Detroit Raceday - August 30 Lizards 1st, 2nd and 4th!

5:21 pm - Checkered flag. No. 45 wins in GT2 at Detroit. No. 46 is second, No. 44 is fourth. It was almost a first triple podium for the team, but not to be, as Risi No. 62 Ferrari takes third. Great race by all three Lizard Porsches. Congratulations to the entire team.

5:19 pm - 90 seconds to go. Lizards still P1 (No.45), P2 (No. 46), P4 (No. 44)

5:16 pm - 4 minutes left. Unfortunately, it looks like our hopes of a triple podium are rapidly disappearing as the No. 44 loses time to the No. 62 Risi Ferrari, which passed to take third. No. 45 is still in the lead, and the No. 46 in second.

5:12 pm - 8 minutes left. No. 45 is first, No. 46 is second, No. 62 has passed the No. 44 and Martin reports that he was hit during the pass. He reports that he was hit again.

5:10 pm - Green flag.

5:08 pm - GT2 positions: P1 No. 45, P2 No. 44, P 3 No. 46, P 4 No. 62, P 5 No. 61. We believe that the No. 62 may be still having problems with their door. We also believe they may use the yellow to pit for tires. All Lizard cars should be good to the end of the race for tires and fuel and should not need to pit.

5:05 pm - Some good news - Wolf is back on the radio.

5:02 pm - The No. 21 spun on course and impacted a tire wall, but (narrowly) avoided another car. He continued, but the course is yellow to remove debris. This is not good news for us - it will allow the No. 62 to reclose the gap to the No. 46 and to the No. 44 and No. 45 and could allow the No. 61 to regain a lap to get on the same lap as the lead group. The No. 44 and No.

5:00 pm ET - 20 minutes to go. Wolf Henzler in the No. 45 is in first. He is 32 seconds ahead of the No. 44 in second, and 45 seconds ahead of the No. 46 which is in third. Mika Salo on the No. 62 is in fourth, and is 55 seconds back from Wolf, 10 seconds back from Johannes. Johannes is running the fastest pace of the three Lizards right now, working to build more of a gap from the No. 62. We have not been able to hear Wolf since the last pit stop and driver change, but we believe that he can hear us.

4:54 - Mika Salo in the No. 62 has passed the No. 21 to take fourth. He is now 7 seconds back from Johannes in the No. 46, who is in P3.

4:51 pm - Lizards back to first, second and third. Johannes made a quick recovery following his contact with the No. 7 Penske prototype, and resulting spin off course and punctured tire, which required a pit stop for a new tire. Johannes had been leading at the time of the incident. No. 21 is in fourth, and the No. 62 is in fifth.

4:50 pm - 30 minutes left. Wolf Henzler in the No. 45 is P1. He is 27 seconds ahead of Martin Ragginger the No. 44 in P2. Johannes van Overveek in the No. 46 has passed the No. 21 to move back to third. The No. 21 Panoz is fourth and the No. 62 Risi Ferrari is fifth.

4:44 pm - 36 minutes left. The No. 45 is in P1, the No. 44 is P2, the No. 21 is P3, the No. 46 is P4 and the No. 62 is P5. The No. 45, No. 44, No. 46 and No. 62 should be good on fuel for the rest of the race. I can't confirm if the No. 21 will make it or will need to stop again. the No. 62 is just 3 seconds behind Johannes in P4. Johannes is gaining on the No. 21 Panoz in P3 which is running a significantly slower pace. The No. 62 is running a slightly slower than normal pace - it is possible that they may still be having problems with the driver side door, which caused issues earlier for them.

4:41 pm - 39 minutes left. The engineers are trying to determine how hard the cars can push without risking running out of fuel. No. 7 has been assessed a black flag, stop and go for avoidable contact with the No. 46.

4:39 pm - Positions: P1 No. 45, P 2. No 44, P 3 No. 21, P 4 No. 46, P 5. No 62. The No. 62 is putting a lot of pressure on the No. 46.

4:38 - Johannes pits for tire change and is out quickly again in the No. 46 and is just ahead of the No. 62. This is for position. Johannes is P4 and No. 62 is P5.

4:36 pm - The No. 46 appears to have collided with one of the Penske prototypes and spun and went off course. He was able to continue but believes he has a left rear flat.

4:35 pm - 45 minutes to go. Lizards P1, P2, and P3 - No. 46, No. 45, and No. 44. . The No. 44 in P3 is +22 seconds from the No. 21 in P4.

4:27 - P1 No. 46, P 2 No. 45, P 3 No. 44, P 4 No. 21, P 5 No. 62. All three Lizard Porsches are on the same lap and running close together. The No. 21 in fourth is 9 seconds back from the No. 44. The No. 62, which had to pit twice successively under green, first to repair an open door and again to serve a penalty, is now in fifth, 40 seconds back from the No. 21.

4:26 - More bad news for the No. 62 Risi Ferrari - a stop and go penalty for exceeding pit lane speed limit. They will need to pit again to serve the pentaly. They were in P5 at the time of the penalty.

4:23 - Green flag. The No. 62 has pitted to repair the driver door, putting the Lizard Porsches first, second, and third in GT2. We do not think that we have radio communication with the No. 45 - we think Wolf can hear us, but we can't hear him. Positions: P1 No. 46, P 2 No. 45, P 3 No. 44.

4:20 pm The No. 62 is indeed in the lead, but he keeps opening and sutting the door. There may be a problem. He may need to come in again. Positions: P1 No. 62, P 2 No. 46, P 3 No. 45, P 4 No. 44, P 5 No. 21. Still yellow.


4:19 pm - The No. 46 pits for driver change from Patrick Pilet to Johannes van Overbeek, fuel and tires. No. 44 pits for driver change from Lonnie Pechnik to Martin Ragginger, tires and fuel. No. 45 pits lst of the three for driver change from Joerg Bergmeister to Wolf Henzler, tires, and fuel. The No. 46 needed more fuel thatn the other two cars, so had a slightly longer stop. I thought I saw a red Ferrari beat either the No. 45 or No. 44 out of the pits, but not sure if it was the 61 or 62 or the 45 or 44. I'll report positions in a minute.

4:07 pm - No. 54 has spun, flat right rear, in turn 7. Double yellow to recover the No. 54 from the track. Drivers are getting ready to do a driver change. All of the GT2 leaders should be coming in. P1 No. 46, P 2 No. 62, P 3 No. 44, P 4 No. 21, P 5 No. 45. The No. 45 will also take advantage of the yellow to come in for a driver change back to Wolf Henzler. The yellow will help the No. 44 and No. 45, allowing them to close the gaps among the cars.

4:04 pm - GT2 positions. P1 No. 46, P 2 No. 62, P 3 No. 44, P 4 No. 21, P 5 No. 45. Patrick Pilet in the No. 46, who has been driving for 90 minutes on his starting tires is still the fastest GT2 car on the track.

4:00 pm - 1 hour and 20 minutes left in the race. The No. 44 now in P3. No. 21 moves to P4.

3:57 pm - GT2 positions: P1 No. 46, P2 No. 62, P 3 No. 21, P 4 No. 44, P 5 No. 45. The cars which have not yet done driver change (all of the top 5 except the No. 45) are entering their window for driver change - I expect most of them to pit within the next 20 minutes (if there is no yellow that is, if there is a yellow, they will pit earlier).

3:54 - Joerg in the No. 45 is back on the pace after a few slower laps held up by traffic. Joerg is in P5 and is 17 seconds behind Lonnie Pechnik in the NO. 44 in P4 and is 35 seconds back from Patrick Pilet in the No. 46, who is in the lead. The No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari is in the pits.

3:50 - Patrick in the No. 46 (in the lead) and Jaime Melo in the No. 62 (in second) are far outpacing the rest of the GT2 field - 2 to five seconds per lap. They are running a nearly identical pace, but Patrick is 12 seconds ahead of the No. 62.

3:47 - The No. 62 has passed the No. 21 to move to P2. Positions: P1 No. 46, P 2 No. 62, P 3 No. 21, P 4. No 44, P 5 No. 45. The No. 46 is 10 seconds ahead of the No. 62 in P2 and 24 seconds ahead of the No. 45 in P5. The No. 45 does not need to do a driver change - Joerg Bergmeister is in the car and Wolf Henzler started - but the other four GT2 leading cars do - the No. 46, No. 62, No. 21, and No. 44. The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari, which started second, had a lengthy pit stop and dropped out of the lead group and is now 11th.

