St. Pete Race - No. 46 2nd, No. 44 7th

Final race finish: No. 46 P2, No. 44 P 7, No. 45 P 9. The No. 71 Tafel Ferrari won in GT2. Congrats to Johannes, Patrick, and the No. 46 team for their first podium this year!!!

5:21 pm - Checkered flag. No. 46 finishes second and No. 44 seventh. We'll know in a few minutes how the No. 45 will end up - the car did not cross the finish line.

5:14 pm - Joerg reports the car is starting to smoke and strategist Thomas Blam calls him into the pits. They are going to do a fast review of the car to determine if they can send him back out or if they need to do a radiator replacement. No - it's clear - the No.45 is done and will not be able to continue. It is in the pits, and Joerg is out of the car. The No. 46 has moved to P2 and the No. 44 in P 8.

5:08 pm - Positions: P1 No. 71; P 2 No 45; P 3 No. 46. No. 44 is P 8. Course is still yellow.

5:05 - The No. 20 Dyson prototype impacted the tire wall and the No. 45 hit him as he was going by (No. 20 was going counter race). Joerg reports that the left front radiator is is damaged and he is losing fluid. Double yellow. Crew tells Joerg to stay out until they are ready for the radiator replacement. AT the time, Joerg was in P2.

5:00 - P1. No 71; P 2 No. 45; P 3 No 46. No. 44 is now P 9.

4:57 - One of the Audis and one of the Acuras collided on course. Both cars have sustained damage.

4:55 - the No. 71 Tafel Ferrari has passed Joerg in the No. 45 to take the lead. Joerg is now P2. It appears that Johannes will retain P3. He is one lap back from the No. 45.

4:52 - No. 46 Porsche has collided on course with another car - the GT2 28 Corvette. Johannes is having trouble restarting he is sideways in 5. He has restarted and rejoined. At the time of the incident, he was in P3. Will report positions in a minute.

2:52 - Green flag. No. 62 is in the pits.

2:48 - Something may be going on with the No. 62 Ferrari (which was in the lead) - it's unclear, but from timing and scoring, it appears to be slow on course. Could be just a timing and scoring issue - we'll now more in a minute. Still yellow. TV shows him on course in front of the No. 45 but he is going slow, and appears to have a problem.

2:47 - the rain that had been predicted has not materialized - thankfully. Still clear skies. 33 minutes left.

2:40 - Still yellow. Positions: P1 No 62; P 2 No. 45; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 46. No. 44 is P 11. The 62, 45, 71, and 46 are on the same lap. The other GT2 cars are one or more lap back.

2:30 - the No. 11 Viper and the No. 008 Aston Martin collided on course - major damage and debris on track. Double yellow. We do not have any info on the drivers' status.

2:26 pm - Unfortunately, under the yellow, the No. 62 in a short pit stop, was able to get in and out of the pits ahead of the No. 45 to regain the lead. The yellow worked to their advantage, allowing them to pit again for fuel and regain the lead. Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 45; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 46; P 5 No. 61. No. 44 is P 11. The Lizard Porsches should be good on fuel through the end of the race, assuming that there are no lengthy yellows.

2:23 pm - No. 45 is out with Joerg Bergmeister; No. 44 has Darren Law and No. 46 has Johannes van Overbeek. Green flag. I will report positions in a minute when things sort out.

2:22 pm - No. 45 and No. 46 are called in and head into the pits. course still yellow. No. 71, 62, 61, 28 all pit.

2:21 - Just under one hour left to go. No. 44 is called into the pits for driver change, tires and fuel.

2:14 - Course still yellow to remove debris. Lizard cars will all pit at some point during this yellow. Because they have not yet pitted, they are hoping for the yellow to last as long as possible. At the one-hour mark, a one-stop race could still a possibility for the Lizard Porsches. If the cars have to pit before the 1-hour mark, it may not be possible. as the cars will need to refuel and have new tires. 1 hour and 6 minutes left.

