24 Heures du Mans - Lizards Finish Sixth in GT2
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3:00 pm CET - Lizards finish their fourth consecutive 24 Heures du Mans sixth in GT2. No. 82 Risi Competizione takes the checkered for the class. It was a tough race for the team that presented a tremendous number of challenges early in the race. We are very proud that we were able to finish the race and have the opportunity to show the speed of the car and the strength of the team.
We'll post a full race report on Monday, June 16.
Congratulations to the entire Lizard team!!!
We will head back to the U.S. next week. Catch us again at our next American Le Mans Series Race in Lime Rock, Connecticut, July 12.
Jennifer ********
The ACO has just presented the team with the "Prix ESCRA" for 2008. This prestigious award is given by the French Academy of the Automobile Trade and the ACO for the "best technical performance" by a team during the 24 Heures du Mans race. The award is given to the team which ranks the highest in five areas:
Presentation of the car at scrutineering - 20%
Pit Garage presentation - 20%
Organization of work - 20%
Quality of work during the race - 20%
Quality/efficiency of repair work - 20%
We are very honored to have received this award and are very proud of our achievement this weekend at one of the most challenging endurance events in the world.
2:08 pm - It's really raining now. Seth is out and the plan is for him to finish the race. Just 50 minutes left in what has been a very long race for the Lizards...
1:55 pm - Johannes will pit shortly for driver change to Seth Neiman, tires and fuel. The crew is still finalizing which tires to put on - we are on slicks right now, but it is starting to rain again. they decided to go to full wets - it's now pouring.
No change in positions (except for the cycling through of the 96, which is out of the race):
P1 No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari
P2 No. 97 BMS Scuderia Ferrari
P3 No. 90 Farnbacher Racing Ferrari
P4 No. 99 JMB Racing Ferrari
P5 No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche
P6 No. 96 Virgo Motorsport Ferrari (will be retired, motor)
P7 No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche
1:32 pm - The No. 97 Ferrari is in the pits.
1:15 pm -The No. 62 Risi Ferrari is in the pits. Johannes is in the No. 80 and in P7(will be P6 if we finish and GT2 field stays constant.
Positions:
P1 No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari
P2 No. 97 BMS Scuderia Ferrari
P3 No. 90 Farnbacher Racing Ferrari
P4 No. 96 Virgo Motorsport Ferrari (will be retired, motor)
P5 No. 99 JMB Racing Ferrari
P6 No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche
P7 No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche
1:05 pm - Just under 2 hours left. Johannes is in the pits for tires and fuel and oil. He is double stinting. We are still P 7, but because the Virgo 96 is out, if we finish and the field stays as it is now, we will finish sixth.
12:48 - It's starting to rain hard again. We are all still on slicks but may have to come back in for wets.
12:30 - No. 96 Virgo Motorsports, which had been in P 2, may have lost a motor. Will update you when I know more. Yes confirmed - they are out. This will move Lizards to P6 once we catch their lap count.
12:15 - Johannes spun on course but avoided contact with anything else and continued.
12:11 - Timing and scoring shows the 97 Ferrari in the pits again.
12:00 - The 97 and 90 Ferraris are in the pits.
11:55 - The No. 77 and the No. 99 are in the pits. There may have been contact with one of the Audis and the No. 96 Ferrari which is in P2. I'll update you as soon as I know more. Joerg sill be in shortly for new tires.
11:49 - Joerg reports that it's definitely time for slicks. They will have him pit shortly for the tire change. 3 hours, 11 minutes left in the race.
11:35 - The 96 Ferrari is in the pits and also going to slicks. We are on intermediate wets.
11:26 am - The No. 82 Risi Ferrari is in the pits and is going to slicks. We are about 37 laps down on the overall leader.
Positions remain unchanged and there is at least a 2 lap gap between each GT2 car. Note that per ACO rules, a car must cross the finish line to finish and must have achieved at least 70% of the distance covered by the overall race winner.
11:17 am - Joerg pits for fuel and the crew needs to determine what tires to send him back out on. The track has been drying out but is not completely dry yet. They made the decision to send him out on intermediate wets, but not slicks yet - they feel the risk is still too high to go out on slicks. He is out quickly.