3:46 - In the lead in the No. 46, Patrick's lap times are getting faster every lap. He has nearly a 10 second lead on the No. 21 now and is running 2 to 3 seconds faster per lap.

3:42 - The No. 15 is off course and blocking the track in Turn 4. He continued but it was pretty close for several cars coming around the blind corner to encounter him first drivers' left, then right, then in the middle of the track. Patrick now 7 seconds ahead of the No. 21. The No. 62, in P3, has closed the gap to the No. 21 to three tenths. In the No. 44 in P4, Lonnie is staying close to the No. 62 Ferrari. Joerg is 7 seconds behind the No. 44 in P5. The No. 46, No. 62, No. 21, and No. 44 all still need to pit for driver change. The No. 45 does not.

3:39 pm - In the lead, Patrick in the No. 46 is building a gap on the No. 21 Panoz, which is running a slower pace. The No. 62, which is in P3, is 3 seconds back from the No. 21.

3:36 pm - Green flag. Patrick Pilet in the No. 46 is P1. No. 21 is P2. No. 44 with Lonnie Pechnik is P3. No. 62 Risi Ferrari is P4. No. 45 with Joerg Bergmeister is P 5. Lonnie radios in that the No. 62 has passed him to move into P3. The No. 46 has not yet pitted in the race. The No. 44 has pitted once for short fuel and tires, but still needs to do its driver change to Martin Ragginger. The No. 45 has pitted once for tires, fuel and driver change from Wolf Henzler to Joerg Bergmeister. The No. 62 has pitted once but still has its starting driver, Jaime Melo. The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari, which had been in second place at the time of its pit stop, is stuck in the pits and apparently will not start. The No. 16 Dyson prototype is in the tire wall but has rejoined. No yellow.

3:29 pm - Still yellow. No. 46 P1, No. 21 P2, No. 44 P3, No. 62 P 4, No. 61 P 4, No. 45 P6. (I believe that the No. 61 has a stop and go penalty still to serve so that will put the No. 45 into P5.)

3:26 pm - No. 46, which has not yet pitted, is in P1. The No. 44, which pitted early in the race, but still has starting driver Lonnie Pechnik, is P3. Timing and Scoring shows No. 45, which did pit and did a driver change, tires and fuel, in P6. I'll report in a minute. Still yellow as they have do do some repairs on the tire wall that was impacted by the Audi.

Race control says that a black flag should be shown to car No. 71 and when that car is running again (it's still in the pits and apparently cannot start) it must serve a start and go for running over pit equipment.

3:24 - No. 45 pits for short fuel, tires, and driver change from Wolf Henzler to Joerg Bergmeister No. 46 stays out for now. Clean stop for the No. 45. The No. 46 did not pit, so Patrick Pilet is in the lead. The No. 71 Tafel Ferrari is still in the pits and apparently will not start.

3:22 pm - The No. 71 and No. 73 Tafel Ferraris are in the pits. The No. 71 had been in P2 at the time of its pit stop, so No. 46 moves to P2 and No. 44 to P 4. Wtill yellow. Lizard Porsches No. 45 and No. 46 are getting ready for a pit stop.

3:16 pm - All three drivers are readying for possible pit stops and possible driver changes. Still yellow. GT2 field: P1 No. 45, P 2 No. 71, P 3 No. 46, P 4 No. 21, P 4 No. 44, P 6 No. 62, P 7 No. 61. The No. 62, which had been in second, pitted under this yellow but no driver change - Melo is still in the car. Several other GT2 cars have also pitted, allowing Lonnie to move into P5 in the No. 44. The No. 45 and No. 46 have not yet pitted during the race. The No. 44 pitted for a short fuel and tires early in the race during the first yellow. The No. 61 has been given a black flag and a stop and go penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed limiti.

3:12 pm - The No. 2 Audi is in Turn 13 in the tire wall. Double yellow. We can see the driver in the cockpit and he appears OK. Signficant damage to the left rear of the car.

3:10 pm - GT2 lead positions remain unchanged from the start. Wolf Henzler in the No. 45 is in the lead, Jaime Melo in the No. 62 is P2, Dominik Farnbacher in the No. 71 is in P3, and Patrick Pilet in the No. 46 is in P4. they are once again bunched togehter nose to tail. The No. 2 Audi is off in Turn 8 now sideways across the track.

3:07 pm - Here comes another pack of prototypes - weaving through. Lonnie now P8 in the No. 44.

3:06 pm - Two prototypes have made it safely through and now the four GT2 cars are again bunched together.

3:05 pm - Looks like the No. 62 touched the No. 45 briefly and is trying for an opportunity to pass. A group of prototypes is coming and will need to thread through the GT2 group.


3:02 pm - All four GT2 leaders are bunched up nose to tail. The No. 45, No 62, No. 71 and No. 46. Just half a second spread from the No. 45 to the No. 46.

2:56 pm - Wolf holding P1 with No. 62 Risi Ferrari close behind him. The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari is in P3, close behind the No. 62. No. 46 is P4. In the No. 44, Lonnie is regaining the positions that he lost during his pit stop and is back up to 9th.

2:53 - Green flag.

2:51 - No. 44 pits for fuel and tires. Still yellow. Race should restart this time by. Clean fast stop for the No. 44 and Lonnie is out again.

2:44 - Still yellow. Wolf radios in that there is not much grip on the track.

2:39 pm - The No. 007 is in the tire wall. Double yellow. Positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 62; P 3. No 71; P 4 No. 46; P 5 No. 61; P 6 No. 21; P 7 No. 44.

2:37 pm - It was a clean race start.

2:35 pm - Green flag.

2:28 pm ET - We have engine start and the cars will head out shortly for 2 pace laps.

Starting drivers: Lonnie Pechnik in No. 44; and Wolf Henzler in the No. 45,
and Patrick Pilet in the No. 46.

*** Race will begin at 2:35 pm ET. We are broadcasting our radio live - to listen, click on the Follow the Race tab at www.lizardms.com. The race is also broadcast live on SpeedTV. ***

1:52 pm - Good afternoon from Detroit. Recon laps are just finishing - cars have only a few more minutes before pit exit closes and the grid closes. Everything is OK so far with the three Lizard Porsches and they are all on the grid. The No. 45 will start on the pole, the No. 46 starts fourth and the No. 44 seventh. The weather is clear and beautiful today - but fairly warm and still humid from all of the rain last week.

10:35 - Checkered flag. No. 46 was P3 in the session, No. 45 P 4 and No. 44 P 5. We'll be back with you around 2 pm ET this afternoon for the race! See you then.
*** Jen

10:30 am - The No. 44 hustled in for a driver change to Martin so that he could get in a few laps in the session.

10:28 am - So far so good in the session. 6 minutes left.

10:20 am - Green flag. Because of the rain yesterday during both practice sessions, this is the first dry track running that we've had this week, other than the qualifying session. We have 15 minutes left in the morning warmup - basically all of the setup time that we'll get for this afernoon's race. Wolf Henzler put the No. 45 Porsche on the pole yesterday so that car will start from the front of the grid. The No. 46 is 4th and the No. 44 is 7th.

*** Reminder that we are broadcasting our team radio during this morning's warmup session and the race. The morning warmup session started 20 minutes late - so it will run from 10:10 am ET to 10:35 am ET. The race begins at 2:35 pm ET and will be broadcast live on SPEEDtv. **

10:12 am ET - Lonnie Pechnik is in the No. 44, Joerg Bergmeister is in the No. 45, Johannes van Overbeek is in the No.46. All three cars are lined up with the rest of the field at pit out, waiting for the No. 2 Audi to be loaded on the roll back. Looks like there some significant damage to that car. Driver is fine.

August 30 - 10:10 am ET - Good morning from Detroit. Things are a bit delayed this morning because of heavy fog this morning. The session is just starting, but on the first green lap, the No. 2 Audi went into the wall and we are now red flag. He may be able to continue under his own power but we are red flag right now.

Detroit - August 29 - No. 45 on the Pole!

4:56 pm - Wolf in the No. 45 on the Pole for Detroit. On his last lap! congratulations Wolf for a great qualifying session. No. 46 is P4 and No. 44 P 7.

4:55 pm - And Wolf moves to P1 again. Two cars to go...

4:54 pm - And the No. 71 moves to P1, then the No. 62 overtakes him which is probably for the pole. One lap left but we expect traffic this lap.

44:53 pm - Wolf moves to P1! just 1 minute left in the session!

