Petit Le Mans - No. 45 Wins Petit Le Mans!!!

8:35 pm - No. 45 WINS Petit Le Mans!!! Our first win at the flagship ALMS race. The No. 44, which also had an incredibly strong race, is fifth.
Congratulations to the entire team, Johannes, Joerg, Marc, Seth, Lonnie and Darren for a nearly flawless race.

8:34 pm - The No. 18 Rahal Porsche spun on course, and the No. 71 Tafel moved into P 2. Checkered flag - The Lizards just need to cross the finish line at this point...

8:30 pm - Leaders have three laps to go so just minutes left in the race. It's been an incredible battle between the No. 1 Audi and the No. 07 Penske Porsche prototype since the last restart for the overall lead. In GT2 there's also a great race going on for second between the No. 18 Rahal Porsche and the No. 71 Tafel Porsche . Right now, the No. 18 is in P2. The No. 54 is P 3 and No. 44 is P 5.

8:23 pm - 15 minutes to go. Johannes is P1 in the No.45. Lonnie is P 5 in the No. 44.

8:16 pm - 22 minutes to go.

8:08 pm - 20 laps to go - about 30 minutes. Green flag. Positions: P 1 No. 45; P 2 No. 18; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 54; P 5 No. 44

8:04 pm - Darren's take on his last stint."I'm really happy wih the performance of our car - it's been quick and should have been higher in the field at this point - unfortunately we had one incident with a prototype that put us back. Other than that one incident it's been a great race and the crew has done a fantastic job."

7:50 - a car has stopped on the front straight after impacting the wall at the end of the final turn 12- the Lista Maserati. It's double yellow and he will have to be towed.

7:45 - Lonnie Pechnik is out in the No. 44 after a clean pit stop. Both cars should be able to finish the race with no additional stops if there are no problems. If there is a full course yellow, Blam may bring the No. 45 in for a fuel top up.

7:43 - Positions remain unchanged. P1 No. 45; P2 No. 71; P3 No. 18; P4 No. 54; P 5 No. 44. No. 71 has pitted and there appears to be a problem with a wheel nut that is stuck. The No. 54 has also had a lengthy pit stop. The No. 45 pitted for tires, fuel, and driver change to Johannes. the crew is taking the time to check over the car carefully - they are 3 laps up on the next car (the No. 71 which is also in the pits). The No. 44 is coming into the pits this lap.

7:32 pm - Chief strategist Thomas Blam notifies the No. 45 crew that they have six to seven laps to go before the pit stop and driver change from Joerg to Johannes. If all goes according to plan, this should be the last pit stop for the No. 45 although it will be very close on fuel. The No. 44 will also have one more stop. The No. 62 Ferrari has had a lengthy pit stop and has gone behind the wall.

7:22 pm - Positions: P 1 No. 45; P 2 No. 71; P 3 No. 18; P 4 No 54; P 5 No. 44.

7:21 pm - It appears that the 18 car exceeded the speed limit in pit lane so they will be assessed a penalty. Not sure yet what that will be. They are back in pit lane in the penalty box for a stop and go. The No. 54 Porsche in P 4 is still 7 laps behind them so the No. 18 retains its position.

7:19 pm - The No. 18 Porsche, which was in P 2 has pitted for tires and fuel. He had been slow on course for a lap or so after being hit on course. With this pit stop, the No. 71 Porsche, which had been in P3, may be able to take P 2. Joerg remains in P1 and Darren in P2. The No 54 is in P 4. less than 2 hours left in the race.

7:06 pm - About 2 hours left in the race. Positions remain unchanged in GT2. P 1 No. 45; P 2 No. 18; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 54; P 5 No. 44; P 6 No. 62. In the No. 44, Darren is now just 1 lap down on the No. 54 Porsche. Joerg is 2 laps ahead of the No. 18 which is in P 2. P3 is the No. 71 Porsche. It's dusk right now and should be completely dark in about 20 minutes.

6:51 - Joerg is the fastest GT2 car on the track right now - still in P 1.

6:41 pm - Green flag. Approx 2.5 hours left in the race. Joerg Bergmeister is back in the No. 45 and is in P1. Darren is in the No. 44 and is P 5. GT2 positions: P1 No. 45; P 2 No. 18; P 3 No 71; P 4 No 54; P 5 No 44; P 6 No 61; P 7 No 62; P 8 No 21.

6:40 pm - No. 45 pits for driver change, tires and fuel. Marc is out of the car and Joerg is in.

6:37 pm - No. 44 pits for tires, fuel and driver change to Darren Law.