10:47 - The No. 11 Dome Judd prototype impacted the tire wall and is limping back to the pits with front end damage.
10:43 - The No. 99 Ferrari in the pits. We are still P7, 20 laps back from the No. 77 in P6. We are 37 laps back from the GT2 leader, the No. 82 Risi Ferrari. No. 1 Audi (was P 5) is now in the garage.
Positions:
P1 No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari
P2 No. 96 Virgo Motorsport Ferrari
P3 No. 97 BMS Scuderia Ferrari
P4 No. 90 Farnbacher Racing Ferrari
P5 No. 99 JMB Racing Ferrari
P6 No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche
P7 No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche
10:39 - The No. 77 Felbermayr is in the pits for a change of tires. Everyone seems to be having tire problems - the conditions are in between and the drivers are not yet able to manage the harder compounds. Joerg is still doing the fastest times in the class.
10:36 - the No. 1 Audi spun on course and took out some green pylons. Some of the cars are moving from wets to slicks but because the course is still somewhat wet, there is a lot of sliding. the No. 1 Audi continued, but is slow on course.
10:29 - Joerg is running 7-10 seconds faster than the rest of the GT2 field. We are still in P7. Positions have not changed in GT2 in 10 hours.
10:17 am - Johannes pits for driver change to Joerg,tires and fuel.
9:59 am - The GT2 leader, the No. 82 Risi Ferrari, is in the pits.
9:49 am - Positions remain unchanged. No. 80 still P7 in GT2. Johannes will pit for a driver change in 20 minutes or so.
9:37 am - the No. 99 was in the pits again. Not sure if there is an issue there or not.
9:08 am - Johannes pits again to change to a new set of tires with a different compound and a short fuel. Positions remain unchanged - we are still P7. The No. 99 Ferrari is still in the pits.
9:05 am - the No. 99 is in the pits.
8:52 - The No. 77 Porsche went of course but managed to avoid the wall and any gravel and quickly continued. Seth is in the pits and Johannes is getting into the car. new tires for Johannes and fuel. The 97 Ferrari is also in the pits. Looks like the 82 and the 96 also pitted at the same time as Seth.
8:36 - Seth has 3 laps or so to go in his stint. Just under 6 and a half hours to go. That's still more than twice the normal ALMS race length.
8:31 - The No. 77 Porsche is in the pits and Felbermayr is in the car (I think it is his first stint of the race). Seth is still in the No. 80 - all is going well. Still raining, still rain tires, same positions. Lizards P7.
7:46 - The No. 90 Ferrari is in the pits.
7:34 - Joerg pits for driver change to Seth Neiman, and fuel. Still on rain tires - still raining and fairly cool. We have not yet changed brake pads but don't need it yet. 7.5 hours to go... Still P7, positions unchanged:
P1 No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari
P2 No. 96 Virgo Motorsport Ferrari
P3 No. 97 BMS Scuderia Ferrari
P4 No. 90 Farnbacher Racing Ferrari
P5 No. 99 JMB Racing Ferrari
P6 No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche
P7 No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche
6:13 - Joerg is the fastest GT2 car on the track right now - more than 10 seconds per lap faster than most of the GT2 cars. We are still P7, 20 laps down on the next closest car, the No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche, and 37 laps down on the GT2 leader, No. 82 Risi Competizione.
6:31 pm - Johannes is in the pits. Driver change to Joerg, fuel and tires. 8 and a half hours to go... We are still P7 and GT2 positions remain unchanged. Five Ferraris fill the top slots, and then the two Porsches. Only 7 of the starting 12 GT2 cars are still running. And it's raining hard so all cars are on full wets.
6:26 - Just over a lap until Johannes pits.
5:47 - the No. 99 Ferrari is in the pits. Positions remain unchanged - No. 80 in seventh. Leader is No. 82 Risi Competizione.
5:41 - the No. 97 is in the pits.
5:38 - No. 77 is in the pits too.
5:35 - The No. 96 Ferrari pitted, and it looks like the No. 97 team is getting ready for a stop.
