Laguna Seca - Raceday October 18

6:45 pm - Checkered flag. No. 46 5th, No. 44 6th, and No. 45 10th at Laguna Seca. With this, the No. 46 drivers Johannes van Overbeek and Patrick Pilet secure third in the GT2 drivers' championship, joining No. 45 drivers Joerg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler, who won the GT2 drivers' championship after Petit. The team also won the GT2 team championship. Congratulations to the entire Lizard team for a fantastic season.


6:35 - In the No. 44, Darren is now past the No. 007 and is now in sixth. Patrick in the No. 46 is fifth. In the No. 45, Wolf is in tenth. 9 minutes left.

6:33 - Darren has closed the gap to the No. 007 to less than nine seconds. He is running ten seconds faster per lap. So he should be able to catch him. less than 11 minutes left. In the No. 46, Patrick has not been able to close the gap on the No. 21 - they are running about the same pace.

6:28 - 17 minutes left. No. 46 has closed the gap to the No. 21 to about five tenths of a second. If he can get past him, No. 46 will move into P4.

6:20 - The No. 12 and the No. 11 got together but continued, thankfully! No. 46 now P5. No. 44 P 7. No. 45 P 10. Patrick is very close to the No. 21 and may be able to get past him.

6:19 - Green flag. We heard Darren say that he got passed on the restart, but not sure if it was for position.

6:12 - Double yellow - car off in Turn 10. The No. 11 Viper. This yellow splits the GT2 pack - No. 87 and No. 46, had been on the same lap, and now the 87 will get the waveby and move up one lap. Positions: P1 No. 71; P 2 No. 62, P 3 No. 87; P 4 No. 46; P 5 No. 21; P 6 No. 007; P7 No. 44. No. 45 is P 10. 29 minutes left in the race.

6:10 pm 35 minutes left.

6:04 pm. Positions: P1 No. 71; P 2 No. 62; P 3 No. 87; P 4 No. 46. No.44 is P 7 and No. 45 is P 10. In the No. 46, Patrick is 13 seconds behind the No. 87 but they are on the same lap. They are both 2 laps down on the No. 71 and No.62. In the No. 44, Darren is one lap down on the No.007 which is in sixth. The No. 44 is several laps down on the overall leader. In the No. 45, Wolf is now less than a lap down on the No. 54 in ninth - Wolf is running more than five seconds a lap faster than the No. 54 at this pace, he could pass him before race end. 38 minutes left in the race. Darren also has a chance to pass the 007 car, which is in sixth.. Darren is running seven seconds a lap faster.

6:01 pm - Green flag.

5:56 - and still yellow. I don't have the exact numbers at my fingertips here, but I would guess that we have spent at least 75 percent of the race (so far) under caution. Positions are: P1 No. 71; P 2 No. 62; P 3 No. 87, P 4 No. 46, P 5. No. 21. No. 44 is P 8 and No. 45 is P 10. 49 minutes left in the race.

5:46 - and immediately a yellow flag.. for one of the Penske Porsches which went off course into the gravel.

5:45 - Green flag.
5:42 pm All three Lizard cars pitted nearly simultaneously. The No. 45, which did not do a driver change, was out first. Darren Law took over in the No. 44 and Patrick Pilet in the No. 46. Wolf Henzler is still in the No. 45. Still yellow.

5:38 pm - Correction on the No. 45, they will pit, but just for tires and fuel, no driver. Wolf will stay in the car for now. Still yellow.

5:35 pm - A car off in Turn 3. Double yellow. The crews ready for pit stops. We are in the driver change window so the drivers are hustling to get ready for their next stints. Assuming that the cars come in, it will be Darren Law getting in the No. 44, Joerg Bergmeister getting in the No. 45, and Patrick Pilet in the No. 46.

5:30 pm - No. 71 is now in the lead. No. 62 is in second. No. 21 is third. No. 46 is fourth. No. 44 is 7th. No. 45 is 11th.

5:22 pm - Johannes is less than 2 seconds behind the No. 21, but the are both 2 laps down on the GT2 lead pack. So far in the race, the No. 45 holds the fastest race lap, set by Joerg in his first stint of 1:22.698. In terms of championship points, Risi Competizione drivers Melo and Salo are now in fourth place - 24 points behind Johannes and Patrick in third. Johannes and Patrick can't catch up with the Tafel drivers who are in second, but they will hold third if they finish tenth or better (and complete the required laps), even if Risi wins the race. Risi is also in third in the team championship, and TAfel Racing is in second. Risi is 22 points behind Tafel in the team champ. 25 points are possible at Laguna (for first place). If Risi wins the race, and Tafel scores 2 points or fewer, Risi can move into second in the championship.

5:18 pm - Green flag.

5:13 - Yellow flag. One of the Acura prorotypes is in the gravel. Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 71; P3 No. 21; P 4 No. 46; P 5 No. 87. No. 44 is P 8. No. 45 is P 12.
5:13 - Yellow flag. One of the Acura pror\totypes is in the gravel. No. 87 pitted for more fuel in that yellow.