6:32 pm - The No. 61 Ferrari is in the kitty litter and the course is double yellow.
Both Lizard crews are readying for a pit stop since they are in their fuel windows. Darren will take over in the No. 44 and Joerg in the No. 45.

6:26 pm - less than 3 hours left in the race and the No. 45 Porsche continues the lead. The No. 44 is in P 5. Top positions remain unchanged. The No. 61 Ferrari is in P 6 and the No. 62 in P 7. The No. 31 Ferrari retired halfway through the race. The No. 53 and No. 73 also have retired.

6:03 pm - Marc has retained the lead, even with his pit stop. No. 18 Rahal Porsche is P2, No 71 Tafel Porsche P3, No. 54 Porsche P4, and No. 44 Lizard Porsche P 5. The No. 44, after its repair in the garage, fell back and is now 12 laps behind the GT2 leader, the NO. 45.


5:57 pm - Positions: P1 No 45; P 2 No 18; P 3 No 71; P 4 No 54; P 5 No. 44. No 54 has pitted and the No. 71 too. Johannes has pitted - Marc Lieb is getting in.

5:55 - Johannes reports that the fuel light is on in the No. 45. Once he gets the bobble, he'll pit for tires and fuel.

5:47 - The No. 44 is back in its pit stall. Lonnie shut off the car, turned it on and rejoined the race. He is back out in P 5, but now 13 laps down on the leader, who is still the No. 45 Lizard Porsche. The No. 06 Penske Porsche prototype, which was the car which hit Darren, was assessed a penalty of a stop and go plus one minute in the penalty box. The No. 06 is still in the pits for repairs from the incident.

5:41 - The No. 44 had a bent toe link, bent exhaust. They have fixed them, removed some bodywork and are resetting the toe, and will be back on course as soon as they can. Lonnie will need to repit, turn off the engine and restart, then he can rejoin the race. He's now fallen to P5. If he can get back out quickly, he can keep that position because the next closest car in P 6 (the No. 61) is 8 laps down.

5:37 - Lonnie took the No. 44 Porsche out for one lap, then immediately pitted and went behind the wall for repairs. As soon as I know more, I'll update you.

5:33 - It appears that we were hit by the Penske No. 6 on course. The car spun and pitted for driver change to Lonnie, tires and fuel.

5:26 - Johannes reports that some element of the dash is loose. We're not sure if it's an issue yet or not.

5:24 - the No. 10 prototype also went off course but continued.

5:23 - The No. 54 Porsche had a brief off course excursion, but has rejoined with no apparent damage. They are currently in P 5. Positions remain unchanged.

5:15 - Johannes radioed in that he was being held up by the Maserati which was faster on the straights but holding him up in the corners. He was finally able to get past the car and is back on pace. Positions remain the same:
P1 No. 45; P 2 No. 18; P 3 No 71; P 4 No 44; P 5 No 54; P 6 No 61; P 7 No 62; P 8 No 21.

Johannes is 45 seconds ahead of the P2 car, the No. 18 Porsche.

Marc Lieb is up next for the No. 45, and has spent the last 2 hours recovering from his first stint - "I felt really bad during the stint - it was extremely hot and I had some stomach problems - by the end I was completely exhausted. I feel better now - and should be OK for the next round. The car was OK but had too much understeer earlier, which I hope has improved."

5:01 pm - Positions: P1 No. 45; P2 No. 18; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 44; P 5 No 54; P 6 No 61; P 7 No 62; P 8 No 21. Johannes and Darren are in the Lizard Porsches right now. Because of the number of cautions, it looks like the race could go to the full 10 hours - which means we have approximately 4 and a quarter hours left to go. To put this into perspective, a "regular" ALMS race is 2 hours and 45 minutes.

4:59 pm - Green flag!

4:57 pm - Joerg pits in the No. 45 for driver change to Johannes, tires and fuel. They were also able to refresh the ice in the cool suit box. Course is still yellow. At the time he pitted, he was P 1. No. 18 Rahal Porsche and the No. 71 Tafel Porsche have also pitted. Rahal fuel only, Tafel fuel and tires. Of the 10 11 starting GT2 cars only 8 are still runing. The No. 31, No. 53, and No. 73 have all retired.

4:37 - The No. 45 was able to get one lap up on the No. 18 during the yellow. Darren is in P 4.

4:32 pm - The No. 61 Ferrari is solidly off in the gravel. Looks like the course will go yellow to remove him. The No. 45 will pit during this yellow - taking advantage of the caution to do fuel, driver change and tires. The No. 62 Ferrari has gone behind the wall for repairs.