5:25 - Change of plan, Johannes will take over for Joerg. About the only positive at the moment is that it is starting to get light out after a long night. No new tires for Johannes, just fuel. Still on full rains.
5:21 -And... it's raining harder. Joerg will pit shortly for fuel and possibly new rain tires. He will double stint. GT2 positions are unchanged.
4:25 - A prototype is off at what appears to be pit in.
4:20 - Johannes pits and Joerg gets in the car. Tires and fuel. They move to full rain tires. Lizards are still P7.
Positions are:
P1 No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari
P2 No. 96 Virgo Motorsport Ferrari
P3 No. 97 BMS Scuderia Ferrari
P4 No. 90 Farnacher Racing Ferrari
P5 NO. 99 JMB Racing Ferrari
P6 No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche
P7 No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche
4:14 pm - Johannes will pit shortly for tires, fuel and driver change to Joerg. Unfortunately, a light rain is starting to fall. The team is faced with a tire decision as the rain increases. They decide on full wet tires.
3:30 - The No. 90 Ferrari is back in the pits.
3:25 am - Johannes is in the pits and then out again in a very brief stop for fuel
3:21 am - Johannes has the bobble and will pit for fuel, no tires, no driver change. He also reports a lot of oil on the windshield, which they will remove. Still P 7.
** Halfway Point Summary - At the halfway point of the 24 Heures du Mans, the Flying Lizard No. 80 Porsche is in seventh position in GT2. Bad luck early in the race caused the Lizards to plummet from the GT2 lead to the back of the pack after a series of incidents and repairs took the car out of the race for nearly 3 hours in total. With 12 hours left to go in the race, five of the 12 starting GT2 cars have been retired. The No. 82 Risi Competizione is leading (and has led much of the race), with the No. 96 Virgo Motorsport Ferrari in second position, and the No. 97 BMS Scuderia Ferrari in third position. The No. 80 is 22 laps down from the next closest car, the No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche, and 38 laps down on the No. 82. Johannes van Overbeek is currently behind the wheel, and will drive a double stint before turning it back over to Joerg Bergmeister to finish out the night stint, and then over to Seth Neiman for the sunrise. ***
3:01 am - No. 77 is in the pits.
2:33 - No. 44 Lola Mazda prototype off course near the Mulsanne. Appears to be far off course, not a factor.
2:27 am - Seth is in the pits and Johannes heads out after a clean stop for fuel, tires and driver change. Lizards still in P7.
2:25 am - The 97 and 90 also pitted. Looks like the 90 is doing a brake pad change.
2:21 am - The 82, the 96 and the 99 all pitted. Seth will be in shortly.
2:00am - The No. 77 just went by on its way into the pits.
They are P6, we are P7. Seth has 3 laps to go in his stint, then we will change to Johannes.
1:20 am - Joerg will pit the next lap for driver change to Seth Neiman, tires and fuel. We are now P7, having passed the laps completed by the No. 78 AF Corse Ferrari, which stopped on track earlier. The No. 78 restarted briefly around 1 am, but stopped again on course and was retired. Positions are:
P1 No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari
P2 No. 96 Virgo Motorsport Ferrari
P3 No. 97 BMS Scuderia Ferrari
P4 No. 90 Farnbacher Racing Ferrari
P5 No. 99 JMB Racing Ferrari
P6 No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche
P7 No. 80 Lizard Porsche
We are on lap 110. No. 77 is on lap 132, the leader, NO. 82 is on lap 147.
12:23 - No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche appears to be running again. They are on lap 188, we are on 96. 12:17 - Joerg pits for fuel only and is quickly back out again. We are P8, on lap 96, compared to leader (No. 82 Risi Competizione 133 laps.) See below for details on field retirements.
12:11 - Accident involving one of the Courage Oreca Judd prototypes. it is not clear the status of the driver - it appears that he is being loaded into an ambulance. Safety car is on course. Joerg will pit for fuel.
