The #45 Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR were not able to score their six straight American Le Mans Series GT2 victory at the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase, but the team achieved its overall goal for the weekend by extending their championship points by finishing ahead of the Ferrari 430.

The Lizard Porsche started third on the grid behind the winning BMWs, and turned competitive lap times during the entire event, but lost a lap to the leaders in the first part of the race when the pace car picked up the BMWs ahead of the overall race leaders, and were given a lap advantage via the controversial pace car regulations. After that, the team had to refocus on their overall goal – winning the championship.

“The crew did phenomenal work in the pits. In a race with so many cautions, strategy and pit work can make a critical difference and we saw that today. When there were situations to take a chance or play it safe, we were able to keep our championship goal in mind,” said Bergmeister.

Patrick Long, who passed the Ferrari on the next-to-last lap to achieve his fourth-place finish (the Ferrari finished fifth), credited the crew for his achievement.

“We achieved our objectives today and extended our championship lead. Our chief strategist Thomas Blam made a great call for new tires on the last yellow that helped me get by the Ferrari for position and extend our championship point lead,” said Long.

On the last lap, Patrick got by the O’Connell/Magnussen Corvette to move into third place, but could not hold off the V8 Corvette, finishing four-hundreths of a second from a podium position.

The #87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, which qualified sixth, but within a second of the pole, ran as high as fourth place during the race, with Wolf Henzler turning the second-fastest GT2 lap of the race after Bryce Miller had run a strong opening stint. But a problem with the right rear suspension with only eight laps to go put an end to their efforts.

In the LMP2 class, Greg Pickett and Klaus Graf again showed everyone why the Porsche RS Spyder has been the American Le Mans Series class champion since 2006 by finishing a strong third place – and fifth overall – only 1.3-seconds out of second. And in the ALMS Challenge class, Martin and Melanie Snow survived that dreaded pace car wave-by for their nearest competitor – Nick Parker and Don Pickering – to score another win, their third in four events, to close in on that championship in their Snow Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

Martin Snow had a comfortable lead when Pickering got the wave-by, gaining a full lap on the leaders without making up the time on the track. Still, Martin and Melanie won by a full lap over their rivals.

The next race for the American Le Mans Series will be at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada on Sunday, August 30.

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Almost every ALMS driver looked to the skies with a frown on Saturday morning as it rained overnight and was drizzling during practice at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course; Flying Lizard Motorsports’ driver Jörg Bergmeister was not among them. “I actually like the rain,” he said. “I do what I always do and seem to come out ahead.” It is a confident response from a driver who should be very confident: Bergmeister took pole for the GT2 class in the number 45 911 GT3 RSR.

From left to right: Darren Law, Seth Neiman and Jörg Bergmeister prepare for the start of the race

His confidence is especially impressive in light of the fact that the team was informed late this week that the number 45 car was being assessed a 25 kilogram (55 pound) penalty weight due to judges’ suspicions regarding the legality of their motor. Bergmeister and Long were still pleased with the car’s performance during practice and qualifying sessions in spite of this additional weight.

Bergmeister gaining ground away from the Corvettes as he enters Thunder Valley

Also entered in the race was Flying Lizard’s number 44 car, driven by Flying Lizard founder Seth Neiman and Darren Law. Law raced at Watkins Glen Friday and was not present for the qualifying session at Mid-Ohio, forcing him to start from the back of the grid. It was a penalty they struggled to overcome the entire race.

Flying Lizard’s number 44 Porsche battling to pass the number 40 Ford in Thunder Valley

The weather let up just before the race, prompting teams to replace their rain tires with race slicks. As the race began, Ohio weather, in an effort to maintain its reputation for being anything but consistent, rolled gray clouds overhead once more. Aside from a drop or two, teams and fans alike did not see rain the rest of the day.

The number 08 Patron 911 GT3 from the challenge class saw an early end to the race, running off the track at the entry to madness before completing one lap. Ed Brown, the car’s driver, was rushed to a local hospital but was released after finding no serious injuries. The car was not so lucky, hitting a guardrail during the crash.

