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.

Laguna Seca - Practice and Qualifying - Friday Oct. 17

3:25 - Checkered flag on qualifying. No. 45 is second, No. 46 is fourth and No. 44 is 15th.

3:21 - No. 46 Strategist radios to Patrick to pit - he was not able to improve the time and will return to the pits.

3:17 - Joerg now P2 in the No. 45. Patrick is P4. Neiman is P 15 and is back in the pits. Joerg radios in that he thinks he is done and heads back to the pits. The No. 87 is P1. Seth and Joerg are both in the pits, but Patrick will try for one more fast lap.

3:15 - The No. 62 Risi Ferrari took a shortcut across the gravel at the corkscrew, laying down dirt and gravel all over the corkscrew exit on his way back onto the track.

3:12 pm - Patrick went off but quickly continued. He radioed in that he will take one lap to clean off the tires, then attempt another fast lap. He is currently P2. Seth is P 14. Joerg is P10.

3:09 pm. After a few laps, Patrick is now P4. Seth is P 10. Joerg is just heading out.

3:07 pm - On the first lap, Patrick reports a big vibration on the steering wheel.

3:05 - Green flag on qualifying. Seth Neiman will qualify the No.44, Joerg Bergmeister the No. 45 and Patrick Pilet the No. 46.

2:55 - Checkered flag on the session. The cars and drivers will hang out in pit lane until we get the green flag on qualifying.

2:50 - Everything going well so far. Just 5 minutes left in the practice session. qualifying begins at 3:05. Joerg is currently P2.

2:30 pm - Still a red flag, Darren Law is now in the No. 44 and Patrick Pilet in the No. 46.

2:27 - 2 cars off in Turn 6 - including one of the Audis. The No. 88, which also went off in Turn 6 (but separately from the Audi) appears to be high sided on a berm in the gravel.

2:26 - Joerg reported that he went off in Turn 6 but continued. He was called intot he pits.

2:17 pm - Joerg Bergmeister takes over from Wolf in the No. 45. 35 minutes left in the session. The No. 45 also pits for a change.

2:05 pm - In the No. 45, Wolf Henzler, now in P2, pits for a setup change. In the No. 46, engineer Craig Watkins has been working with Johannes to resolve what Johannes refers to as a "snappy oversteer".

2:00 pm Good afternoon from Laguna Seca. It's a beautiful day here - sunny and warm with a light breeze. All three Lizard Porsches are out for this afternoon's practice session. It's the last chance for the engineers to make setup changes before qualifying, which starts at 3:05 pm today.

Wolf Henzler is in the No. 45 and is currently P1 after just a few laps. Johannes van Overbeek is in the No. 46 - he is P4 in that Porsche. The No. 46 was rebuilt after its crash at Petit using a spare 2007 chassis. In the No. 44 Seth Neiman currently in the car.

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.***

Petit Le Mans - Qualifying October 3

3:50 pm - Checkered flag. No. 45 is P4 and No. 44 is P 15. No. 46 did not qualify (still under repair due to an accident earlier today) and will start from the rear of the grid in tomorrow's race.

3:45 - Joerg radioed in that he is coming in- his final lap was not as fast as the one prior in which he hit the water so he's done. It looks like No. 62 will take the pole. 5 more minutes.

3:41 - The No. 62 Risi Ferrari with Jaime Melo at the wheel is now P1. No. 87 is P2, No. 71 P3 and No. 45 P4. Joerg radioed in that he hit some water on his first fast lap and it affected his lap. He said he will try one more lap.

3:39 - Joerg is out again in the No. 45. There are 10 minutes left in the session. No. 44, which was also in the pits for a setup change, is also heading out on track again.

3:37 - No. 62 moves to P2 with a 1:19.510. No. 87 still P1 with a 1:19.487. No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari is P3 with a 1:19.795. No. 45 now P4 with a 1:19.885. No. 44 is P 15.


3:36 - No. 87 is still P1, No. 71 is P2, No. 45 P3. Joerg is still in the pits, but will go out again in a minute.

3:33 - No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche is now P1. Joerg is pitting for a setup change. He will go out again for another attempt at a fast lap.

3:31 pm - Joerg is P1, but the No. 62 has not yet gone out. The No. 99 JMB Ferrari, which showed some good times in the earlier practice sessions is P3. No. 28 is P2.

3:25 pm - Green flag on the qualifying session.