*** 11:56 pm - Your blogger is taking a short break. I'll be back with you if anything major happens, or by 1 am CET. We are currently P8 and will be P8 until our lap count passes the No. 78 (which is stopped on course) in P7 and the No. 77 (which is in the garage) in P. It doesn't appear that either car has been officially retired, but it is unlikely either will continue. The No. 78 completed 111 laps. The No. 77 completed 117. We are on lap 89. Joerg is in the car and will be in the car (assuming no issues) until 1;15-1:30 am or so.
Positions:
P1 No. 82
P2 No. 96
P3 No. 97
P4 No. 90
P5 No. 99
P6 No. 77 (in garage)
P7 No. 78 (stopped on course)
P8 No. 80
***
11:42 - Johannes is in the pits. Driver change to Joerg, tires and fuel.
11:36 - Johannes will pit after 2 or 3 laps for driver change to Joerg. Johannes has done a double stint. Joerg will also double stint.
11:30 - No. 80 still P8. Of the starting 12 cars, 4 have been retired and 2 more are having significant issues.
The following cars have retired:
* No. 76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche
* No. 94 Speedy Racing Spyker
* No. 85 Spyker
* No 83 Krohn Racing Ferrari
These cars are still listed as running, but appear to have major issues:
* No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche (in garage)
* No. 78 AF Corse Ferrari (has been stopped on course for more than 1 hour)
11:19 - No. 77 appears to be still in the garage. No. 78 Ferrari appears to be still stopped on course.
11:11 - No. 82 Risi Ferrari pits for tires, fuel and driver change. They are still in the lead. GT2 Positions:
P1 No. 82 (Ferrari)
P2 No. 77 (Porsche)
P3 No. 96 (Ferrari)
P4 No. 90 (Ferrari)
P5 No. 97 (Ferrari)
P6 No. 99 (Ferrari)
P7 No. 78 (Ferrari)
P8 No. 80 (Porsche)
11:08 - The overall leader, the NO. 7 Peugeot, went off course on they way into the gravel. He was able to recover and made it into the pits. The No. 77 is now in the garage.
11:04 - Confirmed that the 78 Ferrari is out - they are stopped out in the gravel on the course. They are currently 33 laps ahead of us. The No. 77 has not yet come in, but it looks like they are preparing for a visit to the garage on the next pit stop. I'll report more when I know more. So,
10:51 -TV shows the No. 78 AF Corse Ferrari, which was in P3, in the gravel. And, the No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche is heading into the garage.
10:49 - Johannes pits for fuel and heads out for a double stint.
10:46 - It is fully dark now and the cars are beginning to slow - in the 4:06s to 4:08s as compared to earlier in the race where we saw 4:01s and 4:02s.
10:43 pm - Johannes reports debris in Porsche curves. He got the fuel bobble on the front straight so he will pit next lap.
10:37 - No. 80 in P8. Johannes will pit in 2 to 3 laps for fuel only, and then do a second stint. Positions are:
P1 No. 82 Risi Ferrari
P2 No. 77 Felbermayr Porsche
P3 No. 78 AF Corse Ferrari
P4 No. 96 Virgo Motorsport Ferrari
P5 No. 90 Farnbacher Racing Ferrari
P6 No. 97 BMS Scuderia Ferrari
P7 No. 99 JMB Racing Ferrari
P8 No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche
10:13 pm - Looks like the second Spyker, No. 94 is out so we are now P8.
9:46 pm - OK we have a green light. Car has been completely checked over. Johannes will head out shortly.
** Sorry - I hit the wrong button on the blogger software and went off line for a bit. Blog is back. I wish I had better news to report, but unfortunately we are still in the garage. I don't have an ETA - it may be some time before the car goes out again **
9:36 pm - The crew is methodically checking over the car to determine if there are any additional problems. With 13 hours left in the race, and given our position, there's nothing to be gained by taking any risk at this point.
Once they are confident of the car Johannes will go out.
9:30 - Still in the pits. The No. 77 Porsche, which is in the lead, has made an unscheduled pit stop - this could allow the No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari to retake the lead.
9:15 - The crew is checking out the car and a driver change to Johannes van Overbeek, tires and fuel The crew makes some adjustments and checks the alignment again.