4:23 pm - Joerg in the lead in the No. 45. Darren in P 4 in the No. 44

4:17 pm - The No. 62 is back in the pits for tires, fuel, and driver change. They are still working on some repairs - not clear if it is related to the brake light problem or something else. Positions: P 1 No. 45; P 2 No. 18; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 44; P 5 No. 54. P 6 No. 62. The top five GT2 cars are all Porsches.

4:14 pm - The No. 18 pitted for tires, fuel and driver change and Joerg moves into the lead in GT2. Darren is out in P4, having lost just one position during the pit stop.

4:12 pm - Lonnie pits in the No. 44 for tires, fuel and driver change to Darren Law.
At the time of pit, he was P 3.

4:09 pm - Joerg in P 2; Lonnie in P3. No. 18 Rahal Porsche still in P 1. No. 71 Tafel Porsche in P 4. Joerg is on the same lap as the No. 18 Porsche and will take the lead when he pits. No. 71 Porsche is 46 seconds back from Lonnie and is 2 laps down on Joerg. All is well at the moment.

3:45 pm - Joerg Bergmeister is out again quickly and is still in P2. Lonnie is in P3.

The No. 62 has pitted again for repair to the light and the No. 71 (which was in P3) has also pitted. The No. 45 just pitted for driver change, tires and fuel. Joerg Bergmeister will take the wheel for his second stint of the race. Lonnie Pechnik in the No. 44 will pit in a few minutes.

3:39 pm - The No. 62 is back out but may still have problems with the lights - if so, they'll need to pit again.

3:36 pm- The No. 62 had to pit to repair a non-functioning brake light, which moved them from the lead down to fifth. This allowed the No. 18 Rahal Porsche to take the lead, with the No. 45 in P2. The No. 71 Tafel Porsche has moved into P 3 and the No. 44 Porsche into P 4. Both the No. 45 and the No. 44 will pit shortly for driver changes, tires, and fuel.

3:26 pm - With both Lizard Porsches near the end of their stings, the cars are slowing as the tires near the end of their stint.

3:12 pm ET - Approx 4 hours into the race, positions: P 1 No. 62; P 2 No. 45; P 3 No. 18; P 4 No. 71; P 5 No. 44; P 6 No. 54; P 7 No. 21; P 8 No 61; P 9 No. 31; P 10 No. 53. No. 73 retired early in the race.

3:08 - Green flag.

3:05 pm - No. 44 pits for a fast pit stop of fuel and tires, still under yellow. When he pitted, he was in P4. The NO. 45 stayed out.

2:56 pm - Double yellow to remove the No. 15 Acura prototype which appears to have lost a wheel. With this, the No. 18 Rahal Porsche got their lap back and will now be on the lead lap with the no. 62 and the No. 45. The No. 44 with Lonnie Pechnik is P 4 and is one lap down. The No. 71 Porsche is just behind Lonnie in P 5.

2:51 - There's a pack of GT2 cars together right now - with many of the cars on different laps. The No. 62 Ferrari, the GT2 leader, and the No. 45 Porsche are at the rear of the pack so they now need to thread their way through the other Porsches and one or two prototypes.

2:40 pm - Marc pitted under the yellow, and the No. 62 Ferrari moved to P1. Lonnie is now P 3. The No. 31 Ferrari is still in the pits under repair from the earlier collision. The No. 62 and the No. 45 are the only two GT2 cars on the same lap. Lonnie is one lap down on the No. 45.

2:28 pm - The No. 31 Ferrari, moving to pass the No. 53 Panoz, collides with the No. 53 and sends the No. 53 into the wall. The No. 31 Ferrari appears to have some damage. Marc continues in P 1. The course is double yellow.

2:19 pm - Another incident in Turn 1, but luckily major problems were avoided - when one of the prototypes collided with the No. 62 Risi Ferrari. The No. 1 Audi, which was the overall leader, was collected in that incident but doesn't appear to have sustained significant damage. With this, Marc Lieb in the No. 45 moves into the lead. Immediately behind him is the No. 31 Ferrari. The No. 62 Ferrari, which hasn't yet pitted after the incident, is in P 3. No. 44 is P 4.

2:15 pm - The No. 21 Panoz pits and the No. 62 Ferrari moves to the lead. Marc Lieb in the No. 45 is now P2. Lonnie Pechnik was out quickly in the No. 44 after their pit stop. Not sure yet where the No. 44 will settle out - but probably P 4. The No. 31 is P 3. I'll report all GT2 positions in a bit when things clear out.