4:50 pm - Five minutes left. No. 46 will stay out. No. 44 is in the pits for a change and will head out again. No. 45 is out again. No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari is in the run off again but does not appear to have impacted the wall. He'll probably finish the session there. No. 46 is called in but Patrick says he thinks he has one more fast lap and asks to stay out.

4:47 - Pfeiffer calls the No. 45 in to check tire pressures and to make a change. Wolf was about to hit a lap with traffic, so this is a good time to make the change. The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari was shown on TV in a run off. Not sure what happened there. No. 62 Risi Ferrari now P1.

4:45 pm - Wolf moves briefly to P1, then the No. 71 tops him to take the fastest lap of the session. No. 46 is P4 and No. 44 now P5. No. 45 engineer Stefan Pfeiffer notes that the tire pressures are still coming up so Wolf's fastest lap could be still to come.

4:43 pm - No. 62 is currently in P1. No. 71 in P2. No. 46 P3. No. 45 is P5 and No. 44 P 8. We should see Wolf and Martin on their faster laps starting the next lap.

4:39 pm - No. 45 heads out with Wolf at the wheel and No. 44 follows him out with Martin at the wheel.

4:36 pm - No. 46 engine fires up and Patrick heads out of the pits. No. 44 and 45 still in the pits. All three Lizard Porsches should be on slicks.

4:35 pm - Green flag. Lizard cars are going to wait in pit lane a bit - hoping that the track will dry out and there will not be a red flag.

4:30 pm - Looks like qualifying will go forward as scheduled. Because there is still water on the course, teams may start on either wets or on their marked, qualifying tires. If cars go out on wets and the course is too wet, the cars may come back in and change tires to the qualifying tires. This is an exception - normally during dry qualifying, cars must start and stay on the same marked, qualifying tires, of which 3 must be the tires that the car starts the race with. Patrick is qualifying in the No. 46, Martin in the No. 44 and Wolf in the No. 45.

4:20 pm - checkered flag. We still do not know if qualifying will be held or not. I'll keep you posted. It is scheduled to start in 15 minutes at 4:35

4:17 pm - Patrick calls in that he thinks he can go to slicks now but it is too late to get him onto slicks and out again before the end of the session.

4:14 pm - Five minutes remain. This will be a tough qualifying session - they have an almost dry line, but offline it is still quite wet, which will send the cars, which will qualify on slicks, spinning if they go off line. We will know shortly if the qualifying will be held.

4:13 pm - Martin is out in the No. 44, also on wets. 7 minutes left in the session.

4:08 pm - Patrick is out in the No. 46 on wets. The sun is out now which will help the track dry faster. The No. 6 Penske prototype nosed into the tires but continued.

4:04 pm - The track is rapidly drying out but still has wet spots. Wolf Henzler just went out in the No. 45 on wets. 16 minutes left in the session.

3:50 - 30 minutes remain in the practice session. We are still parked in pit lane and the track is still wet although it has stopped raining.

3:35 - Green flag. The course is again green - the No. 62 Ferrari and a few other cars have gone back out but the course is really wet. The rain has stopped for now so hopefully it will dry out quickly. The three Lizard Porsches are parked in pit lane until the track dries out more. There's no benefit for us to run on rain tires at this point - the race tomorrow is predicted to be a dry race, and we won't learn anything more on wets. We'll wait until we can run again on slicks before heading out.

3:28 - Red flag to remove the No. 40 which hit the tire wall.

3:26 - Heavy rain has started on the front straight. All three cars are called into the pits. They are all on slicks and it is not possible to drive in the rain on slicks. Looks like the NO. 40 car is stopped on course in Turn 13. It's a shame that it had to start raining just when the session began. if this continues for the whole session, we will have almost no setup time before the race tomorrow.

3:22 - The No. 6 Penske is off in one of the run offs but is continuing. We can see heavy rain drops now on the No. 45 windshield from the in car camera.

3:20 pm - Green flag on the session. Joerg reports rain drops on his windshield. the track is still dry and the cars are on slicks, but we are hearing from race control that there is moisture already in Turn 12. the No. 37 Intersport prototype has stalled on track and is now moving slowly. Still green flag.

3:15 pm ET - Good afternoon from Detroit. We had a wet morning practice session, and now that the track has completely dried out, it is threatening rain again just in time for the start of this afternoon's session. Hopefully the rain will hold off until after qualifying, which is scheduled to begin at 4:35 pm. All three Lizard Porsches are in line ready to go out - Martin is in the No. 44, Joerg in the No. 45 and Patrick in the No. 46.

10:30 am ET - Checkered flag. We'll see you again this afternoon at 3:20 pm ET.

10:27 - The No. 45 pits and that will be it for that car for the session. The No. 44 is the only Lizard Porsche still out. This afternoon's one-hour practice session will start at 3:20 pm ET. Qualifying will follow the session, starting at 4:35 pm ET. Reminder that SpeedTV.com will broadcast qualifying live. For info - see www.speedtv.com.

10:25 - The 007 Aston Martin GT2 car is in the runoff in Turn 8. Course is still green.

10:24 - Lonnie pits in the No. 44 for driver change to Martin. The No. 44 is also still on rain tires. Five minutes left in the session. Wolf now has the fastest time in the session.

10:17 am - Lonnie Pechnik is heading out in the No. 44. No. 46 is heading back to the garage. Wolf is still out in the No. 45.

10:12 am - Wolf is back in the No.45 and will head out. He is still on rain tires. Looks like one of the Dyson prototypes is in the tire wall with a light impact, but was able to continue. Just over 15 minutes left in the session.

10:07 am - Johannes van Overbeek is out now in the No. 46 Porsche for his first run around the track. No. 44 and No. 45 are still parked in pit lane. The track is looking much drier now on video coverage.

10:00 - All three Lizard Porsches are still sitting in pit lane. The track is drying out so if the rain holds off we will probably go out again at the end of the session, which goes until 10:30 am ET.

9:37 am - Weather looks like it will clear up for a short time, then heavier rain is on the way. We have been out on rain tires the entire session so far. No. 45 engineer Stefan Pfeiffer lets the No. 45 crew know that they have done enough work on wets and will wait in the pits with the hope that the track will dry out and they can move to slicks. I expect that if/when the heavy rain hits, the three Lizard Porshes will head back to the garage. Martin has had a clean few laps in the No. 44 and just set the fastest time of the session. Car chief John Wright calls him into the pits. The No. 46 is still in the pits, waiting for the track to dry out a bit.

9:25 - Martin is out in the No. 44 for his first lap around the circuit. Joerg radios in that there is a lot of standing water on the track. All cars are still on rain tires.

9:20 am - Joerg is out in the No. 45. The No. 46 is parked in pit lane with the No. 44, waiting until the rain lets up. I think Joerg may be the only car on track right now.

9:16 am - The No. 44 is in the pits. Strategist John Wright makes the call to hold the car until the rain lightens up a bit. No. 45 is in the pits for driver change to Joerg.

9:14 am - The rain is getting heavier. No. 44 will pit for a driver change to Martin. No. 45 is called into the pits. Lonnie just spun in the No. 44, momentarily blocking the course, but luckily was abe to continue without incident.

9:08 am - Wolf has the fastest time so far in the session but with all the cars on rain tires, the times are very slow. Lonnie in the No. 44 is P2.

9:02 am - All three Lizard Porsches have completed one installation lap safely and are back in pit lane. The track is very wet and slick, although the rain appears to be letting up. Rain is predicted to be sporadic throughout the day, so there is a chance that this afternoon's 1 hour practice session and qualifying could be rained out. So, even with the wet conditions, we want to take as much advantage of this morning's session as we can. Thankfully, tomorrow (raceday) is predicted to be clear with no chance of rain.

8:55 am ET - Good morning from wet and humid Detroit. The rain started just in time for this morning's 90 minute practice session. The three Lizard Porsches are lined up 1, 2, 3 at pit out- there of the few cars which have elected to go out on the slick track. Even with the rain, because we have limited practice time this week, the Lizards will go out in the session. Three Lizard drivers (Lonnie Pechnik, Patrick Pilet and Martin Ragginger) have not yet driven at this track and need the practice time. Starting in the cars are Wolf Henzler in the No. 45, Patrick Pilet in the No. 46 and Lonnie Pechnik in the No. 44. Martin Ragginger is a guest driver wiht us tihs weekend. He is a 20-year old Porsche Junior Factory Driver and will team with Lonnie Pechnik in the No. 44 for this race. (Seth Neiman has family commitments this weekend and will be back with us at Atlanta.)