9:15 - Seth reports strong vibrations on the car and the crew calls him back into the pits.
9:00 pm - The repairs are complete and the No. 80 is pushed out of the garage. Seth Neiman remains in the car and heads back out. The center and left front radiator were replaced, the front undertray and the bumper.
8:30 pm - The crew is working on radiator replacement, bumper and fender replacement/repair, and repairing the front of the under tray.
8:21 - Seth radioed in that he slid on oil in Arnage and went into the tire wall. He is pitting. No water pressure so probably radiator replacement needed. Seth is in the pits, the crew fuels and brings him into the garage.
7:59 - After a double stint, Joerg pits for driver change to Seth Neiman, tires and fuel. We are still P9 - 19 laps back from the overall leader, who is now No. 82 Ferarri. Three of the 12 starting GT2 cars are out of the race so far: No. 76 IMSA Matmut, No. 83 Krohn Racing Ferrari, and the No. 85 Spyker.
GT2 Positions are:
P1 No. 77 (Porsche)
P2 No. 82 (Ferrari)
P3 No. 78 (Ferrari)
P4 No. 96 (Ferrari)
P 5 No. 90 (Ferrari)
P 6 No. 97 (Ferrari)
P 7 No. 99 (Ferrari)
P 8 No. 94 (Spyker)
P 9 No. 80 (Porsche)
7:40 - Joerg just broke the 4 minute mark - doing a 3:59:887 - the fastest GT2 race lap so far.
7:35 pm - Lizards are now P9, having passed the Spyker No. 85. Two GT2 cars are out of the race: the No. 76 IMSA Matmut Porsche, which was unable to return to the pits (after the incident with the No. 80) and the No. 83 Krohn Racing Ferrari.
7:10 pm - Joerg radios in and asks the crew to check the front of the car as he goes by on the front straight. Sounds like he either ran over some debris or went off course near Arnage.
7:05 pm - Joerg is back out with new tires and full fuel. We are still P10, following the early lengthy repair from the incident with the No. 76 IMSA Matmut Porsche.
7:03 pm - Chief Strategist Thomas Blam calls Joerg into the pits for fuel and tires.
Joerg will stay in the car and do a double stint.
6:57 - Joerg reports that the hose on the helmet blower has come out. (This cools the driver by allowing air to flow into the helmet.) Crew chief Tommy Sadler replies that they will fix it at the next pit stop.
6:40 pm - GT2 positions are:
P1 No. 77 Team Felbermayr-Proton (Porsche)
P2 No. 82 Risi Competizione (Ferrari)
P3 No. 97 BMS Scuderia Italia (Ferrari)
P4 No. 78 AF Corse SR (Ferrari)
P5 No. 96 Virgo Motorsport (Ferrari)
P6 No. 90 Farnbacher (Ferrari)
P7 No. 99 JMB Racing (Ferrari)
P8 No. 94 Speedy Racing Team (Spyker)
P9 No. 85 Snoras Spyker Squadron
P10 No. 80 Flying Lizard (Porsche)
** Update **
** No. 80 Back on Track After Lengthy Repairs **
6:25 pm CET – Le Mans France – The No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche is back on track after a 1 hour and 20 minute repair following the earlier contact from the No. 76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche. Joerg Bergmeister is in the car and has completed a few laps - so far, the car seems to be OK. The No. 80 has fallen to tenth in GT2 – at the back of the pack – and is 20 laps down after the lengthy repairs. The No. 80 had been in the lead in GT2 at the time of the incident. The No. 76 has not made it back to the pits yet so we assume that they will not (they lost a wheel in the incident). For more detail, see the Flying Lizard blog at www.lizardms.com.
6:12 - Joerg has left pit lane, but radios in that the steering wheel is off to the right. He will continue and let us know if there are any other issues. 1 hour and 20 minutes since Seth went into the gravel. The crew replaced nearly every bodywork component, two radiators, and rear suspension parts.
6:09 pm - The car has been restarted in the garage. The crew is working on the setup right now and confirming that the repairs have all been done correctly. Joerg Bergmeister is in the car. They will push him out into the pit stall and they will do some more checks, then send him on his way.
