Petit Le Mans - Raceday

8:57 - Checkered flag. No. 45 is P2 and No. 44 is P 6. No. 46 was retired due to an accident. Risi No. 62 wins. With this result, the No. 45 drivers Joerg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler clinch the drivers' championship, and the Flying Lizard team gets the team championship. Congratulations to everyone!!!!

8:53 pm - Approx six minutes left in the race. Joerg is 4.5 seconds behind the No. 62 Risi Ferrari, which is in the lead.

8:46 pm - No. 62 P1. No. 45 P2. No. 71 P3. The No. 71 is 2 laps down from the No. 45. If the No. 45 finishes ahead of the No. 71 (and scores points) it will clinch the drivers and team championships. There is a 29 point lead right now in the drivers and a 35 point lead in the team, and only 25 points possible at Laguna.

8:37 pm - Green flag. The No. 45 is 5 seconds back from the No. 62 Ferrari which is in the lead.

8:37 pm - About 22 minutes left. The race is expected to end just shy of its 10-hour maximum.

8:34 pm. Positions remain unchanged: P1 No. 62, P2 No. 45, P3 No. 71, P4 No. 61, P5 No. 99, P6 No. 44.

8:31 pm - Yellow flag to remove the No. 11.

8:22 pm - The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari appears to not have brake lights.

8:12 pm - The No. 45 is out again quickly. Joerg is still in the car.

8:09 pm - The No. 45 will pit this lap for tires and fuel. Positions: P1 No. 62, P 2 No. 45, P 3 No. 71, P 4 No. 61, P 4 No. 99. P 6 No. 46 (retired), P 7 No. 44.

7:57 - No. 46 has been retired. Patrick Pilet, who was driving at the time of the accident, is OK. It was another really tough break for the No. 46.
The No. 26 Acura was involved, as was one of the Intersport prototypes. It appears from the TV replay that an incident resulted in the Intersport prototype being stalled on course facing against traffic with no lights at the crest of the hill of Turn 12. It was fully night and visibility was low. Patrick was one of several cars which crested the hill after the incident. As a group of cars crested the hill and each moved to avoid the Intersport prototype, the No. 46, at the rear of the group, came over the hill. He did not have enough time to avoid the car and hit the Intersport car nearly head on. The No. 26 Acura was also significantly damaged, but I'm not sure at this time if it just hit the debris or impacted one of the cars.


7:45 - Patrick is back in the pits. He appears to be OK. I do not have info on the other drivers. We are yellow flag. This a very severe accident and three of the cars involved have been significantly damaged.

7:41 - Big crash involving the No. 46, one of the Acuras and what looks like one of the Intersport prototypes. I will update you when I know more.

7:40 - Green flag.

7:38 - the No. 45 pitted for tire and fuel. He's back out again in P2, without losing a position. Still yellow, green this time by. We now have a 2 lap lead on the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari is still in the lead.

7:32 - No. 44 is back on track with Darren Law behind the wheel. Still yellow.

7:28 - Still Yellow. No. 44 has moved down to P7 as the result of its lengthy pit stop. No. 45 is P2, No. 46 is P4. About 1 hour left

7:23 - Positions: No. 62 P1; No. 45 P2; No. 71 P 3; No. 46 P 4; No. 61 P 4, No. 99 P 6, No 44 P 7. No 44 is still in the pits as the crew repairs the broken water pipe.

7:22 - The No. 73 is going slow on course with an apparent problem. This may be a lengthy yellow because the tire wall has been affected.

7:20 am - The Vici No. 18 Porsche is in the tire wall at tire 12. Joerg radios in that the Ferrari (not sure which one) may have a problem. Double yellow. It was a very hard hit. Driver is out fo the car and appears to be OK.

7:18 pm - Positions are: P1 No. 62, P 2 No. 45, P 3 No. 71, P 4 No. 46, P 5 No. 61; P 6 No. 44. No. 44 is still in the pits as they repair the broken water pipe. No. 007 is off drivers right at Turn 6. Timing and scoring appears to be functioning again which is extremely helpful...