Detroit will be Martin's first ALMS race, and his first race ever in an RSR - he drives with the UPS Porsche Junior team in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany and Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup series.

Mosport Raceday August 24 - 3rd, 7th and 9th

Update - 6:15 pm - We were notified by IMSA that the No. 45 will be awarded third place, after a penalty was assessed on the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari. I will update more when I know more.

Update *** Checkered flag - Lizards are No. 45 P 4; No. 44 P 7; No. 46 P 9. The final pass by the No. 71 is under review . If results change, I will update the blog. ***

5:50 pm - On the last lap, the No. 71 passed Joerg on the inside, once again making prolonged contact as he passed. Race control is reviewing the incident. No. 45 is now P4. No. 62 is P1; No. 87 P2; No. 71 P 3, No. 45 P 4. No. 44 is P 7 and No. 46 P 9.

5:48 pm - In his last attempt, the No .71 dropped a wheel off and lost some time.

5:47 - The No. 71 made impact with the No. 45 twice more on his last attempt to pass.

5:44 -Less than six minute remaining. Joerg has been able to hold off the No. 71 but so far, but he reports that the No. 71 keeeps hitting him from the rear. The No. 71 made impact twice on the driver side in his last attempt to pass.

5:38 - Six laps to go and the NO. 71 in P4 is still nose to tail with the No. 45 in P3 - the No. 71 is nearly touching the rear of the No. 45.

5:29 - The No. 62 went by the No. 87 to retake the lead. The No. 87 is P2. Joerg in the No. 45 is P3. Joerg in P3 is doing everything he can to hold off the NO. 71 Ferrari which is in P4. No. 44 P7 and No. 46 P 10.

5:25 - 25 minutes left in the race.

5:21 - The No. 62 was split from the No. 87 by GT1 traffic, giving the No. 87 back a bit of breathing room. No. 45 still P3, No. 4 P 7. No 46 P 10.

5:19 pm - Joerg reports that he was hit by the No. 71 Ferrari in the turn 8 or 9 in the last lap. The No. 62 in P2 is putting a lot of pressure on the No. 87 in the lead.

5:18 pm - It may come down to a fuel chase at the end. The No. 87 pitted earlier than the rest of the GT2 leaders on the last yellow so they will have slightly less fuel than the No. 62 in P2 and the No. 45 in P3.

5:08 pm - The No. 62 got by Joerg to move to P2. Joerg now P3. No. 44 P6. No. 46 P 10

4:58 - The No. 46 is back out after the crew replaced the starter. No. 87 still in the lead, and No. 45, 62, and No. 71 still nose to tail in P2, P3, and P4 respectively. No. 44 is P 6. No. 46 has fallen back in the field after the lengthy pit stop - to P 10. ABout 50 minutes left in the race.

4:53 pm - No. 87 is P1; No. 45 P2; No. 62 P 3; No. 71 P 4. No. 87 has a gap in front of the field, but the No. 45, No. 62 and No. 71 are nose to tail. In the No. 44, Lonnie has moved to P6. No. 46 is still in the pits as they complete the starter change.

4:51 pm - Green flag. No. 46 still in the pits under repair.

4:48 pm - No. 71 pitted and No. 62 pitted. I'll report positions in a minute. No. 46 still sitting in the pits. No. 44 will pit in a minute.

4:42 - No. 45 and No. 46 are called into the pits. Clean pit stops for both cars, short fuel and tires. The No. 45 is out quickly but the No. 46 will not start. They put the car back up the jacks, wheels off. They believe that they need to replace the starter.

4:38 pm - I expect all three Lizard Porsches to pit late in this yellow.
The crews are lined up on the walls. Pit stops would be for fuel and tires only, not driver changes. Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 45; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 46. No. 44 is P7. It's unclear if the No. 62 or the No. 71 will pit - they could double stint tires.

4:35 pm - No. 87 pitted. early in the yellow.

4:31 - Major incident - a solo incident with one of the Intersport cars - it looks like it was the No. 30 although I can't confirm tha tyet. 2. Yellow flag. Not sure which one. Driver is out of car and talking to officials. TV coverage shows a very heavy impact with the concrete wall. Ambulance is on the scene.

4:30 pm - The No. 71 has closed the gap between him and Joerg to less than 1 second.

4:23 pm - the No. 71 has passed the No. 87 to take P3. This puts him behind Joerg in P2.

4:16 pm PT. Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 45; P 3 No. 87; P 4 No. 71; P 5 No. 46; P 6 No. 21; P 7 No. 44. The No. 62 is about 3 seconds ahead of Joerg in the No. 45. The No. 71 in P4 is putting a lot of pressure on the No. 87 in third.

4:08 pm - The No. 71 has passed Patrick to take P 4. Patrick in No. 46 is now P5. Timing and scoring shows Johannes still in the car, but it's Patrick.

4:06 pm - The No. 62 just got by in traffic on the outside as Joerg moved to the inside to avoid the No. 12 car which was slow on course. This puts the No. 62 back in the lead. Joerg is now P2.

4:05 pm - Green flag.

4:02 pm - No. 45 was able to beat the No. 62 and the No. 87 out of the pits, and also I believe the No. 71 which puts him in the lead. The No. 46 is out in fourth, ahead of the No. 71. Seth is in eighth. Positions: P1 No. 45; P 2 No. 62; P 3 No. 87; P 4 No. 46; P 5 No. 71


4:00 pm - No. 45 pits first, No. 46 pits second, and No. 44 pits third but nearly all three in the stalls simultaneously. Joerg Bergmeister will get in the No. 45, Patrick Pilet in the No. 46 and Lonnie Pechnik in the No. 44

3:57 pm - Waveby begun.

3:55 pm - No. 87 reported by race control to have no headlights. Cars are require to have functioning headlights.

3:48 pm - This will be very helpful for the Lizards as it should allow the No. 45 and the No. 46 to close the gap to the Ferraris in the lead. I expect all three Lizard cars to pit late in the yellow for tires, fuel, and driver change.

3:46 - Double Yellow - the No 18 is off in Turn 2 in what appears to be a hard impact into the tire wall. No report yet on driver. From TV coverage it appears that he lost a wheel or some element of the rear suspension which caused him to lose a wheel, spin and impact the wall. This will be a long yellow as they need to do significant repoair to the tire wall. It's a shame as I believe this was a brand new car for that team.

3:43 pm - Positions remain unchanged. The Porsches in P3 (No. 45), 4 (P 87), and 5 (No. 46) are not making any headway on closing the gap to the Ferraris in P1 (No. 62) and 2 (No. 71). In the No. 44, Seth is now P8.

3:38 pm - In the No. 46, Johannes reports that the car is starting to get very loose.

3:34 pm - Lead positions remain unchanged. Wolf is P3, 17 seconds back from the GT2 leader, No. 62 Risi Competizione and 8 seconds back from P2, the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari. Johannes is P 5, less than 4 seconds back from the No. 87 in P4.

3:26 - Wolf was able to pass the No. 87 and takes third. Johannes in the No. 46 has closed the gap slightly to the No. 45 and No. 87 and will work now on reeling in the No. 87. Unfortunately, the No .62 Ferrari in the lead now has a 16 second lead over Wolf. The No. 71 in second position has an 11 second lead over Wolf. The No. 46 is in fifth and the No. 44 in ninth.

3:18 pm - Wolf still trying to get past the No. 87 and is nose to tail but has not get been able to pass. The No. 87 is starting to make a few mistakes as Wolf increases the pressure and stays right behind him. Unfortunately, the Ferraris have widened the gap and the No. 62 is now 13 seconds ahead of the No. 45.


3:16 pm - Johannes got by the No. 21 to retake P5.

3:14 pm - Wolf is being held up by the No. 87 but cannot get by him. Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 71; P 3 No. 87; P 4 No. 45; P 5 No. 21; P 6 No. 46. No. 44 is P9.

3:10 pm - The No.71 got past the No. 87 to take second.

3:06 pm - Johannes reports that he got bumped by the No. 21 at the start but all seems to be ok. He lost one position in the incident and is now P6. Wolf had a clean start and has maintained P4. He is behind the No. 62 in P1, the No. 87 in P2 and the No. 71 in P3. The No. 71 is putting a lot of pressure on the No. 87 and looking for an opportunity to pass. Wolf is staying close behidn teh No. 71 also looking for an opportunity. Seth in the No. 44 is P9.

3:05 pm - Green flag.

3:00 pm - Pace lap underway.

2:58 pm - Engine start and cars are rolling for pace laps. There will be two pace laps for this race.