Note that we are still broadcasting the radio - the crew is off radio right now while they complete repairs.
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Update
5:37 pm CET –- Approximately 2 hours into the 24 Heures du Mans, the No. 76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche (driven by Patrick Long) made contact with the No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche on course and both cars flew off the course deep into the gravel. The collision drove the No. 80 Porsche into the guardrail. There was significant damage to the car including severe bodywork damage on all sides, a broken rear wheel, two broken radiators, and right rear suspension damage. Driver Seth Neiman was able to drive the car back to the pits, where the crew is currently working on repairs. The No. 80 had been in the lead in GT2 for most of the race, with Joerg Bergmeister driving the first stint, and Johannes van Overbeek the second. We do not have an estimated time yet for return to the track; the car has been off track for 50 minutes so far.
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5:04 pm - The car is in the garage. Bodywork is being replaced on front, back and both sides - the right side when the No. 76 hit him, the driver side was damaged when he hit the barrier. Front bumper, right front and rear fenders, right door, undertray, rear wing. Unclear yet if they'll have to replace the radiators or any suspension parts. I'll report more once the repairs are complete, but it looks like repairs will be substanial and lengthy.
5:01 pm - Once seth is in pit stall, they will fuel and then bring him backinto the garage.
4:57 - Seth got out of the car to look and reports that the right rear wheel is broken. He thinks if he can get out of the gravel, he can bring the car back, even with a broken wheel. He is back on the track and is going slowly back. Both rear tires and wheels appear to be broken and there is a lot of tire smoke.
4:52 - Seth is in the gravel after being hit although it's unclear what happened. He reports damage in the left front - stuck in the gravel. Water pressure is zero so this means radiator damage. They need to pull him out ofthe gravel but cannot get him into reverse. We can now see it on the TV and you can see damage on front left. Assuming that he can get the car restarted the issue will be if he can make it back in. It appears that the No. 76 hit us.
4:49 pm - Seth reports he was tapped by the Peugeot but it was light and the car feels fine.
4:46 pm - The No. 10 Lola is in the gravel after impacting the tire wall and will have to be towed.
4:43 pm - Johannes is in the pits. New tires, fuel, Seth heads out.
4:40 pm - Johannes will pit for driver change to Seth Neiman, tires and fuel. He is in P1 right now, with the No. 82 Ferrari just behind him.
4:18 pm- It appears that the reason that the No. 76 Porsche started from the back (it was on the pole after qualifying) was that a mechanic fueled the car on the grid, which is not allowed under ACO regulations.
ACO news/notes in English are here
http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/pages/som_articles_gb.html
4:15 pm - Johannes passed the Ferrari a few minutes ago to retake the lead. Positions: P1 No. 80 Porsche P2 No. 82 Ferrari; P3 No 76 Porsche; P 4 N. 77 Porsche; P 5 No 97.
4:10 pm - Joerg Bergmeister has completed his debrief with the engineers after his first stint. We spoke with him a bit about the session:
Q: How did the car feel overall? Any worries on your end?
A: "In terms of setup, the car is OK - it seems like the track gained quite a bit of grip since Wednesday when I last drove the car. It feels fairly soft, we'll have to see how that develops through the next few hours."
Q: How was it for you when the leaders overtook you for the first time? Any hairy moments?
A: "It was fairly smooth. It seems like everyone is running with their brains switched on right now and are being very careful. The Peugeots are running their own pace, so there is already a gap to the Audis, which made it easier for us to handle the traffic."
Johannes will drive for an hour long stint, and then Seth, so Joerg should be back in the car somewhere around 5:45 CET.
*** Reminder that we are broadcasting our team radio - to listen go to www.lizardms.com to the "Follow the Race" Tab ***
4:00 pm - GT2 positions: P1 No. 82 Risi Ferrari; P2 No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche; P3 No. 76 IMSA Porsche with Richard Lietz taking over for Pat Long; P4 No. 77 Team Felbermayr with Wolf Henzler at the wheel.