7:15 pm - No. 45 is in and out with Joerg Bergmeister behind the wheel.

7:12 pm - The No. 62 Risi Ferrari is in the pits. The No. 44 has water coming from the front. They do not want the water to get into the pit lane because the No. 45 is coming in and it could cause them problems. In the No. 44, they diagnose a blown water pipe next to the engine. To fix it, they will have to pull off the under tray. Very disappointing for that car, which was in P5 at the time of the incident.

7:10 pm - The No. 44 is in the pits for driver change to Darren Law, tires and fuel. The No. 44 thinks they may have a water leak. I believe they also have a penalty for a fueler having his goggles up - 20 seconds held in the pits.
The No. 45 will be in in one lap or so.

7:06 pm - The No. 45 crew is working to determine when to pit the No. 45. The No. 62 Risi Ferrari is expected to pit shortly.

7:04 pm - Patrick is in the pits in the No. 46. Johannes van Overbeek takes the wheel and is out again quickly with new tires and full fuel.

6:58 - Patrick Pilet in the No. 46 went into the gravel but continued. He will pit shortly for driver chagne to Johannes, tires, and fuel.

6:50 - The sun is setting and we are approaching dusk. Temperatures are starting to drop.

6:46 - GT2 positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 45 (Marc Lieb); P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 46, P 5 No. 87, P 6 No. 44. No. 87 appears to be out of the running, so No. 44 will move to P 5.

6:44 - The No. 87 was slow on course and pulled off. He appears to be unable to restart and is being towed back. He was in fifth. This will put the No. 44 into fifth.

6:36 - The No. 62 got by the No. 45 to take the lead.

6:32 pm - On course it's now the No. 46, then the No. 45, then the No. 62, then the No. 71 - all nearly nose to tail. Only the No. 62 and No. 45 are on the same lap.

6:28 pm - We can see on the TV footage the No. 62 in P2 putting a lot of pressure on the No. 45 in the lead. Just in front of them is the No. 46, who is 2 laps down. The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari, which is one lap down is just behind the No. 62.

6:14 pm - Here's what I think the status is:

No. 45 P1 and No. 62 P2 - on same lap
No. 71 P3 - one lap behind GT2 leader
No. 46 P4 - one lap back from the No. 71, 2 laps from GT2 leader
No. 44 - P6.

We have under 3 hours left.

6:13 - No. 15 Acura is off course after impacting the wall. He is continuing but slowly with a broken rear wheel and other damage.

6:09 pm - No. 45 is out again very quickly in P1. No. 62 is P2 and I think No. 71 is P3.

6:07 pm - No. 45 is pitting for a fuel top-up. No. 44 is pitting for a driver change, tires and fuel. No. 46 will not pit.

6:00 pm - To summarize. After that last round of pit stops: No. 62 is P1. No. 45 is P2. No. 71 is P3. No. 87 is P4. No. 46 is P5. No. 44 is P6. All three lizard cars pitted, but No. 44 did only a partial pit stop and did not switch drivers. No. 45 did their driver change to Marc Lieb and No. 46 did theirs to Patrick Pilet. I think everyone in the lead GT2 group has pitted in the last 10-15 minutes except possibly the No. 87. We don't have timing and scoring right now so it's very difficult to determine exactly where everyone is. I believe that the gaps are:
No. 62 and No. 45 are on the same lap - lap 252
No. 71 is on lap 251 - one lap back from the leader
No. 87 and No. 46 are on lap 250 - 2 laps back from the leader

5:57 - Still yellow. the No. 44 pitted for a quick fuel but did not do a driver change and was out quickly with just a splash. I expect them to pit again later in the yellow.

5:51 pm - Double yellow - the No. 73 is on the apex curbing at Turn 4. The timing is not great because both the No. 44 was getting ready to pit and is low on fuel.

5:47 pm - No. 45 pits for driver change to Marc Lieb, tires and fuel. No. 46 will pit shortly.