3:15 pm - Good afternoon from Road Atlanta. Only two of the three Lizard Porsches will qualify in this afternoon's qualifying session - the No. 44 and the No. 45. The No. 46 suffered extensive damage in this morning's practice session and will not be back on track in time for qualifying. The crew hopes to have repairs complete in time for race day warmup tomorrow.

Joerg Bergmeister will qualify in the No. 45. Seth Neiman will qualify in the No. 44.

Petit Le Mans - Practice Sessions - Race week

Friday Oct. 3 - Morning Practice

10:05 am - Checkered flag. The No. 45 and No. 44 will head back to the garage. The No. 46, which is still in the gravel off course, will be brought back on a roll back. Once it is back in the garage, the crew will be able to assess the damage and start on repairs. Qualifying begins at 3:25 this afternoon.

9:58 - Seth Neiman is out in the No. 44, taking over for Lonnie. The No. 46 is still in the gravel, where it will probably remain until the end of the session. In the No. 45, Joerg is still in the car, and is currently P3 in the session. The No. 11 Viper has a puncture and has pulled off course. We will probably go red again. No - the car is far enough off that they will stay green to finish out the session.

9:55 - No. 46 is in the gravel. Johannes radios in that the car took a hit head on into the wall. Johannes is out of the car and appears to be fine. Johannes radioed that the throttle stuck - the replay shows him going straight off course into the gravel.

9:52 - The No. 2 Audi was going backwards on course after spinning and narrowly avoiding a collision with the No. 12 Intersport. He is going again with no apparent damage.

9:51 am - Green flag. What a mess this session has been. The engineers have not had any time to do any setup changes given the number of red flags. 13 minutes remaining.

9:47 - Lonnie Pechnik is in the No. 44. Joerg is still in the No. 45 and Johannes van Overbeek now in the No. 46. Joerg radis in the Intersport just blew a tire but was able to continue and is working slowly back to the pits. The tire and related bodywork scraps will need to be removed from the track so red flag.

9:46 - Ok we are going again. The Acura is on the rollback and heading back to its garage. Green flag. 16 minutes left in the session.

9:36 am - Red flag. Major incident with the No. 26 XM Acura and the Intersport No. 12 protoype. The No. 26 XM Acura has significant damage and is undrivable. The driver is out of the car and appears to be fine.

9:33 am - Green flag. About 30 minutes left to go.

9:30 am - Joerg Bergmeister takes over from Marc Lieb in the No. 45. Still red flag but it should be a short one as they pull the No. 15 Acura out of the gravel. The No. 46 checked out OK and was sent back out.

9:29 am - The No. 15 Acura is in the gravel in Turn 7. Red flag. Things are definitely not getting off to a good start this morning. We have only 30 minutes left in the session and the tires are not even yet up to temp on the cars.

9:27 am - In the No. 46, Patrick is back in the pits.

9:26 am - Green flag.

9:21 am - The No. 46 is in the wall after impact from one of the Dyson Spyders near Turn 1. The No. 46 is in the wall. Driver is fine, rear car damage. He is deep in the gravel. The daamage does not look too extreme from the TV, but the car will surely be full of gravel which will take the crew some time to clean out. The crew advises Patrick to try and start the car and drive it back but to keep offline to minimize the amount of gravel on the track. Car chief Bill Rader advises Patrick to return to the pits and they will assess if the car can finish out the session or if they need to return to the garage.

9:18 am - Green flag. The No. 44 crew cleared Darren to head out again. They refilled the water, but did not see any problems. They advise Darren to let them know if there are any other alarms.

9:17 am - When the No. 46 arrived in the pits, the driver side door glass was missing. The crew is replacing the door.

9:15 am - In the No. 44, Darren pits for the crew to check out the car - he received a water temp alarm and said he smells coolant. Red flag - looks like it was to remove a large piece of bodywork debris from the track, apparently off of the No. 15 Lowe's Acura.

9:14 - Green flag. The session started 10 minutes late, but we are going now. 10:05 checker.

9:00 am - We have the 5 minute warning. Patrick Pilet in the No. 46 headed out to get in line. In the No. 45, Marc Lieb also headed out. Darren Law is also in line in the NO. 44. RAce control just notified us that there may be a slight delay as they finish some wall repairs on the course.

