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Race Updates
June 14th and 15th, 2008 -- Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France
Flying Lizard Sixth in GT2 at 24 Heures du Mans
June 15, 2008 3:00 pm CET--Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France--The Flying Lizard No. 80 Porsche crossed the finish line today to take sixth in GT2 at the team's fourth consecutive 24 Heures du Mans. It was a tough, long race for the American team, who saw their hopes for a top finish vanish just two hours into the race after a series of incidents took the Porsche out of the race for a total of 3 hours for repairs. The crew effectively rebuilt the car twice during the race -- all before hour 4! The crew and drivers Joerg Bergmeister, Johannes van Overbeek and Seth Neiman took the challenges in stride and stayed consistent over the 24 hours, which included several hours of rain Sunday early morning. In fact, Bergmeister set the fastest GT2 race lap after the first repair, which included the replacement of nearly every piece of bodywork, two radiators, rear suspension and the undertray.
Just before race end, the ACO 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, all weighted equally:
- Presentation of the car at scrutineering
- Pit Garage presentation
- Organization of work
- Quality of work during the race
- Quality/efficiency of repair work
No. 82 Risi Competizione took the checkered in GT2 this year. Congratulations to Risi for a well deserved win. A full race report will be available soon.
Flying Lizard No. 80 Remains in Seventh with Three Hours to Go
June 15, 2008, 12pm CET--Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France--With just three hours left to go in the 24 Heures du Mans, the Flying Lizard No. 80 Porsche remains in seventh place in GT2. The No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari is in the lead, with a stack of Ferraris behind them in positions two through five. The No. 77 Team Felbermayr-Proton Porsche is in sixth, and the Lizards in seventh. There have been no changes in GT2 positions in more than 12 hours and the field has spread out widely.
A series of incidents early in the race took the No. 80 out of the race for nearly 3 hours, dimming the team's hopes for a strong finish at their fourth 24 Heures du Mans. They were not the only GT2 team that faced challenges: by the race halfway point, five of the 12 starting GT2 cars had been retired. The remaining field slogged through a wet night here at the Circuit de la Sarthe, spending most of the time on full wet tires. At noon, it is starting to dry out and most teams are now back on slicks. The Lizard squad is focused on finishing the race safely in as strong a position as possible. As of noon, the No. 80 is 19 laps down on the sixth place No. 77 Porsche and 36 laps down on the overall leader. However, there are still three hours to go, and per ACO regulations, to finish a car must cross the finish line and complete 70% of the distance completed by the overall race winner.
Flying Lizard No. 80 in Seventh at Halfway Point
3 am CET--Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France--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.
Lizard Challenges Continue at Le Mans--7 Hour Update
10:00 pm CET--Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France--It has been a tough start to the 24 Heures du Mans for the Lizard squad. At the 7 hour mark, the No. 80 Porsche is running ninth in GT2--at the back of the nine cars remaining of the starting 12 in GT2. It's a long way from the lead, which the team held for much of the first two hours of the race.
Things looked promising at the outset, with Joerg Bergmeister starting third on the grid. (The team had qualified fourth, but the No. 76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche, which was on the pole, received a penalty before race start, and had to move to the back to start last, moving all cars up one position.) In the first 15 minutes of the race, Bergmeister moved quickly to first position after passing the first and second position GT2 cars (the No. 96 Ferrari and the No. 77 Porsche). The No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari was close behind Bergmeister, moving into second. All went smoothly in Joerg's first stint and at the 50-minute mark, he turned the car over to Johannes van Overbeek. van Overbeek went out in second: the No. 82 Risi Ferrari also pitted at the same time but opted for no tire change and beat the No. 80 out of the pits. A few minutes into his stint, Johannes passed the No. 82 Ferrari, and retook the lead.
Johannes held the lead until his pit stop and driver change to Seth Neiman. Neiman headed out and things were still going well until the No. 76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche collided with the No. 80, sending both cars deep into the gravel and Neiman into the guardrail. With one wheel broken, the other wheels severely damaged and suspension damage, Neiman was able to limp back to the pits.
80 minutes later, a nearly new car left the garage: the crew had repaired two of the three front radiators, replaced nearly every piece of bodywork, including the undertray, and repaired the right rear suspension. The lengthy repair pushed the Lizards from the lead to tenth. After the repairs, Joerg Bergmeister took the wheel for a double stint. Near the end of his stint, he set the fastest GT2 race lap so far, with a 3:59.887. He turned the car over to Seth in P9.
The bad luck continued for the Lizard when, 20 minutes into his stint, Neiman encountered oil in Arnage, going off course and into the tirewall, damaging the center and left front radiators, the front under floor and the front bumper.
After 30 minutes of repairs in the garage, Neiman was out on track again. He reported strong vibrations and returned to the pits. The crew decided to do a complete realignment, and Johannes van Overbeek headed out thirty minutes later.
7 hours into the race, the Lizards are in ninth and nearly 40 laps down on the overall leader.
No. 80 Back on Track After Lengthy Repairs
6:30 pm CET--Circuit de la Sarthe, 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. For more detail, see the Flying Lizard blog (under the Follow the Race tab to the right).
Flying Lizard No. 80 Porsche in Garage for Substantial Repairs
5:37 pm CET --Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France--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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