5:42 pm - The No. 45 had held the lead for over 3 hours, but was passed by the No. 62 Risi Ferrari which took the lead briefly until the pitted, and Wolf Henzler in the No. 45 once again took the lead. The No. 71 also pitted in the last 10 minutes. The Lizard cars are just getting ready for their pit stops, which should happen in the next few minutes. Positions are: P1 No. 45, P 2 No. 62, P 3 No. 46, P 4 No. 71, P 5 No. 87 and P 6 No. 44. Because our timing and scoring screens are not working , it's hard to be exact about the gaps between the cars. I'll try and report it once we are done with our pit stops.

5:00 - No. 4 Corvette is slow on course.

4:54 pm - No. 45 with Wolf Henzler is in the lead. No. 62 is P2. No. 71 is P3. No. 87 is P4. No. 46 is P5. No. 44 is P 6. Wolf is still one lap ahead of the No. 62. The No. 62 is one lap ahead of the No. 71. I believe the No. 71 and No. 87 are on the same lap. In the No. 46, Johannes is just under one lap behind the No. 87. Seth Neiman in the No. 44 is one lap behind Johannes. Hopefully timing and scoring will restart soon.

4:47 -Timing and scoring screen is frozen again. I'll report positions when it comes back online. I believe we still have the lead in the No. 45, with the No. 62 in second.

4:45 - The No. 46 also pitted and is out with new tires, fuel, and driver change to Johannes van Overbeek. No. 44 pitted just behind him for driver change to Seth Neiman, tires and fuel.

4:43 - Wolf is out again although there appeared to be short delay on his start in the pits. I'll report positions in a minute.

4:42 - They call Joerg into the pits for tires, fuel and driver change to Wolf Henzler. The No. 62, which was in second, also just pitted and exited the pits just as Joerg was coming in. Joerg was in the lead at the time of his pit stop.

4:40 pm - Joerg radioed in I thought he said that he went off in the Esses but the car seems OK. Chief Strategist Thomas Blam lets Joerg know that they are ready if he wants to pit now. In the No. 44, Darren Law has received the fuel warning light, so he should be in shortly.

4:38 pm - Teams are readying for their next pit stops. The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferarri is in the pits. the No. 71 was in P3 at the time. They are out again quickly, with no tire change (they are doublestinting their tires).

4:21 pm - Lead GT2 positions remain unchanged. There are about 10 minutes left in this stint for the drivers of the three Lizard Porsches - Pilet in the No. 46, Law in the No. 44 and Bergmeister in the No. 45.

4:14 pm- The Intersport car is stopped in Turn 10. He has rejoind so no yellow. It is starting to cool down as we approach dusk and as the wind picks up. The temperatures could drop as much as 20 degrees over the next few hours.

4:13 pm - Correction - the No. 87 had fallen farther back than I thought during its pit stop to repair a flat tire. Positions: P1 No. 45, P 2 No. 62, P 3 No. 71, P 4 No. 46, P 5 No. 44, P 6 No. 87, P 7 No. 61. Joerg radios in that he thinks he hit some debris in the left front.

4:10 pm - Positions: P1 No. 45, P 2 No. 62, P 3 No. 71, P 4 No. 87, P 5 No. 46, P 6 No. 44. The No. 62 is slightly less than one lap down on the No. 45. The No. 87 and No. 71 are more than one lap down on the No. 45. the No. 46 and No. 44 are one lap down from the No. 87 and the No. 71. We are now past the halfway mark - nearly 5 hours into what is tracking to be about a nine-hour race.

4:00 pm- The No. 46 went off course but continued without incident. The No. 87 has a front flat and was slow on course until they could get into the pits.
3:52 pm - Positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 87; P3 No. 62; P4 No. 71; P 5 No. 46, P 6 No. 44.

3:48 pm - Darren went off in the No. 44 - going a bit wide in 1 but he quickly rejoined and says he thinks everything is OK.