5:12 - The No. 88 spun on course at Turn 5 but continued.

5:10 pm - Green flag. The No. 87 has served its penalty under green. I'll report positions in a minute. 1 hour 33 minutes left.

5:08 pm - still yellow. The No. 45 pitted for tires and fuel. The No. 87 pitted under yellow, and received a stop and go penalty + 60 second hold for an infraction during the pit stop.

4:59 pm - No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari deep in the gravel at Turn 5. Will go yellow. 1 hour and 45 minutes left to go. GT2 lead positions remain unchanged. No. 46 is P5. No. 44 now P 9. No. 45 is now P 12.

4:51 pm - Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 71; P 3 No. 21; P 4 No. 87; P 5 No. 46; P 6 No. 44. No. 45 is P12. No. 62, 71, and 21 are on the same lap. No. 87, 46 and 44 are on the same lap, 1 lap down on the GT2 leaders. No. 45 is 5 or laps down on the GT2 leaders. Johannes is less than 5 seconds back from the No. 87.


4:40 pm - Green flag. On exiting the pits, No. 44 received a pit lane speed violation penalty and must stop again under green.

4:37 pm - No. 44 pits for driver change to Seth Neiman, tires and fuel.

4:36 pm - Still yellow. Positions P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 71; P 3 No. 21; P 4 No. 44; P 5 No. 87; P 6 No. 46. No. 45 is P 13. Darren Law is still on his first stint in the No. 44. Wolf Henzler and Johannes van Overbeek are in the No. 45 and 46 respectively.

4:31 pm - Double yellow. Prototype in the gravel at Turn 1. The No. 44 gets ready for a pit stop and driver change to Seth Neiman.

4:17 pm - Positions are: P1 No. 62; P 2, No. 71; P 3 No. 21; P 4 No. 44; P 5 No. 87; P 6 No. 46; P 7 No. 99. No. 45 is P 13.

4:26 - Green flag.

4:21 - The No. 45 pits for tire and fuel and driver change to Wolf Henzler. The No. 62 is P1, the No. 71 is P2. The No 21 is in third. The No. 21 got the waveby (allowing him to go by the overall leader under yellow and rejoin the pack - effectively gaining a lap) but Darren in the No. 44 did not. This will put Darren one lap down on the three GT2 lead cars. The No. 46 also pitted during the caution for fuel, tires, and driver change to Johannes van overbeek.

4:19 pm - Still yellow. The No. 62 and the No. 21 are in the pits.

4:15 pm - The No 16 Krohn Racing Ferrari is in the gravel off the corkscrew. Double yellow.

4:13 pm - On track, Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 45 has now regained almost an entire lap and is just behind the No. 71, which is in second (but Joerg is 4 laps down).
4:07 - Mika Salo in the No. 62 made a very bold pass of the No. 21 in the corkscrew. The No. 62 took the lead and the No. 21 moved to second. The No. 71 in third is looking for his opportunity to pass the No. 21. Darren Law in the No. 44 is still a bit behind the No. 71. The GT2 cars are facing continual prototype traffic as groups of the faster cars take every opportunity the can to thread through the GT2 bunches.

3:59 pm - The No. 21 Panoz is in the lead. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari is close behind in P2 and the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari is close behind him in P3. Darren Law in the No. 44 is in P4, but he has a bit of a gap to close up to the No. 71 - he's about 14 seconds behind. Patrick Pilet in the No. 46 has moved to P 6. Joerg is still P 14 in the No. 45.


3:56 pm - Green flag.

3:49 pm - Positions are: P1 No. 21; P 2 No. 62; P3 No. 71; P4 No. 44; P 5 No. 87; P 6 No. 40. P 7 No. 46. The No. 45, which was in the pits for a lengthy repair after being hit by the No 18 Porsche is now in P 14. Still yellow. The first 5 GT2 cars are all on the same lap. The next group of 6 GT2 cars are also on the same lap, one lap down from the leaders. the No. 44 is on the lead lap. The No. 46 is one lap down. The No. 45 is 5 laps down on the GT2 leader. All three Lizard cars still have their starting drivers.

3:45 - Darren Law pits in the No. 44 for tires and fuel. the No. 87, in the lead, has also pitted. Darren beat the No. 87 out of the pits, gaining a position on them. I'll report GT2 positions in a minute once the field settles in. We heard from race control that this will be a more lengthy yellow as they have sent out sweepers to try and clean the dirt and marbles off the track - the dirt is contributing to the number of issues.

3:43 - The No. 11 Viper is in the gravel. Double yellow again... The Viper has been pulled out and is now underway again.

3:40 pm - Green flag. Positions on the restart: P 1 No. 87; P 2 No 21; P 3 No. 44; P4 No 62. No. 46 is P 11 and No. 45 is P 14.

3:39 pm - Still yellow.