2:41 pm - Good news - it looks like the rain weather may blow over completely and we can have a dry race start.

*** We are broadcasting our team radio, but with the heavy cloudcover our Internet connection will be intermittent so if you get disconnected, wait a minute and then try again. Instructions for listening in are at the Follow the Race tab on the home page.***

2:25 pm ET - The cars are on the grid. Nearing race start (scheduled for 3:05 pm) skies are now threatening rain. Because of the high probability of rain at race start, race control is allowing teams to change to rain tires on the grid up until 2:50 pm. All three Lizard Porsches are still on slicks, but we have rain tires at the grid and will make the decision at 2:45 pm. It is still dry and the skies are lightening on the edges but there are some dark clouds overhead.
Starting drivers are: Seth Neiman in the No. 44, Wolf Henzler in the No. 45, and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 46. Starting positions are: No. 45 P 4, No. 46 P 5, and No. 44 P9.

10:30 am ET - Checkered flag on the morning warmup. Both the No. 45 and the No. 46 went into the garage early for repairs. Both cars appear to have a drivetrain-related issue and the crew are working to diagnose and repair the issues. The crew expects to have both cars out again for recon laps which start around 2:10 pm. The No. 44 had no issues during the warmup and was eighth in the session. Before the No. 46 headed into the garage, it was third. Ferraris were one and two - No. 62 was P1 and No. 71 P2.

10:18 am - In the No. 46, heading out of pit lane, Johannes reports something is wrong - he isn't sure - may be a broken axle. The crew directs him directly back to the paddock and joins him with a quad to tow him back.

10:15 am - Patrick will pit this lap for a setup adjustment, driver change to Johannes and new tires. Patrick reports "a bit" of understeer in the fast and slow corners. He is currently P2. Seth is P 7.

10:11 am - No. 44 and No. 46 are both still out. No. 46 is currently P1 in the session with Patrick Pilet. No. 44 is P 6 with Seth Neiman behind the wheel.

10:09 am - The No. 45 is heading back behind the wall for repairs. It may be a gearbox issue.

10:06 am - No. 45 is slow through turn six. Not sure what the issue is. Wolf reports no drive when he goes to the throttle. He has pitted for the crew to have a look.

10:05 am - Green flag on the 30-minute warmup session. It's noticeably cooler temperatures today with a chance of rain forecast. With the low clouds, humidity and breeze, I would guess that rain is likely at some point today.

10:04 am ET - We are just one minute from warmup start. Wolf Henzler is in the No. 45, Patrick Pilet in the No. 46 and Seth Neiman in the No. 44. We are broadcasting our team radios today during the morning warmup and race - to listen, go to the home page "Follow the Race" tab.

Mosport Aug 23 - Practice Sessions & Qualifying

3:20 pm - Qualifying results: P1 No. 62; P2 No. 87; P3 No. 71; P 4. No. 45; P 5 No. 46. No. 44 is P 10.

3:11 pm ET - The No. 62 just set a new track record in GT2 with a 1:16.911 with Jaime Melo behind the wheel. No. 45 and No. 46 are in the pits. Neiman in the No. 44 is still out.

3:09 pm - No. 87 is P1, No. 62 is P2, No. 71 is P3, No. 45 is P 4, No. 45 is P5. Patrick is pitting in the No. 46 and they will call Wolf back in in a minute. The Top five GT2 cars are withing five tenths of a second of one another.

3:09 pm - The No. 62 and the No. 71 are now out on track. 10 minutes left in the session.

3:07 pm ET - The No. 11 has spun out of Turn 3 but is trying to continue.

3:04 pm - The No. 87 is now P1. No. 62 and the No. 71 tafel racing Ferrari have not gone out yet.

3:03 pm ET - Wolf is P1 in No. 45. Patrick is P2 in the No. 46, Seth is P 8 in the No. 44. They have called Wolf into the pits for a setup change.

3:00 - Green flag on the qualifying session.

2:55 - We are ready for qualifying and the No. 45 with Wolf Henzler at the wheel is getting in line. The No. 46 with Patrick at the wheel is also getting in line. Seth Neiman will qualify the No. 44 and he is also heading out.

2:36 - Race control has notified us that GT2 qualifying will be held at 3:00 to 3:20 pm

2:19 pm - Checkered flag is out on the session due to the asphalt problem. Race control has not yet made a decision about qualifying, which had been scheduled to start at 2:40. We should know shortly.

2:12 pm - Red flag. The track in turn 4 is once again starting to come up. They had repaired it yesterday but with the hot afternoon temperatures it is starting to disintegrate again.

2:11 pm - 19 minutes left in the session. No. 45 is P3; No. 46 P 6, No. 44 P 7.

2:01 pm - Seth Neiman is at the wheel of the No. 44 and had a spin on course, going into some dirt, but continued.

1:54 - Green flag.

1:47 pm ET - Red flag for debris on track.

40 minutes left in the session. Qualifying begins right after this session. Wolf will qualify in the No. 45, Patrick in the No. 46 and Seth in the No. 44. No. 45 now P3. No. 71 P1. No. 62 P 2. No 87 P 4. No 46 P 5. No 44 P 6. The No. 71 set a time of 1:17.230.

1:42 pm ET - No. 45 is P2, No. 45 is P 5, and No. 44 is P6. Joerg is in the No. 45, Johannes in the No. 46 and Lonnie Pechnik in the No. 44.

1:30 pm -ET - AFternoon Practice. Green flag on the session. The No. 45 and No. 44 are out on course. The No. 46 is just leaving the pits.

10:31 pm ET - The No. 12 prototype lost a wheel and is off course in Turn 5. So this will be the end of the session. No. 62 was P1, No. 45 P2, No. 71 P3, No.87 P4, No. 73 P5, and No. 46 P6. No 44 was P 8.

This afternoon's session is 1:30-2:30 pm ET. GT2 qualifying follows immediately after the session from 2:40-3:00.

10:26 am - Green flag. Just under 9 minutes left. Joerg is now in the No. 45; Lonnie in the No. 44 and Patrick in the No. 46.

10:21 am - Still red. They are restacking the tire wall which was pushed back by the incident. Expect green in a few minutes - will probably be about 10 minutes left in the session.

10:09 am - Red flag. The No. 4 Corvette is in the tire wall in turn 2 with a very hard hit. Driver is out of the car and standing. 25 minutes remaining. This should be at least a 4 minute red to remove the car.

10:04 am - One of the Audis spun on course, but continued without incident.

10:00 am ET Melo now P1 in the No. 62. Wolf P2 in the No. 45. Mueller P3 in the No. 71 and Johannes P4 in the No. 46

9:57 am - Wolf has pitted for a setup change. Johannes is also pitting.

9:55 - Wolf reporting a strong understeer when he turns in.

9:47 am - Wolf P1, Jaime Melo in No. 62 is P2. Johannes in the No. 46 is P3. Dirk Mueller in the No. 71 is P4. Seth is P7.

9:42 - Wolf is currently P1. Johannes is P2 and Seth is P 7. There are 11 cars in GT2 here this week at Mosport. Times are fast this morning with the cooler temperatures. Wolf's last lap time of 1:17.925 is close to last year's qualifying time of 1:17.841 (which was a track lap record.)

9:35 am - Green flag. This is a combined session with prototypes and GT. yesterday repairs were done on the track which began to disintegrate in Turn 4. Hopefully these repairs will hold through the race.

Saturday August 23 -
9:30 am ET. Good morning from Mosport. It's a bit cooler this morning with a nice breeze - warm and pleasant weather for today's two practice sessions and qualifying. All three Lizard Porsches will go out this morning for the 1 hour practice session. We have a second practice session this afternoon, immediately followed by qualifying. Wolf is in the No. 45, Johannes in the No. 46 and Seth in the No. 44.

Mosport Aug. 22 Test Session

3:33 - Checkered flag. they have ended the session because of the disintegrating track. They may give us some additional track time later today to make up for the shortened session.

3:25 pm - Red flag. It looks like the track is starting to disintegrate in Turn 4 - a pot hole at the maximum acceleration point - where the rear tire will be.

3:16 pm - Joerg pits for driver change to Wolf Henzler. Joerg is still P3 in the session.

3:13 pm Johannes is now in the No. 46. He will also need to be push starte
3:11 pm - Lonnie Pechnik is the co-driver in the No. 44 Porsche. He had a flight delay yesterday and will not make today's session. The No. 44 crew may have Johannes drive the No. 44 at the end of the session.

3:05 pm - The No. 46 is back in pit lane. It looks like we will not need to do the repair during the session after all and the car can be jump started.