3:44 - Green flag. Joerg was able to retain the lead in the No. 45 after the pit stop. The No. 87 in P2 and No. 62 in P3 are (almost) one lap down from Joerg. The No. 71 in P 4 is more than 1 lap down. The No. 45 and No. 44 are on the same lap and are 2 laps down from the No. 45.

3:39 pm - No. 46, No. 44, and No. 45 all pit nearly simultaneously. Driver changes to Patrick Pilet in the No. 46, Darren Law in the No. 44 and Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 45. It looks like No. 46 was out first, with No. 44 second and No. 45 third. At the time of the pit stop, the No. 45 was two laps up on the No. 44 and No. 46, who were on the same lap.

3:37 pm - The wave by is beginning to catch the overall leader.

3:33 pm - Still yellow. The No. 44 will pit for driver change to Darren Law, tires and fuel.

3:25 pm - We are back. Hopefully this will be a better Internet connection.
After the No. 87's spin and resulting pit stop, the No. 71 was able to move into P2. The No. 62 has also gained a position, passing the No. 44 to take fourth. Positions: P1 No. 45, P 2 No. 71, P 3 No. 87, P 4 No. 62, P 5 No. 44, P 6 No. 46. We are nearing the halfway point of the race. No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari is off i nthe wall with what appears to be heavy damage. Full course yellow.


3:13 pm - The No. 87, which was just behind the No. 45, spun and went off course after being hit by the No. 50 prototype but was able to contiued. It looks like he has a flat tire and will be pitting.
** Note that I am having Internet problems here - I am working to resolve. Blog and Radio will be offline for a few minutes **

3:08 pm - Marc was able to get by the No. 61, as did the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche, which is in P2. The No. 87 is putting a lot of pressure on the No. 45. Unfortunately timing and scoring screens appear to be frozen again...

3:06 pm - Marc Lieb, in the lead, radios in that the No. 61 Ferrari is blocking him.

3:02 pm - The No. 62 Risi Ferrari has overtaken Johannes to move to P4. Johannes in the No. 46 is now P6. Positions: P1 No. 45, P 2, No. 87, P 3 No. 71, P 4 No. 44, P 5 No. 62, P 6 No. 46. No. 45 and No. 87 are on the lead lap. No. 71 and No. 44 are on the same lap. No. 62 and No. 46 are one lap back from the No. 71 and No. 44.

2:55 pm - Green flag.

2:50 pm - We are just over 3 and a half into the 1000-mile race, which is tracking to finish under nine hours. No. 45 is in the GT2 lead, the No. 44 is fourth and the No. 46 if fifth. The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche is second and the No. 71 TAfel Racing Ferrari is third. Still yellow.

2:39 pm - Green flag. The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche had also pitted in that yellow, but the No. 45 beat them out to take the lead. The No. 87 is now P2. The No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari is now P3 (one lap down on the No. 45 and No. 87) and the No. 44 Porsche is P 4. The No. 46 Lizard Porsche is now P5 and I believe he is 1 lap down on the No. 71 and No. 44. I'll confirm that in a minute.(yes, that's correct.) The No. 12 Jean Richard prototype is off now - full course yellow.

2:34 pm - No. 44 is in the pits for driver change to Seth Neiman, tires and fuel. No. 45 pits last of the three for driver change to Marc Lieb, tires and fuel.

2:32 pm - Timing and scoring screens have restarted. No. 46 is pitting for driver change back to Johannes van Overbeek, tires and fuel. No. 44 and 45 will also pit.


2:25 - We have some timing and scoring issues here. Timing and scoring screens have frozen and it's unclear who the overall leader is. During a yellow, the pace car will get to the overall leader by waving by the cars until the pace car is in front of the overall leader. Once the pace car has the overall leader, the pack will stay in that position (no passing allowed under yellow) until the course is green again.

