The Lizards are ready for the six-hour American Le Mans Series Monterey race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the third event on the ALMS 2012 schedule. The driver lineup will be Joerg Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Richard Lietz in the No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche and Seth Neiman and Marco Holzer in the No. 44.

The team is hopeful for a change of fortune at Laguna after a challenging start to the ALMS season which has left the normally front-running team far down in the points standings (read the Sebring and Long Beach race reports).

There’s no better place to jump start the Lizard’s season than Laguna Seca. Bergmeister and Long have won here the last three years in a row, in iconic races which featured some of the most dramatic racing in ALMS GT history.

Lizard chief strategist Thomas Blam explains, “The last three years here have been thrilling examples of how competitive ALMS GT racing is across so many manufacturers. Joerg and Patrick won each of those races by sheer will and a combined win margin over the three races by less than five seconds. The six-hour race seems to suit the drivers and the cars very well and the longer format allows strategy and skill to play as much of a role as straightline speed. This year the race has moved back to May, which could be colder than September. The circuit here is very low grip with a lot of sand and cooler temperatures will make it even worse. Our tire decisions here are going to be very important.”

Patrick Long added, “Laguna has certainly been good to us the last few years. It’s a home event and we appreciate the support of our friends and family here. I also like the six-hour race format: it’s the perfect blend of endurance and sprint. The trick at Laguna is to have a good-handling car: the surface is usually very slippery from the sand. The mix of high and low speed corners here make it very challenging and it requires compromise in both car setup and approach. Things can get wild here too – lots of yellows and each restart is an opportunity to gain or lose position. I am really looking forward to Saturday.”

- Flying Lizard

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It was a wet and wild Friday here at Long Beach in advance of the American Le Mans Series at Long Beach race. Torrential rain started at seven am–just in time for the only ALMS practice session of the race weekend-and continued periodically throughout the day. The scheduled two hour and 15 minute morning session was reduced to less than an hour with the cars parked in pit lane under tarps and teams huddled under pit awnings in the heavy rain.

Things were looking more promising by this evening’s qualifying session, until the rain returned again just minutes into the session. In the No. 44, Marco Holzer set the sixth fastest GT time in the few laps on track before the session was red-flagged and Patrick Long was eighth in the No. 45. Because the session did not run the minimum required time, and the following sessions were cancelled, qualifying was abandoned and starting positions will be based on championship points. The No. 44 will start sixth on the GT grid and the No. 45 tenth.

Long commented “That was one of the strangest qualifying sessions that I’ve ever participated in. We all headed out intent on getting the most out of the first laps because the weather was so iffy and sure enough, it started drizzling on the outlap. We started with a dry line but there were still wet sections on the track. Then the skies opened up and it was like driving on black ice. Cars started going off left and right, and that was the end of the session.”

Holzer added, “Today was my first run at this circuit. I didn’t get much seat time this morning, so I was hoping for a dry qualifying session. When we started for qualifying, most of the track was dry but there was a lot of standing water. I had just started to get heat into the tires when it started to rain again. The bit of dry running that I had was great though – I really like the track and am excited about the race tomorrow.”

The American Le Mans Series at Long Beach race gets the green flag Saturday April 14 at 4:30 pm PT. Porsche factory drivers Joerg Bergmeister and Long return in the No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and factory driver Holzer rejoins Seth Neiman in the No. 44 sister Porsche. The race will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. In-car video will also be available live on www.americanlemans.com. The race is also broadcast live on MotorsTV in Europe, Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and on Fox Sports Middle East and Latin America. Read the team’s race blog and listen to the team radio live during the race. Details at www.lizardms.com.