3:04 pm - Joerg is P3 in the session. Patrick is P 5. Seth is P 8.

3:00 - The No. 46 will have to go behind the wall to repair whatever is keeping it from starting normally. The crew have been push starting it but the officials want it repaired.

2:55 - Green flag, and start of ocmbined session. Prototypes are now on course.

2:50 pm - All three Lizard Porsches are back in the pits. Now that tires are up to speed, the engineers on all three cars are making rapid aero changes, taking advantage of the GT only portion of the session.

2:47 pm - The No. 71 Ferrari is off ourse with a flat tire. Red flag.

2:43 pm - Joerg reports to much understeer on the high speed corners and oversteer in other areas. He pits for a setup adjustment.

2:39 - Patrick is in the pits in the No. 46 for some setup adjustments. Seth is also in the pits in the No. 44.

2:32 pm ET - The No. 45 is in the pits for its install check. Joerg is P2 in the session right now. Patrick is P 5.

2:22 pm ET - Two of the three Lizard Porsches are lined up and ready to go. Joerg is out in the No.45, Seth is in the No. 44. The No. 46 is having some starter or battery issues but is now in pit lane - Patrick will be first out in that car.
This is a GT2 only session for the first 30 mins.

Aug 22 - 2:15 pm ET - Good afternoon from Mosport. We are getting ready for our first official pratice session today. The team has been here testing earlier in the week. Up until today the weather has been gorgeous - low humidity and low 80's. Today it's more humid and hotter in the upper 80s. The report from the engineers and drivers is that the track is very bumpy and abrasive. We have a bit of a head start on our setup but still have a lot of work to do in today's session and tomorrow's two one-hour practice sessions. This is race 8 of the 11 race season. We are in the lead right now in both the team and the drivers championships.

Road America - Lizards P2, P 4, P 7 !

***No 45 is second, No. 46 fourth and No. 44 seventh in GT2. Congratulations to the team! **

8:17 pm - The No. 87 passed the No. 62 - the No. 62 tried to repass and spun. Wolf passed the No. 71 Tafel Ferrari to move to P2. No. 87 won in GT2. Patrick is P4.
Congratulations to the Lizards on a great result in a frustrating race. Great, clean pass by Wolf on the last lap to take second.

P1 No. 87; P 2 No. 45; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 46. No. 44 is P7.

8:14 pm - Wolf is putting as much pressure as he can on the No. 71. He almost had him but had to go wide and lost the gap.

8:13 pm CT - Green flag.

8:12 pm - 4 minutes left. Still yellow. P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 87; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 45; P 5 No. 46; P 5 No. 61; P 7 No. 44.

8:05 pm CT - The No. 26 Acura and the 007 Aston Martin are in the gravel after colliding on course. Yellow flag. The No. 71 passed Patrick in the No. 46 to take P3. The No. 45 also passed Patrick to take P4. No. 44 is P 7. Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 87; P 3. No. 71; P 4 No. 45; P 5 No. 46. P 5 No. 61; P 7 No. 44. Nine minutes remaining. The race, most of which was run under yellow, may finish under yellow.

8:00 pm CT. 15 minutes left in the race. P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 87; P3 No. 46; P 4 No. 71; P 5 No. 45. Darren in the No. 44 is P7. The No. 71 is pushing hard on Patrick. Heard from the feed that the No. 62 does not need to stop again for fuel.

7:48 pm CT both the No. 71 and the No. 45 got stuck behind the No. 18 Porsche which is several laps back. They were finally able to thread safely by him but got separated from the pack. Wolf is stuck now behind a slow prototype that the No. 71 was able to get by. So there's now a gap between the No. 71 and Wolf in P5.

7:55 pm CT - Green Flag.

7:50 - All three Lizard Porsches are good on fuel through the end of the race. With the many cautions, they have been able to conserve fuel and can make it to the end. I believe that the No. 62 Risi Ferrari, which is in the lead, will have to stop again for fuel. I don't know the status of the No. 87, which is in P2. The No. 71 is in P4 and the No. 45 is P5. Darren in the No. 44 is in P7. We believe that the No 61 Ferrari, which is in P6, but one lap ahead of Darren, will have to stop for fuel before the end of the race. 24 minutes left.

7:42 - The No. 15 is off in the gravel in Turn 3 and it's double yellow. Looks like a broken wheel or rear suspension caused the problem. A very frustrating race so far with all of the yellows and issues.

7:41 - Unfortunately both the No. 71 and the No. 46 both went by the No. 45 on the restart. Not sure what happened, but Wolf may have been hit during the restart, forcing him wide. Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 87; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 46; P 5 No. 45. No. 44 P 7. 35 minutes left.

7:39 pm - Green flag.

7:35 pm - Still yellow. P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 87; P 3 No. 45; P 4 No. 71; P 5 No. 46. No. 44 P7 but is 2 laps down on the GT2 leader. The wave by has begun to get to the overall race leader.

7:32 pm - The No. 44 pits for a short splash of fuel. The No. 45 and No. 46 may be able to make it to the end of the race without having to come in for fuel. I believe that the No. 62 Risi Ferrari, which is now P1, will have to pit again. I don't know about the No. 87 which is in P2. Because timing and scoring was not functioning properly at the start, we don't have a correct read on pit stops.

7:28 pm - Still yellow.

7:23 pm - The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche in P2 is putting a lot of pressure on the No. 62 Risi Ferrari in the lead. One of the corvettes went off course and collected some signage and looks like he is out. Double yellow.


7:21 pm - In the No. 44, Darren is nose to tail with the No. 61 Ferrari, who is one lap up from him but once Darren gets past him, he will now be on his lap, and just one lap down on the GT2 leaders.

7:17 pm. No. 62 still P1. No. 87 P2. No. 45 P3. No. 71 P4. No. 46 P5. No. 44 P7.

7:13 pm - Green flag.

7:10 am - Green next time by. The No. 62, which did not pit yet under this yellow, is P1. No. 87 is P2. No. 45 is P3. No 46 is P4. No. 71 is P5. No. 44 is P7. The top 5 GT2 cars are all bunched up so this will be a very challenging restart.

7:06 pm - All three Lizard cars pit simultaneously. No. 44 does a driver change. No. 45 Wolf stays in; No. 46 Patrick stays in . No. 45 is quickly out of the pits ahead of the No. 46. Both cars got out of the pits ahead of the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari, which had also pitted.

7:03 pm - In the No. 45, Wolf now in the lead. No. 71 is P2; No. 62 is P3. No. 46 P 4; No. 87 P5. No. 44 is now P 7.

6:59 pm - Still yellow. Lizards are staying out for now. In the No. 45, it looks like Wolf will stay in the car during his pit stop but Joerg will change the drink bottle. In the No. 44, Darren will take over for Seth. In the No. 46, Patrick will stay in the car.

6:54 pm - A car is off in Turn 12, looks like the No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari was involved in the incident. Double yellow. All Lizard cars will pit under this yellow. It looks like Joerg will get into the No. 45, Darren in the NO. 44 and Patrick will stay in the No. 46.

6:49 pm - Wolf now under 4 seconds back from the No. 62. Under 90 minutes left in the stint.

6:46 - The No. 87 passed the No. 46 to move into fourth. Patrick in the No. 46 is now fifth. Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 45; P 3 No. 71; P4 No. 87; P 5 No. 46. No. 44 is P8.

6:44 pm - Wolf, in the No. 45 in P2 has closed the gap even further to the No. 62 Risi which is in P1. Patrick in the No. 46 is P4.

6:41 pm - Looks like the No. 71 Tafel Ferrari is by the No. 46 to take P3. The No. 87, which is on a faster pace than the No. 46, is now pushing hard on the No. 46.

6:33 - 1 hour and 43 minutes left in the race. No. 62 Ferrari in the lead. Wolf in the No. 45 is P2; P 3 No. 46. No. 44 is P8. All three Lizard cars will need to stop again for fuel (they can run about 1 hour here per full fueling). Wolf is slowly closing the gap between him and the No. 62 Risi Ferrari. He is now 6 seconds back. The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari in fourth is right behind Patrick in the No. 46, in third.


6:26 pm - The No. 007 has a small fire under the car. They have extinguished it in the pits. A car is also partially blocking pit in - the GT2 Dodge viper, I think.

6:23 pm - Positions: P1 No. 62; P2 No. 45; P 3 No. 46; P 4 No. 87; P 5 No. 71; P 6 No. 73. No. 44 is P8. Patrick radios in that the car is good and he is going to try to push.