2:20 pm - Double yellow - the 888 prototypes is off drivers right. Appears to be debris on the track. Positions: P1 No. 87, P 2 No. 45, P 3 No. 44, P 4 No. 71, P 5 No. 61, P 6 No. 46. It's good timing for the yellow for the Lizards who are in their window for driver changes and will take advantage of the yellow for pit stops, driver changes, tires and fuel. The No. 45 and No. 46 both need to conserve fuel. They want to pit as late as possible in the yellow but can't run out of fuel.


2:10 pm - No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari is in the pits. He was P2 at the time of his pit stop. this will move No. 45 up to P2 and No. 44 up to P3.

2:02 pm - The No. 18 Vici Porsche is in the pits.

1:57 pm - No. 45 has moved to P3, and No. 44 to P4 (apparently having passed the 007 which is on a much slower pace). No. 46 has also passed them and is now P6. the No. 62 Risi Ferrari, in P9 (who is two laps down on the No. 46 and 3 laps down on the No. 45 and No. 44), has moved through the Lizard Porsches and is approaching the No. 45. The No. 62 is currently running the fastest pace of the GT2 field.

1:50 The No. 88 is in the wall at the exit of Turn 3.

1:45 pm - The No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferari went off course but has rejoined.

1:41 - The No. 45 and No. 44 have passed the No. 61 Ferrari to move into P 4 and P5, respectively. The No. 46 has also passed the No. 61 physically on track. but is still one lap down. The No. 62 Ferrari is right behind the No. 44 on track, but is two laps down on him (and the No. 45)

1:37 pm - Green flag. All three Lizard Porsches are running together- on track they are in this order No. 45, then No. 46, then No. 44. However No. 45 is P4, No. 44 P6 and No. 46 P7. the No. 46 is one lap down on the No. 45 and No. 44.

1:34 pm - Positions: P1 No. 87, P 2 No. 71, P 3 No. 007, P 4 No. 61, P 5 No. 45, P 6 No. 44. No. 45 and No. 44 are the same lap, 1 lap down on the No. 87, No. 71, and No. 007.


1:29 - Both No. 46 , No. 45, and No. 44 are all called into the pits. Shot fuel only for all 3 cars. No. 45 was in and out first, No. 44 in and out second, and No. 46 in and out third. Still yellow. the three cars should be running together, but the No. 45 is 1 lap down on the No. 45, and No. 44 who are on the same lap (I believe - I will confirm that and report positions in a minute).

1:28 pm - Still yellow as race officials continue to work on preparing the tire wall that was damaged by the impact from the No. 48

1:20 pm - Just past the 2-hour mark, positions: P1 No. 87, P2 No. 45, P 3 No. 71, P 4 No. 44, P 5 No. 007, P 6 No. 61, P 7 No. 21, P 8 No. 46. The GT2 field pit stops have been very staggered so it's difficult to tell right now who has what amount of fuel. All cars should have completed their first driver change by this point.

1:17 pm - No. 46 is in the pits for fuel. No. 45 and No. 44 are staying out for now. Still yellow.

1:10 pm - I expect the Lizard Porsches to take advantage of what will probably be a lengthy yellow to pit for fuel. All driver changes have been completed so it will be just fuel, possibly tires.

1:07 pm- The No 48 prototype is in the tire wall in a very hard hit. The car has actually climbed up the tire wall. The driver is out of the car and appears to be fine. Double yellow.

1:05 pm ET - Positions: P1 No. 87, P 2 No. 45, P 3 No. 71, P 4 No. 44, P 5 No. 007, P 6 No. 61, P 7 No. 21, P 8 No. 46.

12:59 - No. 62 is in the pits. Not sure if there is an issue or not. No looks like a standard pit stop and driver change to Mika Salo.

12:54 - Green flag.

12:53 - P1 No. 87, P 2 No. 45, P 3 No. 71, P 4 No. 62, P 5 No. 61, P 6 No. 44. No. 46 is P 9

12:50 pm - No. 44 pits again for driver change to Lonnie Pechnik. Still yellow.