Photos: © 2012 Darren Pierson / DPerceptions

- Flying Lizard Motorsports

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In today’s qualifying session for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Joerg Bergmeister qualified the No. 45 8th in GT with a time of 2:00.119. There are 15 cars comprising the combined WEC and ALMS GT class. Gianmaria Bruni was on the combined GT pole in the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari with a time of 1:58.427 and Jan Magnusssen had the lead spot in ALMS-only GT in the No. 03 Corvette with a time of 1:58.996. In the No. 44 Flying Lizard Porsche, Seth Neiman was 15th in the combined class. In ALMS GT only, Bergmeister was 5th in the No. 45 and Neiman 10th in the No. 44.

Bergmeister commented on qualifying: “I had a good lap on my fast lap and I’m confident we’ll have a solid racecar tomorrow. There’s obviously a big gap to the front; we’ll have to see how it all sorts out tomorrow during the twelve-hour race.”

Bergmeister will be joined in the No. 45 by season-long co-driver Patrick Long and Marco Holzer. All three are Porsche factory drivers. In the No. 44, Darren Law and Andy Lally will team with Neiman.

Photos: © 2012 Corey Beaman | oneighturbo.com

- Flying Lizard Motorsport

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Flying Lizard Motorsports announced today its driver lineup for the 2012 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The team will field two new racecars in the GT class for the ALMS season: the No. 45 and No. 44 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs. Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long, both Porsche factory drivers, will return for their fourth consecutive season driving together in the No. 45; this will be Bergmeister’s fifth year with the team. Bergmeister is a five- time ALMS GT drivers’ champion (2005-2006 and 2008-2010).

The 2008, 2009 and 2010 championships were won with Flying Lizard in the No. 45. Long has won the title three times: 2005, and 2009-2010, each with Bergmeister. At Sebring, the pair will be joined by Porsche factory driver Marco Holzer. 2012 will be Holzer’s second year with the team. After Sebring, Holzer will return to his regular seat in the sister No. 44 Porsche for the season.

For Sebring, in the No. 44, Seth Neiman will be joined by Darren Law and Andy Lally. Law has driven with the Lizards since 2004 and will return as a guest driver in 2012. Sebring will be Lally’s first race with the team. Lally heads to Sebring following a GT win last week at the 2012 Rolex 24 At Daytona (with Magnus Racing). 2012 is Lally’s fourth GT win at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Among his notable achievements in endurance racing and stock car racing, Andy Lally was named NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year for 2011.

Thomas Blam, Flying Lizard Chief Strategist said, “Marco Holzer has proven to be a highly consistent driver; he contributed a great deal to our 2011 program. He will be a very solid addition to Joerg and Patrick in the No. 45 for Sebring. In the No. 44, we have an All-American lineup with Seth, Darren and Andy Lally. This will be Andy’s first time driving with the Lizards but he has a proven performance record in Porsches and brings a wide breadth of endurance racing experience.”

The new Porsches will have their inaugural run at the ALMS Sebring Winter test this week: February 8 and 9 in Sebring, Florida. Developments to the RSR for 2012 include a wider body, increased front tire diameter and wider front and rear track width. Porsche has also modified the bodywork to optimize aerodynamics and added new air intake ducts to the rear quarter panel. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is powered by a six-cylinder boxer engine with a four-liter capacity.

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Flying Lizard announced today that the team has received two entries for the 2012 24 Heures du Mans in Le Mans, France, on June 16-17, 2012. The full entry list was unveiled today by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) in a press conference in Paris.

The Flying Lizard entries will be the No. 80, which will compete in the GTE Pro class, and the No. 79, which will compete in the GTE Am class. Both racecars will be Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs. The full entry list is here.

Flying Lizard team principal Seth Neiman commented, “It’s an honor to be invited to participate at this prestigious event. 2011 was our first year fielding two entries and we are pleased to be able to return in 2012 with the No. 80 and No. 79 Porsches.”

Flying Lizard has competed in the 24 Heures du Mans for seven consecutive years: 2005 to 2011. The Flying Lizard No. 80 finished third in 2005, fourth in 2006, sixth in 2008 and sixth in 2011.

The driver lineup will be announced later this Spring.

- Flying Lizard Motorsports | Photos: © Bob Chapman

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