3:36 pm - The No. 12 is out of the gravel and is continuing. Joerg reports that the steering wheel is slightly off but so far he is OK.

3:35 pm - The No. 45 is out again. They may bring him back in again - the No. 12 car is stuck in the gravel so the course is double yellow.

3:34 - Green flag.

3:31 - No. 46 is in the pits for tires and fuel top up.

3:30 - The No. 46 will pit shortly. Still yellow.The crew is stil working on the tie rod repair.

3:27 - The crew is still working on the repair of the No. 45 in the pits.

3:23 - Joerg is in the pits - they diagnosed that they need to change an inner tie rod. Still yellow flag. Although the No. 45 has already clinched the drivers' championship, the team needs the No. 45 to finish as high as possible to help Porsche secure the manufacturers' championship and increase the No. 46's chances at getting third in the drivers' champ.

3:20 - Joerg was off in the No. 45 after impact from teh No. 18, which spun on course and is now stuck in the gravel. Joerg was able to continue but has damage - it's unclera from the TV - could be suspension damage.

3:17 pm - Green flag.

3:14 pm - Positions: P 1 No.87; P 2 No. 21, P 3 No. 44, P 4 No. 62, P 5 No. 45. No. 46, which had a punctured tire early in the race, is now in P10.

3:11 pm The No. 45 is in pit lane for tires and fuel. Still yellow.

3:07 pm - Double yellow. The No. 61 Krohn Racing Ferarri is in the pits with a flat tire and damaged bodywork from the flat.

3:04 pm - The nose and right front bodywork of the No. 06 Penske Spyder is damaged after colliding with the back of another prototoype. There's a large piece of bodywork in the road so I expect another yellow to remove that.

3:03 pm - Green flag.

2:59 pm - Still yellow, the No. 44 just pitted for tires and fuel top up. The No. 46 has also just pitted.

2:53 - The No. 18 is off and deep in the gravel. Double yellow

2:52 - Darren Law is now in P7. Joerg maintains the lead in the No. 45 with the No. 87 close on his tail. Joerg passed the No. 87 at the start to take the lead.

2:50 pm - Patrick is in the pits unexpectedly with a punctured left front tire. The crew replaced all four tires and sent him out again. It's unfortunate, because it puts him at the back of the GT2 pack, but this is a four hour race, so we have a long way to go.

2:50 pm - Postions - P1 No. 45; P 2 No. 87; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 62; P 5 No. 46; P 6 No. 18; P 7 No. 21; P 8 No. 44.

2:48 pm - One of the Lizard Porsches cut across the gravel in the corkscrew. I believe it was the 44. Patrick reports a vibration in the No. 46.


2:45 pm - Green flag. In the No. 45, Joerg passed the No. 87, who was on the pole, at the start, to take the lead. Patrick Pilet is now in fifth.

2:43 pm - The cars are underway for their pace laps.

2:39 - Engine start -30 seconds to pace car.

2:35 - Two prototypes are starting at the back of the whole field, behind the last GT2 car. Lizard starting drivers are Darren Law in the No. 44, Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 45 and Patrick Pilet in the No. 46.

2:21 pm - Good afternoon from Laguna Seca. The fog has completely cleared off and it's a beautiful sunny day here. The cars are now on the grid. The Lizard Porsches are starting second (No. 45), fourth (No. 46), and fifteenth (No. 44) on the grid.

** We are broadcasting our team radio - for details, see www.lizardms.com -
"Follow the Race" section. **

** The race is broadcast on NBC Sports - it is tape delayed. For broadcast details see www.lizardms.com **

10:20 am - Checkered flag on the session. Johannes is P2 in the No. 46, Wolf is P4 in the No. 45 and Seth is P 13 in the No. 44. ** Join us again this afternoon around 2:15. Race starts at 2:45. **

10:16 am - Johannes van Overbeek moves into P1 in the No. 46. Wolf Henzler is p3 in the No. 44. Seth Neiman is P12 in the No. 44.

** We will be broadcasting our team radio - this morning during warmup and during the race, which starts at 2:45. **

***The race will be broadcats on NBC Sports, tape delayed. For broadcast details see the home page at www.lizardms.com ***

10:12 am - No. 45 pits for driver change to Wolf Henzler.

10:10 - No. 46 pits for driver change to Johannes van Overbeek.

10:07 am - We are underway again. 13 minutes left in the session.

9:58 am - Red flag on the first lap. Not sure of the reason, although one of the Dyson prototypes spun and the TV coverage shows another prototype (tne No. 48) stopped on course. This is a the only warmup session today so the teams are anxious to get out. The tires and the track are very cold -by the time they get warmed up the session will be nearly over.


9:55 am - Good morning from foggy and cool Laguna Seca. The heavy fog from this morning is starting to lift but visibility is still low in some areas. Morning warmup has just begun and all three Lizard Porsches are heading out. Seth Neiman is in the No. 44, Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 45 and Patrick Pilet in the NO. 46.