6:18 - Wolf in the No. 45 now P2.

6:16 pm - The No. 87 is now in the lead. No. 62 Risi Ferrari is P2. No. 45 is P3. No. 46 is P4. No. 71 is P5. No. 44 is P8.

6:13 pm - The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferari is in the pits for tires and fuel. I think they did a driver change to Dirk Mueller. I will report positions next lap after the field settles back in.

6:12 pm - The No. 45 has a very clean stop and Wolf is out quickly. The No. 46 is out just a few seconds later with Patrick Pilet at the wheel.

6:11 pm - No. 45 pits for driver change to Wolf Henzler, tires and fuel. No. 46 pits Just after him for driver change to Patrick Pilet, tires and fuel.

6:09 pm - After positions settled a bit after the 62 pit stop- No. 45 is P1; No. 87 P2; No. 46 P3; No. 71 P4; No. 62 P5.

6:07 pm - No. 62, the GT2 leader, pits and No. 45 moves into the lead. No. 87 is P3. No. 46 is P4, No. 71 is P5. No. 44 is P8.

6:04 pm - No. 45 is getting ready to pit. No. 46 will also pit.

5:58 pm - The No. 87 got past Johannes to take P3. Johannes now P4. Wolf is getting his helmet on so they are getting close to the pit stop for the No. 45, which is in P2.

5:57 - The No. 44 is in the pits for tires and fuel. Darren did a driver change to Seth Neiman in the No. 44. No. 45 with Joerg still on his first stint, is P2. No. 46, with Johannes still on his first stint is P3. Both the No. 45 and No. 46 are close to their driver change windows. If we don't have a yellow, they should pit within 15 to 20 minutes.

5:53 pm - Darren flat spotted one of the rear tires and needs to pit for new tires. In the No. 46, Johannes has the No. 61 Ferrari behind him (not for position he is one lap back) and the No. 87 right behind the ferrari. The FErrari has just passed Johannes, and now the No. 87 is right on his tail.

5:48 - No. 62 is P1; No. 45 P2; No. 46 P3; No. 87 P4; No. 71 P5. No. 44 P8. Joerg is 8 seconds back from the No. 62, and is running a slightly slower pace. Johannes is wrestling with the No. 46 and is significantly off the pace. Johannes is holding on to P3, but No. 87 is right behind him.

5:44 - The No. 21 is in the pits to serve a penalty for a violation during its last pit stop.

5:38 - The timing and scoring that we can see is not functioning properly so apologies if coverage is a bit spotty. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari is in the lead. Joerg in the No. 45 is P2. Johannes in No. 46 is now P3, after the P 4 car, the No. 21, just pitted. Darren is in P9 in the No. 44. Darren is one lap down from the GT2 lead pack. We have 2 hours and 42 minutes left in the race - just under the normal race length.

5:36 pm - The No. 30 just went off course into the gravel but continued. Quite a lot of gravel on the track near the kink. No. 21, which was in P3 is in the pits.

5:29 pm - Joerg in the No. 45 is minus 3.3 from the No. 62 Risi Ferrari. The No. 62 is on a slightly faster pace than the No. 45.

5:26 pm - Joerg has passed the No. 21 to move into P2. No. 62 Risi Ferrari in P2. Johannes still P4. Darren P8.

5:22 pm - The No. 62 Risi Ferrari has moved past the No. 21 to take the lead. Joerg is starting to put pressure on the No. 21 Panoz. Johannes in P4. Darren is in P8.

5:18 pm CT - Positions (I think) are: P1 No. 21; P 2 No. 62; P 3 No. 46; P 4 No. 73. Joerg moved past the No. 73 to take fourth and is waiting for a chance to move past Johannes - yes, he just passed him to to take P3. The No. 46 is slightly off the pace right now.

5:18 pm CT - Green flag.

5:13 pm - The No. 71, which was in P2, finally pits for fuel - not sure if they did tires, but I don't think so. Still yellow. The NO. 21, in the lead, has not yet pitted.

5:11 pm CT - Well, nearly an hour into the race and most of it has been run under yellow. Hopefully we'll get through this and have a solid rest of the 3 hours. REminder that we are broadcasting our team radios - see the "Follow the RAce" tab on the home page.

5:10 pm - Johannes in the No. 46 has moved to P3. Joerg in the No. 45 is in P 6. Still yellow.

5:09 pm - The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche just served a penalty for speeding in pit lane. Positions: P1 No. 21; P2 No. 71; P 3 No. 73; P 4 No. 46; P 5 No. 62; P 6 No. 45. None of the top three cars have pitted. No. 44 is P10. The course is double yellow because the No. 12 prorotype is slow on course.

5:07 pm CT - Green flag.

5:00 pm CT - Joerg is out again after pitting for the quick repair. Meanwhile the No. 44 pitted for tires, fuel and driver change to Darren Law. I will report positions in a minute. Still yellow.

4:57 - We have an issue on the No. 45 - a bolt may be missing or loose on the right front suspension so he must take the car around carefully and pit again for them to fix it.

4:54 - Both the No. 45 and the No. 46 are pitting for fuel and tires. Still yellow for the earlier No. 40 incident. Both cars are out quickly. The No 62 Risi Ferrari, which was in P2 also pitted. Confirmed that the No. 71 did not pit.

4:48 - The No. 40 Doran Ford is deep in the gravel after apparently being punted off by a prototype. Double yellow. This could be bad news for Joerg in the No. 45 in P1 because it will allow the No. 62 which is now in P2 and the No. 71 in P3 to close the gap that Joerg has built. But it could help the No. 46 which is in P4, allowing him to close the gap to No. 71 in P3. Seth in the No. 44 is now in P 11. Looks like Seth got the wave by under yellow, so he gets the lap back that he lost earlier.

4:42 - Joerg passed the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari to take the lead. Johannes is P4. No. 71 is now P2 and No. 62 P3. Seth in No. 44 is P13.

4:41 - Green flag.

4:38 - still yellow flag. Timing and scoring is back up in the pits so it will be easier to figure out where we are now. Out of the 14 car field, Joerg in the No. 45 is P2, Johannes in the No. 46 is is P4 and Seth in the NO. 44 is P 10. Unfortunately, Seth was in position just behind the overall leader, which will allow the lead GT2 pack to gain a lap on him - so he and the GT2 cars behind him are now one lap down on the GT2 leaders.


4:30 pm CT - Positions P1 No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari, P2 No. 45, P3 No. 62 Risi Ferrari, P4 No. 46.

4:28 pm CT - Yellow flag, the No. 66 is in the tire wall. It is so early in the race that most likely all three cars will stayout.
Correction - Joerg was able to pass the No. 62 in the first few laps so he is P2.
4:25 pm CT - It looks like Johannes in the No. 45, who started in fifth, was able to get by the 87 Farnbacher Porsche, which started in fourth. Joerg is P3 - behind the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari, which started on the pole, and the No. 62 Risi Ferrari, which started P2.

4:19 pm CT - It was a clean race start for the field. We are holding our starting positions - Joerg is P3 and Johannes is P5. Unfortunately we do not have timing and scoring in the pits right now due to to a technical issue so it will be a bit difficult to report positions.

4:15 pm CT - Joerg Bergmeister starting in the No. 45. Seth Neiman in the No. 44, Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 46. Green flag this time by.

4:13 pm - Pace cars is out - one pace lap. Green flag shortly.

4:07 pm CT - We are on a hold for a technical issue - it may be a timing and scoring issue. We don't know how long it will be but hopefully we'll get underway soon.

*** 3:55 pm CT - Five minutes to engine start. ** We are having connection problems here due to cloud cover so blog and radio may be intermittent.


11:30 am CT - Checkered flag on the session. All went well during the session for the Lizards. The No. 45 was P1 in a time set by Joerg early in the session. Darren is P5 in the No. 44 and Johannes is P7 in the No. 46.

11:28 am - Johannes pits for a setup change in the No. 46. Just 2 minutes left in the session so this will be a fast change.

** Reminder that we are broadcasting our radio live today during this morning's session and during the race. The race begins at 4 pm CT today. it will be broadcast tape-delayed on Speed TV - broadcast is Sunday, August 10 at 1 pm CT. **

11:22 - Darren is apparently having fun and doesn't want to get out of the car - he requested one more lap then will turn the car over to Seth Neiman who will finish out the session. Darren just came into town last night after finishing third in the yesterday's Grand-Am race.