12:43 pm - Still yellow. All three cars pit. No. 44 is in first in for fuel and tires but no driver change. No. 46 is in second for fuel and tires to complete the pit stop that they shortened a few minutes ago when they changed drivers to Patrick Pilet. No. 45 is also in for fuel, tires, and driver change to Wolf Henzler. I'll report positions in a minute. Still yellow.

12:39 - The No. 66 is in the gravel - double yellow. The No. 46, which was in the pits, cut its pit stop short and left the pits as quickly as it could to get back on course.

12:38 pm ET - The No. 46 pits for a driver change from Johannes van Overbeek to Patrick Pilet.

12:34 - Joerg in the No. 45 had moved to P2 when the No. 62 pitted. The No. 71, which was in P3, then passed Joerg to move into P2. Positions: P1 No. 87, P 2 No. 71, P 3 No. 45, P 4 No. 46, P 5 No. 21, P 6 No. 44.

12:31 - No. 62, which I think was the car which almost collided with the No. 88 when it spun, has pitted for fuel and tires. At the time of his pit stop, No. 62 was in the lead. I'll report positions in a minute when things settle back in.

12:27 - No. 99 has pitted and also No. 61. Joerg in the No. 45 now moves to P3. No. 888 prototype is sideways on track. He was able to continue.

12:22 - Joerg has passed Johannes to take P 4. The No. 71 also passed the No. 46 and is now in fifth. The No. 46 is sixth. Darren Law in the No. 44 is ninth. No. 62 still in the lead. No. 87 P2. No. 99 P 3.

12:16 - One hour into the race. Joerg continues to close the gap to Johannes. Joerg is running about 1 second faster per lap than Johannes. Johannes is P4, Joerg is P5. Darren is P9. All three Lizard Porsches have pitted once. The No. 62 in the lead, has not yet pitted. The No. 87 in P2 has pitted once. The No. 99 in P3 has not yet pitted.

12:12 Darren moves to P 9 in the No. 44. Positions: P1 No. 62, P 2 No. 99; P 3 No. 87; P 4 No. 46, P 5 No. 45, P 6 No. 71, P 7 No. 61, P 8 No. 21, P 9 No. 44. Joerg is closing the gap to Johannes - now 4.6 seconds back.

12:09- Joerg has passed the No. 61 Ferarri to move into P5. Johannes is now P4, with the No. 87 now P3. Joerg is 6 seconds behind Johannes. Darren is still P 10.

12:07 - The 888 prototype is slow on course and the No. 30 Intersport is also slow on course.

12:02 - Joerg now P 6.

12:00 - Johannes now P3 in the No. 46. Joerg now P 7 in the No. 45. Darren is P 10 in the No. 44. No. 62 still P1. No. 99 Ferrari now P2.

11:58 am - Green flag.

11:54 am - Still yellow. No. 62 is P1. No. 99 is P2. No. 61 is P3. None of those cars have pitted yet. No. 46 is P4. No. 40 is P5. No. 87 is P 6. No. 45, which pitted last of the 3 Lizard Porsches, is now P 7. No. 44 is P 11.

11:45 - No. 45 pits for tires and short fuel. He is out again quickly. At the time of the pit stop, he was P 4. The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche also pitted. The No. 62, 71, and 99 did not.

11:41 - Car off drivers' left under the bridge. Looks like a Patron Acura prototype. No. 9. Double yellow. Drivers is fine but he cannot get the car restarted. I expect most GT2 cars to pit during this yellow.

11:29 - No. 46 now P9. No. 44 P 11. Joerg in the No. 45 is P4.

11:32 am - No. 71 in P 3 is putting a lot of pressure on the No. 87 in P2.

11:27 am - Green flag. After their respective pit stops, No. 46 has moved to P 10 and No. 44 now P 13. GT2 lead pack is unchanged. P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 87; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 45, P 5 No. 99.

11:26 am Joerg radios in that he thinks the No. 71 may be losing some fluid. Still yellow.

11:22 - Johannes pits in the No. 46 for a splash of fuel. No. 44 will also pit for the crew to look at Darren's cool suit. Johannes is out very quickly with fuel. The course is still yellow. Darren's cool suit connection has been repaired and he is out again.