The Patron car being towed from the gravel pit. Driver Ed Brown sustained no serious injuries in the crash

Muscle Milk’s number 6 RS Spyder driven by Greg Pickett placed second in the P2 class. Pickett was given an avoidable contact penalty early on for hitting the number 90 BMW. This effectively took number 90 off the lead pace for the remainder of the race,

This race marked the debut of the Corvettes in the GT2 class, with the new C6.R Corvettes. The number 3 and 4 Corvettes were in second and third place consistently throughout the race, but the number 92 Rahal Letterman BMW passed the number 4 C6.R on the last lap to take third place.

Some fans speculated this could have been a strategic move to avoid having two cars on the podium on their debut. The Corvette team brushed aside this accusation, saying it was an effort to conserve fuel near the end of the race. However you view this strategic move, the Corvettes made themselves known as a force to be reckoned with in the series.

By the race’s end, the number 45 car took first place with Patrick Long behind the wheel. Long ended the race 21 seconds ahead of the number 3 Corvette. This broke the record for consecutive wins in the series. How did it feel? “Unbelievable!!” Long exclaimed. “The level of professionalism and cooperation exhibited by the team was amazing. I am very excited and we want to keep this positive momentum going.”

The next race in the American LeMans Series will be at Road America Road Course.

Today’s post was written by frequent contributor Andrew Granieri. Andrew is graduating from Miami University in August with a degree in Technical & Scientific Communications and Entrepreneurship. He is eagerly searching for a job that will allow him to keep his performance driving hobby going.

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It was an exciting, busy and frustrating few days for Porsche Motorsport fans this weekend here in the States. The ALMS North East Grand Prix at Lime Rock on Saturday and the Grand-Am Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsport Park on Sunday combined to provide more than five hours of live action racing.

The apparently unstoppable and dynamic duo of Patrick Long and Joerg Borgmeister won again, for the fourth time in a row, making it look easy as they continue to extend their lead in the race for the GT2 Championship.

If you just look at the final results from the last four races, it looks like we are running away with the GT2 championship, but the reality is that each race has been a struggle, and today was no exception. We ran as fast as we could during qualifying, yet the Ferrari grabbed the pole, and the BMWs were strong. We made a differential adjustment after qualifying, and it didn’t feel better during the final warm-up, but it was the right move as our Flying Lizard Porsche was perfect. The pass I made on Kaffer (62 Ferrari) was the result of hard, clean racing by both of us. I knew my car was faster, but, at this track, you have to pick your spots,” said Long, who, along with Bergmeister, lead the GT2 championship points with 100, while the Kaffer/Melo Ferrari combo has 75 points. great wins and disappointing losses.

Porsche’s results in Grand-Am, unfortunately, were not quite as positive. Despite capturing pole position on Saturday in the GT class, Leh Keen led for only the first 11 laps before falling back to a more conservative pace. In the end, Keen’s driving partner Dirk Werner brought the #87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche 911 GT3 Cup home in fifth. While the points-leading Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup had its three-race GT win streak snapped, they lost only four points off their Acxiom GT championship lead.

The Porsche racing Rileys of customer teams Penske and Brumos faired much worse in Sunday’s race. The #58 Brumos Porsche Riley team was the most disappointing. Overall race leader David Donohue fell to 10th position after contact on lap 37. A forced pit stop to repair tire and body damage from the unintended contact allowed teammate Darren Law his chance to takeover for a stint in the driver’s seat. Unfortunately, bad-luck continued to plague the pair (including more tire trouble) and 10th was the best finish they could muster.

“I went off at turn 11 and it blew a tire and I had to complete a whole ‘nother lap (before he could reach the pits). We had a top five car, and we were leading when David (Donohue) got hit from behind and punctured a tire.”

“We just can’t seem to get a break. We blew a tire four laps from the end. It’s freaky. We just can’t get a break.”

Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France), fared the worst of all the Porsche DP cars. After Romain Dumas had an accident during Friday’s practice, the mechanics at Penske Racing put in a night shift to repair the badly damaged Porsche Riley in time for the qualifying. Spare parts were even transported in from the Penske workshop in Mooresville/North Carolina. To no avail: their bad luck streak continued in the race. While trying to avoid a competitor in the first corner, Romain Dumas, who was determined to compete despite a badly swollen left ankle, had an off track excursion and damaged the front of his car. The extra pit stop relegated him to last position.

Buddy Rice (USA) and Antonio Garcia (Spain) narrowly missed out on a podium result with the Porsche Coyote fielded by Spirit of Daytona Racing. The overall winners of the 24 Hours at Daytona (with David Donohue and Darren Law in the Porsche Riley of Brumos Racing) secured fourth place. Joao Barbosa (Portugal) and JC France (USA) brought their Brumos Porsche home in ninth position.

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[Source: PCNA]

With the break for the June Le Mans race finally over, Porsche Motorsport customer teams are eager to continue their early-season success in the American Le Mans Series at Lime Rock Park on Saturday, July 18.

The Northeast Grand Prix, round five of the American Le Mans Series, takes the checkered flag on Saturday at 2:05 PM EDT, and will last two hours, 45 minutes. SPEED TV will begin its live coverage at 2:00 PM EDT, and will stay on the air until 5:00 PM EDT.

At the wheel of their #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3 RSR, Porsche factory drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) will be striving for their fourth straight GT2 win. The last time the pair secured four wins in a row was in 2005 – before going on to claim the GT2 championship title in the Petersen/White Lightning Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

Bergmeister has a good record at Lime Rock of the short 1.53-mile track, having won the GT2 class there each of the last three years in a Porsche. This year, with Patrick Long with whom he pursues his third American Le Mans title this year after wins in St. Petersburg, Long Beach and Salt Lake City, Joerg is not over-confident.

“The track certainly has its appeal, but it’s still not one of my favorites,” said Bergmeister.

“The traffic is often quite chaotic and you need a little bit of luck to get through safely. With the many caution phases, which occur quite often, smooth pit stops are imperative. But we don’t have to worry about that because Flying Lizard is a team that can do pit stops with their eyes closed.”

This weekend, Bergmeister/Long will compete with a new chassis. The old one got a battering in a collision at Sebring, but after the season-opening event, there was not enough time to immediately construct a completely new car. This was only possible during the Le Mans break, but, as far as far as Patrick Long is concerned, nothing will change with the new tub.

“Our car was fast during the whole season and I’m assuming this will continue to be the case,” said Long

In Farnbacher Loles Racing’s #87 911 GT3 RSR, Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) – who won at Lime Rock last year with Joerg Bergmeister and went on the claim the title – hopes to finally make the breakthrough. Henzler has started two races from pole position so far this season with Dirk Werner (Germany), and with his works driver colleague Marc Lieb he recently pocketed second place in Salt Lake City – but he is still waiting for his first win of the season. Because Werner will be at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama this weekend, where he leads the Rolex Grand-Am GT class with Leh Keen in a Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche, the team has invited Bryce Miller (Summit, NJ) to drive with Henzler.

“I am excited to get back behind the wheel of an RSR – it is an impressive machine and a fun car to drive. I am really happy team owner Greg Loles has given me the opportunity to drive his car again and to do it with Wolf Henzler leaves little up for discussion. Wolf has been a good friend and mentor going back to 2006. Working with him has always been a pleasure and a success, so I am ready to do it again. It is always nice to come back to my home track, Lime Rock. I have not driven the reconfigured circuit yet, but I can look to Wolf to help accelerate the learning of that new segment for me,” said Miller, son of 1980’s IMSA racer Paul Miller.

For Lime Rock, the Flying Lizard Motorsports team will field a second 911 GT3 RSR driven by Johannes van Overbeek (San Francisco, Calif.) and Seth Neiman (Hillsborough, Calif.), while the VIICI Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR will be driven by Johannes Stuck (Austria) and Richard Westbrook (Great Britain).

