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Flying Lizard LeMans Driver line up announced

May 10, 2011 – Flying Lizard announced today the driver lineup for the 2011 24 Heures du Mans, June 11-12 at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Long (USA) and Lucas Luhr (Germany) will team in the Flying Lizard No. 80 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the GTE Pro class*. Darren Law (USA), Seth Neiman (USA) and Spencer Pumpelly (USA) will pilot the Flying Lizard No. 81 Porsche in the GTE Am class.

All six drivers have significant endurance racing experience. Bergmeister and Long are both Porsche factory drivers and drive the Flying Lizard No. 45 Porsche in the ALMS. Bergmeister has won the last three consecutive ALMS GT driver championships with Flying Lizard (2009-2011); two of those with Patrick Long (2010-2011). Bergmeister is five-time ALMS GT driver champion and Long has won the title three times.

Bergmeister has competed at Le Mans nine times; four years with Flying Lizard (2007- 2010). He won Le Mans in GT2 in 2004 (with Long) and has finished on the podium three times. Bergmeister has won the Rolex 24 at Daytona three times: GT in 2009, both GT and overall in 2003 and GT in 2002.

Long has competed at Le Mans seven times and has won the race twice in GT (2004 and 2007). Among other notable results, Long has won Daytona in 2009, Petit Le Mans three times (2005-2007) and Sebring in 2005.

This will be Luhr's first time driving with Flying Lizard. He has driven with Bergmeister and Long before: the trio won at Sebring in 2005 with Petersen White Lightning. Luhr has competed in six Le Mans races and has won in class twice: 2002 with The Racer's Group and 2003 with Alex Job Racing. Luhr has won in class at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring (2006), the Spa 24 Hours (2005), Petit Le Mans (2002), Daytona (2001) and five times at Sebring. Luhr has five ALMS championship titles: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2008.

In the No. 81 Porsche, Law and Neiman will team up again for their third Le Mans together. The duo drives the No. 44 Flying Lizard Porsche in the ALMS. 2011 will be Neiman's seventh Le Mans entry; in 2005 he finished third in class in the Flying Lizard No. 80 (with Johannes van Overbeek and Lonnie Pechnik). Among his distance race results, Neiman has finished second in class twice at Daytona (2010 and 2004) and second at Sebring in 2008.

Law has competed twice at Le Mans, both years with Flying Lizard. In 2009, Law won overall at the 2009 Rolex 24 at Daytona; notable ALMS finishes include second at Sebring (with Neiman and Alex Davison) in 2008 in the No.44 and second in GT2 at Long Beach and Detroit (with Long) in 2007.

Pumpelly joins the No. 81 in his first race with Flying Lizard and his first 24 Heures du Mans. For the last five years he has competed in the Grand-Am Series with The Racer's Group. He has won twice in GT at the Rolex 24 at Daytona (2011 and 2006) and finished second and third in 2009 and 2008, respectively.

*Beginning in 2011, the newly named GT Endurance category comprises two classes: GTE Pro and GTE Am. For details, see www.lemans.org.

News used with permission from Flying Lizard Motorsports. Photo Copyright Slot Car News.

Carrera 124 Porsche line up

The three currently available Carrera Digital 124 Porsche RSR's. The Black Swan Racing test car, Felbermayr and Flying Lizard Motorsports RSR's.

Flying Lizard Motorsport to enter Daytona 24

November 23, 2010 – Sonoma, California – Flying Lizard Motorsports announced today their entry for the team's fourth Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 29-30 in Daytona Beach, Florida. For the first time, the team will run a Porsche-powered Riley Daytona Prototype. The Flying Lizard No. 45 DP is powered by a Porsche Motorsport- prepared, 911-based flat-6 engine. The chassis, previously run by Brumos Racing, won the race overall in 2009. Flying Lizard is working closely with Riley Technologies and the Action Express team to prepare the car and wishes to thank Jim France for his support of this effort. The team will run the car at the official series test at Homestead, December 1-2. The driver lineup will be announced later this year.