8:50 am - Good morning from Road Atlanta. We are just a few minutes away from this morning's practice session. It's another beautiful day here in Braselton, Georgia. It looks like it will be sunny and warm with some high clouds and low humidity. It's still cool on the track after temperatures dipped into the 40's last night. This morning's sesion is our only track time today before qualifying this afternoon. The No. 44 is back together after a rebuild following yesterday's incidents in morning and afternoon practice. I hear it warming up in the garage behind me - a good sign. The No. 46 and No. 45 are in their pit stalls waiting for the call to line up at pit out. Both Patrick Pilet and Johannes van Overbeek are out in the pits getting ready for their turn at the No. 46. In the No. 45, Marc Lieb will be the first driver out for the morning. Darren Law is now in the No. 44 and is heading into the pit lane from the garage.

****
8:34 pm - Joerg radios in that he has the bobble and has switched to reserve fuel. He is called into the pits. Engineer Stefan Pfeiffer confirms that they are done for the night. It doesn't look like the No. 44 will make it out tonight so we are done for the day. We'll be back with you on Friday for morning warmup at 9:05 am ET. ** Jennifer

8:20 - Red flag, debris online in turn 10. The No. 46 has completed their laps and will head back to the garage. I can see that the No. 44 is almost back together in the garage but I don't know if they will make it back out in the session - just 35 minutes left.

8:15 pm - Wolf pits in the No. 45 for driver change to Joerg Bergmeister. In the No. 46, Patrick Pilet has completed his third lap.

8:10 pm - Johannes is back in the pits for driver change to Patrick Pilet.

8:08 pm - Green flag. Wolf Henzler is in the No. 45, taking over for Marc. Johannes will stay in the No. 46 and complete the remaining two of his three laps.

8:00 pm - Red flag. Debris in turn 8. Johannes was able to get one lap in, I think. Both he and Marc are heading in.

7:57 - Green flag.

7:53 pm - Red flag... to remove the No. 21 Panoz from the gravel. The No. 46 is now in the pits getting ready to go out for its 3 laps each for Johannes and Patrick.

Oct 2 - Evening practice - 7:45 pm - Tonight's evening practice will run until 9:00 pm. Each driver is required to do 3 laps at night tonight. The No. 45 is out on track with Marc Lieb currently behind the wheel. The No. 46 is just about to head out. The No. 44 is still in the garage with the crew still focused on trying to get that car out on track in time for the session after this afternoon's impact with the wall...

** Checkered flag on the afternoon practice session - Oct. 2 - we'll see you back in a few hours for night practice which starts at 7 pm ET. ** Jen

4:03 pm - Jaime Melo in the No. 62 has the fastest time of the session with a 1:19.302. Jeoerg in the No.45 is fourth and Patrick in the No. 46 is 8th.

3:57 pm - Patrick is out again for the last few minutes of the session. Joerg is also out again. 5 minutes left in the session.

3:52 - Joerg pits for a setup change. Less than 11 minutes left in the session.

3:49 - No. 46 pits for a setup change. Patrick Pilet is still in the car.

3:47 pm - No. 45 is in the pits for new tires. Joerg is currently P2, Patrick in the No. 46 is P 7.

3:37 -The No. 44 will be returned back to the garage after the session for what will unfortunately, be major repairs. No. 46 is in the pits for a setup change. Patrick Pilet is in the car. Joerg is out in the No. 45.

3:32 - Seth is off in the No. 44 in the esses. The driver appears to be fine but there's damage to the front and the rear. It's a tough break for the No. 44 crew who had a rebuild after this morning's incident. I don't yet know what happened that caused the incident, although Seth radioed that he was cut off.

3:22 - the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche went off track and reentered just behind Johannes in the No. 46. Luckily there was no contact.

3:21 - Neiman is in pit lane in the No. 44 for a setup change.

3:17 pm - Looks like the GT2 Corvette went off course as it is going slow on track and is completley covered with dirt.

3:14 pm - No. 45 is called into the pits for a front shock change. In the No. 46, Johannes radios in that he'd like to come in for a setup change.

3:05 pm - Green flag on the session. Seth Neiman is in the No. 44 and Wolf Henzler in the No. 45. Johannes van Overbeek is in the No. 46. The front of the No. 44 was rebuilt after this morning's incident with the Autocon prototype. Neiman reports that the car seems loose, but so far, no major issues. Johannes is currently P2 in the No. 46, Wolf Henzler is P5 in the No. 45.

