of the No. 46 so I'll be able to get his perspective in a minute. Darren Law, looking very tired after his win yesterday at Daytona, will get into the No. 46. Joerg is still out in the No. 45 and will switch shortly with Patrick Long.

12:35 pm ET - The first of the two afternoon sesssions is underway. Both new Porsches are now on track - Joerg Bergmeister is in the No. 45 and Seth Neiman in the No. 46 (the No. 46 will run the season as the No. 44).

10:11 am ET - Checkered flag on the short morning session. Both cars are back safely in pit lane and are heading back to the garage. We'll be back for this afternoon's session at 12:20 ET and then 3:40 pm ET. ** Jennifer

Mon January 26 - 10:00 am ET - Good morning from Sebring. It's a beautiful day here - mild and no wind - looks like it will be quite warm later in the day. We have two cars out for this morning's session - one of our new 2009 Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs and one of our 2008 cars. This is the first time that have we've run the new 09 cars and we've spent the last week getting them ready for the test. We have only one of the new cars on track right now - the other is in the garage and will be out later in the day.

Joerg Bergmeister is out first in the No. 45. So far, things have gone smoothly as they did several install laps and now are beginning to shake down the car. Seth Neimas is on track in the 2008 Porsche - we are running that car as the No. 44 for the test. (The second 2009 Porsche is running as the No. 46 here.) For the season, the Porsches will run as the No. 44 and the No. 45.

The drivers are all very happy this morning - three of our five drivers were on the podium at the Daytona 24 yesterday. Darren Law won in the DP class with his teammates from Brumos and Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long won in GT with TRG. Congratulations to everyone!