2:11 pm - Marc Lieb is out first ahead of the Ferrari and moves into P 4. Darren, in P 1, is now pitting for tires and fuel. This will put the No. 45 to P 3. The No. 62, which is in P 3, will move to P 2. In the lead will be the No. 21 Panoz.

2:10 pm - Johannes reports that he has the fuel bobble and pits for tires, fuel, and driver change to Marc Lieb. The No. 31 Ferrari pits at the same time, their pit stall is farther down pit lane than ours so we start our pit stop first. This will be a race to see who gets out first.

2:06 pm - The No. 31 Ferrari was able to get past Johannes again to take the lead. Johannes will pit within 10 minutes.

2:00 pm - The No. 44 will pit in about 10 minutes for tires and fuel and driver change to Lonnie Pechnik for Lonnie's first stint. We also expect the No. 31 Ferrari to pit shortly.

1:59 - Johannes is caught behind the No. 71 Porsche which is 2 laps down. The No. 31 Ferrari is immediately behind him. The No. 62 Ferrari, which is 1 lap down, is just ahead of the No. 71.

1:57 - Looks like the No. 31 Ferrari made an error in Turn 5, which allowed Johannes to pass him. Johannes is now in the lead. Darren was too far back to get through and is still P 3.

1:53 pm - No. 61 Risi Ferrari is slow on the back straight.No. 62 Ferrari went into the gravel but appears to have avoided a serious incident and is continuing. No. 31 Ferrari has taken the lead. Johannes is now P 2 and Darren P 3. The No. 62 pitted for tires, fuel, and driver change to Mika Salo.

1:50 pm - The No. 71 Porsche pitted and both Johannes and Darren have moved up a position. No. 45 is now P 3 and No. 44 P 4. P 1 is still No. 62 and P 2 No. 31. There may be some issues with the No. 71 that required the pit stop- not clear yet. It slid sideways a bit when it stopped in the pits and the crew has had it in the air for a lengthy time after fueling.

1:50 pm - The No. 2 Audi impacted the tire wall. He is continuing but with damage. So far, the course is green.

** Lizard team radio is being broadcast live at www.lizardms.com ***

1:41 pm - Johannes, in P4, is reeling in the No. 71 Tafel Porsche which is in P 3. He's now just 2 seconds behind. The No. 71 is on a slower pace, so Johannes needs to get by him quickly, or risk losing additional time on the No. 31 Ferrari which is in P 2 and the No. 62 Ferrari which is in hte lead. Darren is in P 5 in the No. 44 and is fighting some handling/tire issues.

1:31 pm - Johannes is on a slightly faster pace than Darren, and overtakes him for P 4. Darren is in P 5. P1 is No. 62 Risi Ferrari, P 2 No. 31 Petersen Ferrari, P3 No. 71 Tafel Porsche.

1:23 pm - No. 61 has a left rear flat and is proceeding slowly on course, apparently as the result of contact from the No. 20 Dyson Prototype. As the tire degrades, it is removing bodywork, which is now on the course.

1:20 pm - Positions: P 1 No. 62; P 2 No. 71; P 3 No 31; P 4 No 44; P 5 No 45; P 6 No 54; P 7 No. 21; P 8 No 18; P 9 No 53; P 10 No 61.

1:15 pm - Green flag!

1:06 pm - Positions: P 1 No. 31; P 2 No. 62; P 3 No 71; P 4 No 44; P 5 No 45; P 6 No 54; P 7 No 21; P 8 N. 18; P 9 No 53; P 10 No. 61. On the last pit stop, both NO. 44 and No. 45 pitted simultaneously. The No. 44 had a faster pit stop than the No. 45 (with no driver change) and made it out of the pits ahead of the No. 45.

1:02 pm - Major incident and several prototypes involved. The No. 15 Acura sustained significant damage as as the No. 37 prototype and one of the Dyson Porsches, which started the chain reaction. Luckily even though the course was completely blocked for at least 30 seconds, all other cars were able to avoid it.

12:59 - Joerg and Darren pit simultaneously on the last lap of the yellow. Both stops are clean.

12:55 pm - The course is still yellow. Darren will pit shortly for tires, fuel and windshield tear off. No. 45 will also pit for tires, fuel, and driver change. At the time of the pit stops, Joerg is P 3 and Darren is P 7.

12:46- The No. 61 Ferrari is in the gravel and the course is now double yellow.

12:44 - Positions: P 1 No. 62; P 2 No. 71; P 3 No. 45; P 4 No. 21; P 5 No. 31; P 5 No. 54; P 7 No. 44; P 8. No 18; P 9 No. 53; P 10 No. 61.

12:40 pm - The Dyson NO. 20 prototoype and one of the Acuras collided on course - both were able to continue.