11:19 - I spoke too soon, the No. 30 Intersport prototype has stalled on course. Yellow flag. Good news for the No. 1 Audi which missed the race start, but has now just entered the track. The No. 30 is proceeding slowly on course but it looks like it will need to be towed. So far, all Ok with the Lizard Porsches. Darren radioed in that his cool suit does not appear to be working.

11:18 am - Thankfully, a clean race start for the entire field. No. 62 is P1, No. 87 P2, No. 71 P 3, No. 45 P 4.

11:15 am - Green flag.

11:11 - Engine start and cars are rolling for their pace lap.

10:58 - Just a few minutes to engine start. All cars have been notified that they can move up one position to fill the gap from the Audi, which crashed on its recon lap and will start from pit lane. We will still be starting 4th, 14th and 15th (No. 46) on the GT2 grid. Two of the Acuras are gridded behind the No. 45, but they are in front of the No. 44 and No. 46. The final starting grid will be posted shortly on the IMSA website - www.imsaracing.net.

The race is being broadcast live on SpeedTV. It will start as scheduled at 11:15 am ET.

10:30 am - All three Lizard Porsches are on the grid. Joerg Bergmeister will start in the No. 45, Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 46, and Darren Law in the No. 44. Joerg will start fourth on the GT2 grid. The No. 46, which had been severely damaged during morning practice on Friday, did not qualify so Johannes will start from the back of the grid. In the No. 44, Law will start 15th. There are at least two Acuras, and now the Audi, which will be starting from the back of the field behind the GT2 cars which will make for an interesting start. I'll report final starting positions in a few minutes.

10:26 am - Well, it was not an auspicious start to the pre-race activities as the Audi crashed on the first outlap (of the recon lap(s) that precede the gridding of the cars). There was quite a bit of debris spread across the track. The Lizard Porsches were all out on track behind the Audi and all three cars reentered the pits so that the crews could check the tires to ensure there were no problems from the debris. As a result of the incident, Race control has extended the pit exit open time by 4 minutes. All cars must be out of the pits before the pit exit closes. If they don't make that, they will need to start the race from pit lane.

*** We'll be back with you around 11:00 am ET today. The race gets the green flag at 11:15 am ET and will last 1000 miles - expected to run just over 10 hours. We will broadcast our team radio during the race - for details see the "Follow the Race" tab at www.lizardms.com. The race is broadcast live on SpeedTV. See you in a few hours! ***
Checkered flag.
3:39 am - Red flag. The No. 8 Mazda had a hard hit into the tire wall. Driver is out of the car and appears OK. This will probably be the end of the session.

8:33 - No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari now P1, No. 45 P2, No. 21 P 3. No. 46 is P5 and No. 44 P 6.
8:29 - No. 46 also pits for driver change from Patrick Pilet to Johannes van Overbeek. In the No. 44, Darren Law radios in that he is pitting for a setup change to increase grip on turn in.

8:28 am - The No. 45, which is currently P1, pits for a driver change to Wolf Henzler, tire pressures and temps.

8:17 - The No. 46 pits after an install lap. So far, all looks ok.

8:15 am - Green flag. Darren Law is in the No. 44, Joerg Bergmeister is in the No. 45, and Patrick Pilet is in the No. 46.

8:10 am - We have the five minute warning and the cars quickly moved from the pit stalls to line up at pit out. It's not as cold today as it was yesterday - it will help the drivers get the tires up to temp more quickly.

Oct 4 - 8:07 am - Good morning from Road Atlanta - race day! We have a short 25 minute warmup this morning before the race, which starts at 11:15. The No. 46 crew completed the extensive repair overnight on the Porsche after it was damaged during yesterday's morning practice. As a result, the car did not make qualifying and will start from the rear of the grid. The No. 45 qualified fourth and the No. 44 was 15th.
***We will be broadcasting our team radio this morning and during the race - to listen see the "Follow the Race" tab at www.lizardms.com.***