Also, after the successful premiere in Salt Lake City, the ALMS Challenge Class will feature Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entries – including Salt Lake winners Martin and Melanie Snow (Sandy, UT) – who will take part in this new class, which runs as a fifth class below GT2.

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[Source: PCNA]

The “dynamic duo” of Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister flexed their muscles once again to win the third straight ALMS GT2 Race. While the season got off to a bit of a rocky start with troubles at Sebring, it’s been smooth sailing with wins in St. Pete and Long Beach. Today’s win at Utah only adds to the their commanding point lead and puts them in a great position for an overall series win.

The duo led pretty much the entire way and finished 74.559 seconds ahead of Farnbacher Loles Racing’s Porsche of Marc Lieb and Wolf Henzler.

The only time the Lizard car fell out of the lead was the first half of the opening lap when Pierre Kaffer in the Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT and Tommy Milner in one of BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team’s BMW M3s spun at the start, impeding Bergmeister slightly while Lieb charged past. Bergmeister made the pass back into the lead later in the lap.

“The biggest thing is the test we had here after Long Beach for two days,” Bergmeister said. “We only had to make minor changes to the car for qualifying and we only did one lap to save the tires. At the beginning, Marc was very good but I was able to keep him behind me after the first lap.”

Long said Sunday was a matter of turning consistent lap times that were similar to the pursuing Farnbacher Loles entry.

“My stint was relatively uneventful although it was tight among the prototypes in the first three turns,” he said. “It was like a game of chess in my stint getting the Farnbacher Loles car within the gap Jörg had. He could try to get close but as soon as I could tell they used their tires, I could attack and really build up and establish the lead.”

ALMS action returns in mid July for the Northeast Grand Prix at scenic LimeRock Park in Lakeville, CT. Be sure to check back later this week for PorschePurist.com’s interview with Porsche factory driver Wolf Henzler.

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[Source: 993C4S, ALMS]

The US street circuits seem to be good turf for Porsche: At round three of the American Le Mans Series in Long Beach/California, Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) celebrated their second win of the season. Driving a Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR they won the GT2 class – repeating their success in St. Petersburg/Florida a fortnight ago – and further increased their points’ lead in the championship.

At the 100-minute race, the shortest of the season, in the harbor of Long Beach, Patrick Long took over the lead position just before taking his single pit stop. He profited from the bad luck of his Porsche colleague Wolf Henzler (Germany), who had led with FarnbacherLoles Racing’s 911 GT3 RSR, before falling back with suspension problems after about an hour. “I couldn’t overtake Wolf on this narrow track,” said Patrick Long. “So that’s why I tried to put him under as much pressure as possible and I waited for my chance.”

His team mate, Joerg Bergmeister, quickly regained the lead they had lost through the pit stop and kept his rivals safely at bay. At the finish line he held an almost 30 second advantage. “We had to work harder for this victory than we did in St. Petersburg where we had a two lap lead at the end,” said Joerg Bergmeister. “But there was so much action on the track here that I simply couldn’t get away, particularly as this race was very short. With this victory, we’ve only now just managed to grab a little breathing space in the fight for the title.”

FarnbacherLoles wrestles with bad luck but still salvages a point

The German duo Wolf Henzler and Dirk Werner experienced a race weekend full of ups and downs with their 911 GT3 RSR fielded by FarnbacherLoles Racing. After an accident in practice on Thursday, the mechanics had to put in an unintended nightshift – and the overtime hours paid off: In qualifying on Friday, Wolf Henzler snatched his second GT2 pole position this season after Sebring with the sports car from Weissach. But in the race bad luck again plagued the Porsche works driver: After leading the field for quite some time, he was relegated to the back of the pack due to suspension problems. Putting in a spirited chase, his team mate Dirk Werner ploughed his way to rank tenth and with this managed to salvage one championship point.

“Above all I’m sorry for the boys who worked 36 hours straight to put a perfect car on the track for qualifying,” said Wolf Henzler. “So far this season we somehow seem to be attracting bad luck. But we mustn’t let this get us down. Even here in Long Beach we saw that we are good for a win at any time. We just have to reach the finish without problems.”