3:00 pm - The cars are lining up to head out for this afternoon's practice session. We have 1 hour on track this afternoon, then another 2 hours this evening, starting at 7 pm.

Oct 2 -
** See you this afternoon at 3:05 for our second session of the day **
11:28 - Red flag - again. And checkered flag on the session. We don't know yet the reason, although the No. 44 is missing its front bumper and quite a bit of left front damage, so it appears to have been involved in the incident. Driver of the No.44 is fine.

11:25 - Green flag. Johannes van Overbeek is in the No.46, Seth Neiman in the No. 44, and Wolf Henzler in the No. 45. Just five minutes left in this morning's session.

11:16 am - Red flag. Impact in turn 1- not sure yet which car was involved, although Johannes (now in the No.46) radioed in that he saw Patron/Highcroft prorotype in the wall.

11:04 am - Darren is in the pits for driver change to Seth Neiman. He is currently in P4.

11:00 - Lieb is in the pits in the No. 45 for a setup change. Patrick Pilet is also in the pits for a setup change.

10:53 - Darren Law is in P3 in the No. 44. Marc Lieb in P3 in the No. 45 and Patrick Pilet in P 7 in the No. 46.

10:49 - Green flag.

10:46 - Red flag to remove a piece of debris from the track.

10:33 - Green flag and we are running again. Red flag was to remove the No. 48 prototype from the track - not sure what the issue was with them.

10:31 am - Red flag on the first lap of the session. We did not see any incidents but there are reports of a lot of oil from the previous session.

Oct 2 - 10:30 am - Good morning from Road Atlanta. It's another gorgeous fall day here - cool and breezy with low humidity. Today is Thursday, October 2 - and the day we get the most on track time prior to this Saturday's race. We have three sessions today: 10:30-11:30 am, 3:05 to 4:05 pm and 7 to 9 pm. This evening's practice is, obviously, night practice - and each driver must complete three laps during the night session.

Darren Law is in the No. 44, Patrick Pilet is in the No. 46, and Marc Lieb is in the No. 45. All three Lizard Porsches are in the pits, with engines on ready to head out to the line to pit out.

*******
Oct 1 Test Session complete
2:40 pm - Checkered flag. We'll be back with you tomorrow! For a full schedule, see the schedule tab on the Lizard Home page. ** Jen

2:35 pm - Five minutes left in the session. The No. 44 is heading back to the garage - there is apparently a hole in the muffler and the crew does not want to risk a fire. That leaves the No. 45 as the last Lizard Porsche on track with Marc Lieb behind the wheel.

2:25 pm - Lonnie Pechnik takes over the wheel from Darren Law in the No. 44 for his first spin on the trck. Marc Lieb will also take over from Wolf Henzler in the No. 45. Lieb is a guest driver for this race - he was part of the winning trio at Sebring - Bergmeister, Henzler and Lieb won in GT2 at the season opener in March.

2:00 - No. 46 is heading back to the garage. It will probably not be back out in this session. No. 44 is in the pits for a driver change to Darren Law. No. 45 is in the pits for driver change to Wolf.

1:53 pm - Joerg is in the pits for a setup change. He will stay in the car for now. In the No. 46, Johannes is still sitting in the pits.

1:45 pm - No. 45 is currently P4, No. 46 P 6, and No. 44 P 14. The No. 46 has been in the pits for a good 10 minutes now - Johannes is reporting an engine misfire on restart and the engineers are trying to determine the cause.

1:38 pm - So far, so good in the session. No. 46 is in the pits and the crew is making some chassis ride height and aero adjustments. The No. 44 is also in the pits - they appear to be working on his brakes. Bergmeister, van Overbeek and Neiman are all still in the car.

1:22 pm - Joerg is P2 in the session so far. The JMB Ferrari (No. 99) is currently P1. All three cars are cycling rapidly through setup changes, directed by engineers Craig Watkins (No. 46), STefan Pfeiffer (No. 45), and Sebastien Constans (No. 44).

1:15 pm ET - Good afternoon from Road Atlanta. It's a beautiful day here, the first official track session of the week before this weekend's Petit Le Mans. All three Lizard Porsches are on track - Johannes van Overbeek is in the No. 46, Seth Neiman is in the No. 44 and Joerg Bergmeister is in the No. 45. This is the first session of the week - we have three sessions on Thursday, one practice session and qualifying on Friday, then the race on Saturday.

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.