The team's history at Daytona has been bittersweet, with many close finishes. In 2004, the No. 74 Flying Lizard Porsche GT3 Cup was second in GT and third overall, in 2005 the No. 75 Porsche finished thirteenth, and in 2009 (with TRG), the No. 67 Porsche finished second in GT.

"The Daytona 24 is such a great race," said Flying Lizard team principal Seth Neiman. "We've always enjoyed competing here and are looking forward to the new experience of running a DP. I really want to thank Porsche Motorsport for their engine support and Bill Riley for his help as we come up the learning curve in this class. One of our main areas of focus this year is the significant endurance races and this is a great place to start. After the race, we'll head back to our American Le Mans Series program to get ready for the season opener at Sebring in March."

News used with permission of Flying Lizard Motorsport. Pre-season Test Oct. 2010 photo -- © 2010 Brian Cleary

Flying Lizard to compete worldwide!

November 16, 2010 – Sonoma, California – Flying Lizard Motorsports announced today preliminary details of its 2011 racing program. The Sonoma, California-based privateer team will return to the American Le Mans Series, fielding two Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs--the No. 45 and No. 44--in the GT class for the nine-race season.

"2010 was a phenomenal year for the ALMS and GT was clearly the place to be," said Seth Neiman, Flying Lizard Team Principal and Driver of the No. 44 Porsche. "We fought a long, tough battle all season, and came away with the drivers' championship. All credit goes to some very tough racing by Joerg (Bergmeister) and Patrick (Long) and an incredible performance by the crews at every single event this year."

Neiman continued, "For 2011, of course we'll be competing again for all of the ALMS GT championships. The ALMS calendar is solid and with some new venues and times it will help keep us all on our toes. Additionally, next year we will increase our emphasis on the important endurance races worldwide."

Jens Walther, President and CEO of Porsche Motorsports North America (PMNA), added, "Flying Lizard and Porsche have forged a great relationship, combining the expertise that both organizations bring to the track; the race results speak for themselves. I am excited to continue our partnership for 2011 and am looking forward to our eighth consecutive season with Flying Lizard competing for the GT championships."

News used with permission from Flying Lizard Motorsports

Lizards win GT at Northeast Grand Prix

July 24, 2010 – Lakeville, Conn. – Patrick Long and Joerg Bergmeister battled debilitating heat and grueling traffic at today's Northeast Grand Prix to take the GT class win and retake the championship lead. This was Bergmeister's fifth consecutive win at Lime Rock, fourth with the Lizards and third together with Long. It's the duo's third win this year. In the No. 44 Porsche, Darren Law and Seth Neiman finished a strong seventh in the thirteen-car GT field.

Starting from the pole, Long kept the lead at the start, and over the next 20 minutes held off the No. 62 Risi Ferrari which had quickly moved into P2. Narrowly avoiding an early race incident when car spun in front of him, Long held the lead and stayed out of trouble, pitting under the first caution for a short fuel top up. Patrick was back out again quickly, still ahead of the No. 62 (which had also pitted). Once the field resettled after the first round of pit stops, Patrick was now P3 and the No. 61 Risi Ferrari and No. 40 Robertson Ford, which did not pit during the first round of stops, moved to P1 and P2, with the No. 62 in P4. Just minutes later, a major incident on track claimed multiple cars, including the No. 40 Ford. The No. 62 was also involved in an incident which sent them back to the pits and an early retirement.

45 minutes into the race, now in second, Patrick pitted for driver change to Joerg, tires and fuel. The No. 61 also pitted, but required a longer fuel because they had not pitted under the first yellow, and Joerg was able to beat them out of the pits to gain a position. The No. 92 and No. 90 BMWs did not stop during the second yellow, taking first and second, with Patrick now in third and the No. 61 in P4. Over the next 45 minutes, Joerg kept the pressure on the BMWs, which finally pitted under green for their final pit stop of the race, moving Joerg back into the lead.

1 hour and 45 minutes in, Joerg pitted under green for tires, fuel and driver change to Patrick. It would be the final pit stop for the No. 45. A fast stop allowed Patrick to come out ahead of the BMWs. The No. 61 Risi Ferrari, which had been in fourth, did not pit and took the lead.