11:21 - Patrick pits for a driver change to Johannes van Overbeek. Patick is P6, Darren is P4, Wolf still P1. 10 minutes left in the session. Wolf radios in that he went off in the grass in the exit of Turn 7 but all seems OK. He will stay out.

11:18 - Darren now P3. Wolf Henzler is now in the No. 45, still P1 from Joerg's earlier fast lap. Patrick Pilet is P5.

11:14 - Darren now P4 in the No. 44. Looks like he is happy with the setup that Seth worked on over the last few days. Patrick now P5.

11:11 am CT - Joerg is now P1 in the No. 45. Patrick is P4 and Darren is P7.

11:05 am CT - Good morning from Road America. Morning warmup is underway. Darren Law has arrived and is out in the No. 44 Porsche for his first run here. Joerg Bergmeister is in the No. 45, and Patrick Pilet in the No. 46. It is a beautiful day here and should be perfect racing weather. This morning's session will be a short 25 minutes - just enough time for us to check the setup changes that we made to the cars post-qualifying.

Road America - Race Day

11:05 am CT - Good morning from Road America. Morning warmup is underway. Darren Law has arrived and is out in the No. 44 Porsche for his first run here. Joerg Bergmeister is in the No. 45, and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 46. It is a beautiful day here and should be perfect racing weather.

Road America Aug. 8: Qualifying No. 45 P3; No. 46 P 5; No. 44 P 11

3:18 pm - Red flag. No. 61 is stopped off course in the corner of 12. So that's it on the qualifying session. Lizards will qualify: No. 45 P3; No. 46 P 5; No. 44 P 11. No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari is on the pole.

3:13 pm - Joerg is heading back out for one more try at a faster lap. He is currently P3. Patrick is still P5 - one second back from the No. 87 which is in P4.
Patrick says that he tings he can get a faster lap and stays out. Joerg pits - he is P3.

3:09 pm CT - Joerg now P3. He is 1 tenth of a second behind the No. 62, and the No. 62 is about two tenths behind the No. 71. Joerg radios in that he does not think he can go faster on these tires and the crew calls him in. Patrick is P5 now. Patrick radioed in that he hit traffic, and will wait one lap, then try again for a fast lap. Seth is P 11.

3:08 pm CT - Qualifying is under way. Joerg in the No. 45 is P2 - on his first fast lap. Jaime Melo in the No. 62 is P1. Patrick Pilet in the NO. 46 is P7. Seth Neiman in the No. 44 is P10. 12 minutes left in the session.

2:50 pm CT - Checkered flag on the session. 10 minutes until qualifying.

2:45 - 5 minutes left. Joerg reports misfire again on reserve.

2:49 - 10 minutes left in the session. No. 71 is P1; No. 62 P2; No. 45 P3. No. 46 is P7 and No. 44 is P9.

2:35 - Joerg reports the No. 45 is misfiring on reserve. He is pitting for fuel and tires. 15 minutes left in the session before qualifying.

2:29 pm - No. 71 is P1; No. 62 is P2; No. 45 is P 3; No. 46 P6 and No. 44 in P9. 20 minutes left in the session. Johannes pits in the No. 46 for driver change to Patrick Pilet.

2:23 pm - Wolf radios in that he didn't like the last change - he feels like he has more understeer now. Seth reports that the car is pushy and he is starting to lose grip. Wolf is in the pits for driver change to Joerg.

2:14 - The No. 46 and the No. 45 both pit for changes. Wolf is now P2 in the No. 45 and Johannes is P6 in the No. 46. Seth is P10 in the No. 44. The No. 46 is making a rear wing aero change. The No. 45 is heading out again. Wolf will do one timed lap, then come in for a driver change to Joerg. The No. 46 is still working on their setup changes but will head out shortly with Johannes still behind the wheel.

2:00 pm - We are 10 minutes into this afternoon's practice session. Wolf Henzler is in the No. 45 - he's P1 and just radioed in that he's much happier with the car this session after the changes this morning. Johannes is in P4 in the No. 46. Seth Neiman is in the No. 44.

11:00 am - Checkered flag on this morning's practice session. No. 45 was P5, No. 46 P6 in the session. No. 62 was P1 in the session, No. 71 was P2, No. 21 was P 3 and No. 87 was P4. We'll be back with you this afternoon at 1:50 for another one hour practice session, then qualifying.

10:55 - Five minutes left in the session. No. 46 is heading back to the garage. No. 44 and No. 45 are still out.

10:45 - Gren flag. The No. 46 is back from the garage and Johannes is in the car. He radios in that the steering wheel is offset to the right. He'll finish out this session to make sure there are no issues with the car from Patrick's earlier run into the gravel. Wolf is in the No. 45 and Seth in the No. 44. The No. 45 is currently P5, No. 46 is P6 and No. 44 is P 13.

10:41 - Red flag to pick up some debris from the track. Seth is still out in the No. 44. In the No. 45, Wolf will take over for Joerg and finish out the session. No. 46 still in the garage. Darren Law, co driver in the No.44, will not be here until race day.

10:29 - Both the No. 45 and the No. 44 have pitted for setup changes. The setup here is significantly different than at Mid-Ohio, so yesterday's test session and today's practice session have required some major setup changes. No. 46 Porsche is still in the garage as the crew cleans out the gravel from Patrick's earlier off track incident. Joerg is now P4 in the session. No 62 is P1; No. 71 is P2, No. 87 is P3.


It's perfect racing weather today - sunny and warm, but a nice breeze and moderate temperatures.

10:21 - Joerg is currently P3 in the session. The No. 87 is P1 and the No. 71 is P2. No. 46 is P3 and the No. 44 is P4.

10:18 am - Patrick is rolling again after getting a sno-blower clean up by the safety crew to remove some of the gravel. He will head back to the garage, but will remain off line to try and keep gravel off of the track.

10:14 am CT - Good morning from Road America. We are 15 minutes into this morning's practice session. Joerg is out in the No.45, Seth in the No. 44, and Patrick was out in the No. 46 until he went deep into the gravel. he is fine and the car appears to be OK but it is really buried in gravel. So they will head directly back to the garage to remove the undertray and clean out the gravel. The session is only 1 hour so not sure if they will be back out again or not. We have two practice sessions today (10 to 11 and then again 1:50 to 2:50) and then qualifying. Qualifying will begin at 3:00 pm CT.

Road America - Test Day Aug 7

*** Checkered flag on the session - we'll see you all here tomorrow for morning practice, starting at 10 am CT. ***

3:37 pm - Joerg radios in that the No. 45 is in the gravel at Turn 12 and he can't get out. Red flag and this will probably be the end of the session. They will have to pull Joerg out. Since the session is nearly over, the No. 46 and the No. 44 are heading back to the paddock.

***
A reminder that the race is broadcast on SpeedTV - it is tape delayed. The race is Saturday, the broadcast will be the following day, Sunday Aug 10 at 1 pm CT (11 am PT).

Lizards will broadcast their team radio live on raceday - both morning warmup and the race. For details see www.lizardms.com.
***

3:20 pm - 20 minutes left in the session. The next on track session will be tomorrow,Friday, starting at 10:00 am. There are two practice sessions on Friday, then morning warmup on Saturday, then the race. The race begins at 4 pm Central Time on Saturday, and lasts 4 hours.

All three cars are out in today's session. The No. 45 and No. 46 are both reporting a strong understeer and the engineers have worked most of the session on adjustments. Darren Law (Seth's codriver for the race in the No. 44) will not be here until Friday because of conflicts with a Grand-Am race so Seth Neiman will be doing setup solo on that car.

3:10 - Seth radios in that a car is off in the Kink. May go red shortly.

3:08 pm - No. 45 is currently P1 in the session (I think this was Wolf's time). No. 46 is P2. No. 44 now P 10. Green flag

3:01 pm - Red flag to pick up more debris.

2:48 pm CT - We are 40 minutes into the 90-minute test session. Red flag right now to pick up some debris in Turn 10. The No. 45 is P2 in the session, No. 46 is P4, and No. 44 is P 11.

2:30 pm CT - Good Afternoon from Road America. We are on track for today's test session in advance of Saturday's race. It's a very pleasant day here today - low humidity and a light breeze. It makes a nice change from the scorching temperatures at Mid-Ohio a few weeks ago.

All three cars are on track for the session. The engineers are running through basic setup changes right now - getting the cars adjusted to the high speed, 4 plus mile track.

Drivers this weekend will be Joerg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler in the No. 45; Seth Neiman and Darren Law in the No. 44; Patrick Pilet and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 46.