12:36 pm - Darren went off in the No. 44 as the No. 61 Ferrari went of course. Both cars went into the grass. Not clear if there is damage.
The No. 62 was also able to get by Joerg for the lead.

Current positions are: P 1 No. 62; P 2 No. 45; P 3 No. 71; P 4 No. 21; P 5 No. 54; P 6 No. 31; P 7 No. 44; P 8 No. 18; P 9 No. 61; P 10 No. 53; P 11 No. 73.

12:28 - Joerg has taken the lead. Positions: P 1 No. 45; P 2 No. 54;P 3 No. 62; P 4 No. 71; P 5 No. 21; P 6 No. 61; P 7 No. 18; P 8 No. 44 P 9 No. 31; P 10 No. 53; P 11. NO. 73 has left the pits due to the earlier accident.

12:25 pm ET - Green flag.

12:13 - Darren radios in that he needs the windshield cleaned. No. 44 strategist Eric Ingraham communicates with the crew for a short pit stop with a windscreen tearoff and a splash of fuel, probably late in the yellow.

12:10 - No. 73 Tafel Porsche is in the wall and the course is full course yellow . Driver appears fine but the car has sustained significant damage. This yellow will further help the No. 44 Porsche close the gap. Positions: P 1 No. 31; P 2 No. 54; P 3 No. 45; P 4 No. 62; P 5 No. 71; P 6 No. 21; P 7 No. 61; P 8 No. 18; P 9 No 53; P 10 No. 44; P 11 No. 73.

12:05 pm - No. 44 pits for tires and fuel, driver change to Darren Law. No. 44 was able to take advantage of the yellow to get back on the same lap as the GT2 leaders - even with the pit stop, he will be able to remain on the lap. Darren will be focused on the next few laps on moving through the slower GT2 cars at the back of the pack. No. 45 is in P 3, with Joerg still in the car on his first stint.

Green flag

12:03 pm - 2 more laps to green. Pace car lights out next lap, then green flag.

11:56 am - Still yellow from the earlier incident. The No. 44 crew may bring Seth in for tires and fuel near the end of the yellow and possibly do a driver change to Darren. Positions are: P 1 No. 31; P 2 No. 18 ; P 3 No. 21; P 4 No. 54; P 5 No. 45; P 6 No. 73; P 7 No. 62; P 8 No. 71; P 9 No 61; P 10 No 53; P 11 No 44.

11:45 am - The No. 45 pitted for tires and fuel and although Joerg lost a few positions during the pit stop, he was able to stay on the same lap with the GT2 leaders.

No 62 Ferrari also pitted, but No. 45 was able to get out ahead of the No. 62. No. 71 also pitted, but looks like they had a slow pit stop because Wolf has fallen from P1 to P 8. I'll report positions in a few minutes once the field sorts out.


11:37 am - One of the Corvettes went off course and had a very hard hit against the tire wall. Driver Magnussen is out of the car and walking away with the medical personnel.
Course is double yellow.

11:31 - Had a question if we were doing commentary during the radio broadcast. No, we are only broadcasting the radio, no commentary for this race. We may resume commentary next year, but for now, just radio!

11:26 - Positions are: P 1 No 31; P 2 No 71; P 3 No 62; P 4 No 45; P 5 No 18; P 6 No 21; P 7 No 73; P 8 No 61; P 9 No 54; P 10 No 53; P 11 No 44.

11:20 - Wolf Henzler in the No. 71 Tafel car moves past Joerg to take P 3.

We are broadcasting our team radio today but the cloud cover is causing a few challenges on the comms side - if you are disconnected please wait a few minutes and then try again.

11:18 - The field is beginning to get sorted out - Joerg has held his position in P 3. Seth is now in P 11.

Reminder that the race is being broadcast live on SpeedTV.

11:16 - Race start!! Green flag and the cars are off. It looks like a clean start with all of the cars making it safely through turn 1 .

11:11 am - The cars are leaving the grid for the pace lap. All is OK at the moment.

11 am ET - Good morning from Road Atlanta. We are just 20 minutes from race start for the 10th annual running of Petit Le Mans. thankfully it's a bit cooler today after a very hot and humid week. It rained nearly all day yesterday, putting a damper on the practice sessions and qualifying. So far today, no rain, but there are grey skies and temperatures are starting to cool off. If the rain holds off, it should be good racing weather for the 1000 mile race today.

Joerg will start the No. 45 third on the GT2 grid and Seth will start the No. 44 seventh. We'll be broadcasting our radio during the race - you can access that on the home page at www.lizardms.com.