With 45 minutes left to go, the No. 61 pitted for their final stop, and Patrick retook the lead. Over the next 45 minutes, Long battled to hold off the BMWs who were running second and third. Long described his last stint, "Joerg had a flawless stint and turned over a clean, solid car to me to finish. By the time I took the wheel for my second stint, our strategy had gotten us the provisional lead. My job was to maintain the gap. Navigating the traffic was unbelievably difficult. I had to shift from trying to hold the gap to just keeping the BMWs behind me. Traffic became my friend -- each time I worked through a pack of cars I was able to increase the gap. Then the BMW just behind me would close it again on the straights. But we were better in the corners. I knew I just had to fight to the end and it became all about traffic management. Passing for position in this race would have been really tough. This victory came through our pit work, strategy and racecraft in traffic. Now we need to keep the momentum through the end of the season."
Bergmeister added, "The car was handling really well today. When I was driving alone or when there was a gap to the BMWs in front of me things were easy to maintain. But when I got close to them, temps went up and we picked up some understeer. But I knew that we were ahead of the others on our fuel strategy and I didn't want to take any risks to make sure I turned the car over to Patrick in one piece. Thanks to the crew who did a great job in both giving us a fast car and getting us every advantage they could in the pits."

In the No. 44, Seth Neiman started twelfth on the grid and ran a solid stint, turning the car over to Darren nearing the one-hour mark, now in P10. Law focused his stint on gaining ground and avoiding the many incidents that claimed nearly a third of the overall field. The No. 44 finished seventh in class.

Law explained, "We didn't have the fastest car out there today but it was a very consistent race car. We had no issues and as always the crew did a great job. It was nice to be able to finish 7th in such a tough field and get some points on the board for the No. 44. Traffic was incredibly hectic. You had to take risks to get by every single car. One piece of traffic could lose you five car lengths on a single lap. It's a testament to all of the drivers who made it through because there were so many problems out there. It was very hard to make the right judgment all on when you should pass. And adding to that, the heat and humidity were just grueling -- staying properly hydrated was half of the battle."

With this win, Bergmeister and Long move to the lead in the GT championship.

Up next for the Lizards is Mid-Ohio, August 7.

News used with permission from Flying Lizard Motorsports. Photos copyright 2010 Dave Kennedy/Slot Car News.

Lizards on the Pole for Northeast Grand Prix!

For the first time since the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR teams put their cars on the GT class front row for tomorrow New England Grand Prix, round five of the 2010 American Le Mans Series at Lime Rock Park in northwest Connecticut.

Patrick Long (USA) captured the GT pole with the #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the car he shares with Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), while Wolf Henzler (Germany) put the Team Falken Tire Porsche in the second position, ahead of the factory Ferraris, BMWs and Corvettes. Henzler will share the Falken Porsche with Bryan Sellers (USA).

The two-hour, 45-minute New England Grand Prix field will get the green flag Saturday, July 24, at 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight time, and will be telecast live in its entirety on SPEED TV. The live radio broadcast will be on Sirius Radio Channel #127 and XM Radio Channel #242, as well as on www.americanlemans.com, which also provides live timing and scoring.

“"At Lime Rock, there is a fine line between being a hero and going into the guardrail, but the Flying Lizard crew and Michelin put us in position to turn a good lap in the steady rain,"” said Long, "who had the pole here in both 2006 and 2009.

“"With our engine over the rear axle, the Porsche has an advantage in the rain over our competitors, and then our crew really nailed the setup, so it gave me all the right tools to go fast. With the competition in our class, you can turn a good lap and still end up seventh on the grid, so this is a great result for us.” Henzler, whose Team Falken Tire Porsche was completely rebuilt after a fuel fire at Salt Lake City two weeks ago, was pleased with the car’s front row position on the grid."