Rounding off the strong performance of Porsche, Richard Westbrook (Great Britain) and Johannes Stuck (Austria) secured fourth in the 911 GT3 RSR run by T-Mobile VICI Racing, with Darren Law (USA) and Seth Neiman (USA) claiming fifth in the second Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3 RSR.

Statistics: 3rd of 10 races in the American Le Mans Series in Long Beach, CA

Result GT2 class
1. Bergmeister/Long (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 71 laps
2. Melo/Kaffer (BRA/D), Ferrari F430 GT, 71
3. Müller/Millner (D/USA), BMW E92 M3, 70
4. Westbrook/Stuck (GB/A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 70
5. Law/Neiman (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 70
6. Farnbacher/James (D/USA), Panoz Esperante, 69
10. Henzler/Werner (D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 67

Points’ standings American LeMans Series GT2 class

Driver
1. Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Porsche, 60
2. Jamie Melo, Pierre Kaffer, Ferrari, 46
3. Dominik Farnbacher, Ian James, Panoz, 42
4. Darren Law, Seth Neiman, Porsche, 34
8. Wolf Henzler, Dirk Werner, Johannes van Overbeek, Porsche, 18

Manufacturer
1. Porsche 60
2. Ferrari 46
3. Panoz 42

Team
1. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche, 60
2. Risi Competizione, Ferrari, 46
3. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz, 42
6. Farnbacher Loles Racing, Porsche, 18

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[Source: PCNA]

The American Le Mans Series visit to the famous street circuit in Long Beach/California is one of the highlights of the season. At the time-honored race with the postcard-perfect backdrop of sun, sea and palms, the Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) aim to clinch their second win of the season in the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

The toughest rivals for the current points’ leaders of the championship (GT2 class) come from the same stable: Wolf Henzler and Dirk Werner from Germany, who share driving duties for the shortest race of the season (100 minutes) in the 911 GT3 RSR of Farnbacher Loles Racing, took up the races in both Sebring and in St. Petersburg from the first row, but were not able to turn their excellent starting positions into a top result in the race. This situation should now change. “We race to win the title,” says Wolf Henzler, who is reigning champion with Joerg Bergmeister. “Even if we’ve experienced bad luck twice now, we’re not about to give up. We will keep fighting.”

The street circuit at the harbor of Long Beach, where the pits are just a stone’s throw away from where the docked ocean-liner giant “Queen Mary” lies anchored, is also a very special challenge for Wolf Henzler. “You can only win this race if you don’t make one mistake and the pit stop runs perfectly,” says the Porsche factory driver. “As refueling takes a very short time, we have to change drivers very quickly. If our tight schedule allows it we’ll put in some more practice at Long Beach.”

On the narrow track edged by walls and fences overtaking is very difficult – making a good grid position essential. Still, in the fight for pole position, where cautiousness is needed with the tires, clever tactics are also important. “We have to wait to see how the track is,” says Joerg Bergmeister. “When there’s a lot of rubber on the track we can drive somewhat more aggressively. With little grip we have more tire wear and therefore must be a bit more careful.”

For their victory in St. Petersberg, Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long chose harder tires compared to most of their opponents and as a result could hold off coming in to the pits until the Safety Car Phase. The subsequent time saving was a key to their success. Still, in Long Beach, believes Patrick Long, everyone will be driving with relatively soft tires. “We won’t manage all the laps without a tire change. And even the softest tires can withstand two short stints.”

The customer team Flying Lizard Motorsports races a second 911 GT3 RSR in Long Beach with pilots Darren Law (USA) and Seth Neiman (USA). VICI Racing also enters a 911 GT3 RSR.

The race starts on Saturday, 18th April, at 16.15 PST and runs over 100 minutes.

Stay tuned for the latest additions to PorschePurist.com’s Great Driver Series including interviews with Wolf Henzler and Patrick Long

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[Source: Porsche AG]