3:48 pm - Joerg is in for tires, fuel, tires, fuel. Johannes is out again - a fast, clean stop. The No. 82 Risi Ferrari also pitted, but they did not change tires and have moved ahead of Joerg.
3:45 - Lizard chief strategist Thomas Blam calls Joerg into the pits for tires and fuel and driver change to Johannes.
3:41 pm - The No. 25 RML Lola has limped its way around the circuit and is now back in the pits. Joerg still P1. He and Jaime Melo in the No. 82 Ferrari ( 3.3 seconds behind him) are running several seconds faster than the rest of the GT2 field. 4:02.191 was Joerg's last lap. 4:02.479 was Jaime's last lap. Patrick Long in the No. 76 IMSA Porsche has slowed slightly -he's in P3 with the last lap of 4:05.810.
3:36 pm - Many of the prototypes and several GT1 cars have pitted for tires/fuel. Our pit stop will be in 3 laps or so - about 12 minutes (3:50 pm).
3:35 - looks like Joerg hit some traffic which slowed him up a bit and the gap between him and the No. 82 Ferrari in P2 has closed a bit.
3:32 - The No. 1 Audi has pitted.
3:31 - The No. 8 Peugeot has pitted.
3:29 The No. 25 RML Lola was hit by the No. 12 Charouz prototype and will need to return to the pits. It appears to be able to continue. No yellow flag yet. Patrick Long in the No. 76 IMSA Matmut is now in P3 - having moved through the GT2 field from the back of the grid.
3:26 pm - Joerg still P1. He has extended the lead from the No. 82 to nearly 5 seconds.
3:17 pm - Joerg in the No. 80 in P1 and the No. 82 in P2 are pulling away from the rest of the GT2 field. The overall leaders are now about to lap Joerg.
3:12 The No. 82 Risi Ferrari has also moved up the field and is now P2, 3 seconds behind Joerg. The No. 96 Ferrari is in P3 and the No. 77 Porsche in P4. The No. 76 Porsche, which started at the back of the pack, is now P5.
3:07 pm - Joerg has passed the No. 96 Ferrari and the No. 77 Porsche (with Alex Davison) and is now P1.
3:04pm - Joerg holding P3. He is looking for an opportunity to pass the No. 96 Ferrari. 3:02 pm - A clean race start, with the three Peugeot prototypes starting 1/2/3 and holding their positions through the start. We have not heard anything yet from Joerg, which is good, and cannot yet see GT2 on the TV coverage. I'll report more when I have info on GT2. The cars have not yet finished a lap.
3:00 pm CET - Green Flag.
2:48 pm - Good afternoon - we are just 10 minutes from race start and the cars are on the grid. Joerg Bergmeister will start the race. We were fourth in qualifying sessions. However the No. 76 IMSA Matmut Porsche, which was on the pole, appears to be starting from the rear of the grid. I don't know the reason yet, wil update you when I know.
So based on grid positions, the No. 80 will start first. The No. 77 Felbermyer Porsche will start first, and the No. 96 Virgo Ferrari, second.
*******
9:45 am - Checkered flag on a (thankfully) uneventful morning warmup session. The race begins at 3:00 pm CET today. The race will be broadcast on SpeedTV in North America and Eurosport and Eurosport 2 in Europe. We will also broadcast our team radio - see the "Follow the Race" tab on www.lizardms.com.
For TV broadcast info, see http://www.lizardms.com/news/releases/2008/june-11.html
We'll be back with you around 2:30 pm CET (5:30 am Pacific Time).
9:28 am - Seth is out again with another set of tires.
9:25 - Seth skated through some gravel after a lock up and pits for tires and to let the crew check out the car.
9:15 - Driver change to Seth Neiman.
9:10 am - Joerg pits for driver change to Johannes.
9:00 am - morning warmup - Joerg Bergmeister is out in the No. 80 - fisrt in the line of cars heading out for the morning warmup. The warmup is 45 minutes. We'll use the time to bed in the new components from yesterday and do a final shakedown before the race. We are broadcasting our radio this morning and during the race. See the "Follow the Race" tab on the www.lizardms.com or http://powerlink.powerstream.net/002/00324/live2.asx