2:08 - It appears that the early Risi pit stop was to get Salo out of the car - it appears to be a heat-related issue.

2:05 pm - No. 6 Penske spun on course and the No. 37 impacted the tire wall - they appear to be unrelated but happened at the same time on course so there may hav ea been a problem. Both cars are continuing, the No. 37 has damage. Course is double yellow. Drivers are readying for an earlier than planned change.

2:04 - GT2 positions: P1 No. 45; P 2 No. 71; P 3 No 46; P 4 No 48; P 5 No. 21. After the early pit stop, No. 62 is now in P7. No. 44 in P 11.

2:02 - No. 62 pitted early, ceding the lead back to Wolf, and moving Patrick to P3 in the No. 46. It was a short stop - fuel and tires and driver change to Melo.

1:58 - The race so far has been happily fairly uneventful for the field. No. 45 is P2; No. 46 P 4, and No. 44 P 11. We are entering our windows for driver changes and fuel/tires. With no incidents, the cars will most likely stop around 2:30 to 2:45. If there are no additional yellows, this could still be a one stop race for the Lizard Porsches,even with the yellow on the restart.

1:53 - Race control radios to display the sporstmanship flag (to the No. 62 for his earlier pass/contact with Wolf.

1:51 GT2 Positions: P1 No. 62; P 2 No. 45; P 3. No 71; P 4. No 46; P 5 No. 48; P 6 No. 21; P 7 No. 87; P 8 No. 61; P 9 No. 28; P 10 No. 40; P 11 No. 44.

1:49 - The No. 62 passed Wolf on the outside, it appears that they made contact and Wolf was forced to left and brake to avoid colliding with the inside wall.

1:44 - Wolf is still P1, with the No. 62 just behind him. Both GT2 cars have had to navigate signicant traffic as the faster cars move past them. In the No. 46, Patrick is just behind the No. 71 Tafel Ferrari but has been unable to pass.
Wolf has been able to hold off the Ferrari so far, but they are nose to tail now.


1:35 pm - GT2 positions: P 1 No. 45; P 2. No 62; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 46; P 5 No. 21; P 6 No. 48; P 7 No. 61; P 8 No. 28. P 9. No 40. P 10 No. 87. P 11 No. 44.

1:33 - No. 26 Acura has continued.

1:30 - All cars have made it successfully through the restart, although there was some tussling among the prototypes in the first few turns. No. 46 is now in P4 and No. 44 in P8. Wolf held the lead on the start, although Salo in the No. 62 is just a 3 tenths behind him. The No. 26 Acura spun on course, but appears to be continuing. He is stuck again, on track on the outside of turn 8. They have not yet called a yellow.

1:29 - Green flag.

1:27 - It's a bit confusing right now - the race was actually started at the planned time, although it started under yellow. So the start will be a single car start not a double car start - a standard race restart.

1:24 pm - The 007 Aston Martin (a GT2 entry) is stopped on course so the course is double yellow - there will be at least one more pace lap while they sort it out. If they cannot continue, it will be a 12-car GT2 field.

1:20 - We are just getting started on the two pace laps. This is a rolling start, 2 cars side by side. Race will start at 1:25. Lizard Porsches are first (No. 45), fifth (No. 46) and sixth (No. 44) on the grid. There are 13 GT2 cars in the field. The No. 5 Porsche was damaged in yesterday's practice session and has withdrawn.

12:53 - Recon laps have started. Cars are heading out for one lap.

12:50 pm ET - Good afternoon from St. Pete. Recon laps are just about to start - teams will do one lap, then return to pit lane. The grid at St. Pete will be on pit lane (normally ALMS races grid on the front straight).

Starting drivers are: Seth Neiman in No. 44; Wolf Henzler in No. 45; and Patrick Pilet in No. 46. Race will begin at 1:25 pm ET.

Lizards are broadcasting team radio. You can access it through the home page or here

http://powerlink.powerstream.net/002/00324/live2.asx