“"When the conditions are this wet, there is always the potential to lock up the wheels under braking, so the difference for us was the performance of our Falken rain tires. Even though we were pleased with our time, we felt we could have gone even faster – maybe not fast enough for the pole, but faster – if the traffic was better. Of course, the weight in the back of the Porsche helped us as well,"” said Henzler.

Bergmeister (left)/Long trail Ferrari drivers Melo/Bruni by two points in the drivers points chase, while Porsche is a single point behind BMW in the manufacturers championship going into tomorrow’s event.

In the overall LMP qualifying, Klaus Graf (Germany), in the Muscle Milk Porsche RS Spyder which he shares with team owner Greg Pickett (USA), qualified a close second to pole-sitter David Brabham (England). Graf was fastest in both practice sessions earlier in the day, and showed the field that he will be a factor in tomorrow’s event.

In the GTC class for matched Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racers, Jeroen Bleekemolen (Netherlands) scored his third straight pole in a row as he put the Black Swan Racing Porsche on the pole for him and car owner Tim Pappas (USA). Bleekemolen and Pappas are back in the championship hunt in the class after leaders Gonzales and Leitzinger withdrew their entry.

News used with permission from American LeMans Series. Photos Copyright 2010 Dave Kennedy/Slot Car News

A piece of the Lizards!

Want to own a bit of racing memorabilia? How about Jorg's gloves? Flying Lizard Motor Sports is selling the driver gloves used by Bergmeister during the 2009 season. They're also selling driver suits and team crew suits and more... very cool stuff!

Flying Lizard LeMans blog link

Follow this link to FLMS's blog for LeMans.

Lizard MS ready for Laguna

Flying Lizard Motorsports heads to Laguna Seca next week for their third race of the season: the American Le Mans Series Monterey Presented by Tequila Patrón. In the Flying Lizard No. 45 Porsche Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long are currently tied for the GT championship with Jaime Melo and Gianmaria Bruni of Risi Competizione's No. 62. After a fourth place finish at the season opener at Sebring, the duo were able to close the points gap to the No. 62 with a win at Long Beach last month. In the No. 44 Flying Lizard Porsche, factory driver Timo Bernhard will join Seth Neiman and Darren Law for the six-hour race on May 22.

In October of 2009, Flying Lizard secured their second consecutive ALMS championship at Laguna Seca in the season finale; it was the sixth GT2 win of the season for the No. 45 and Porsche's 100th ALMS victory. The race falls earlier in the series schedule this year — May instead of October — and will run six hours, instead of the traditional four. Flying Lizard chief strategist Thomas Blam commented, "A six-hour race is inherently more complex than four: we'll have more stops to manage, and Laguna is typically a caution-filled race, which makes it tough to follow a pre-determined strategy. We could also see a wide swing in temperatures from race start to finish which will make setup challenging."

Laguna Seca will be Bernhard's first race with the Flying Lizard squad. "We are very much looking forward to having Timo on board at Laguna," added Flying Lizard team manager and No. 44 strategist Eric Ingraham. "It will be Timo's first time driving with us and his first run in the ALMS this year but I'm confident that he'll get acclimated quickly. He's very familiar with the track and won here in class in 2007. Unfortunately, the No. 44 did not score any points at Long Beach (the car was retired early due to mechanical failure) so a solid finish at Laguna is even more important."

Bernhard has been a Porsche factory driver since 2002, driving in both the GT2 and LMP2 classes. In the ALMS, he is two-time LMP2 driver champion (2008 and 2007 with Penske Racing) and GT2 champion in 2004. Bernhard has also won the 24 Hours of Nürburgring three times (2006-2008), the 24 Heures du Mans in GT in 2002 and the 24 Hours at Daytona twice (GT in 2002 and overall in 2003).

Follow the Race
The race will get the green flag on Saturday, May 22 at 2:30 pm PT. It will be broadcast tape-delayed on CBS Sports at May 29, starting at 10:30 am PT/1:30 pm ET. Flying Lizard will broadcast their team radio live during the race: for more information, go to www.lizardms.com. Team gear will be available onsite at the race in vendor village and online at www.lizardms.com/store.

News and photos used with permission from Flying Lizard Motor Sport.