The Lizards’ hopes for a podium finish came to an early end today in the two-hour American Le Mans Series at Long Beach race when a tire puncture sent Patrick Long into the pits for an unexpected stop. Both Lizard Porsches had a clean race start, with Seth Neiman starting sixth in the No. 44 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and Patrick Long tenth in the No. 45. The Lizards were able to avoid the multiple incidents at the start which sent several cars back to the pits.

Five minutes into the race, Patrick had moved up to P4 when a tire puncture sent him into the pits. Long explained, “The start was picture perfect: there was a war zone all around me: spinning cars, flying hoods, and flowers everywhere, but I was able to slip through the holes and get up to fourth. I was just settling into a groove when my tire pressure alarm started going off. I realized that I had a cut tire from the carbon pieces from one of the incidents. We hadn’t had any contact, just the bad luck to pick up the debris.”

After returning to the race, Long was now in P9. Nearing the one-hour mark, a full course caution resulted in a wave-by which allowed the No. 45 to get back on the lead lap, although still at the back of the pack. Just past the halfway point, Bergmeister took the wheel of the No. 45, now in P8. The No. 44 (with Marco Holzer now behind the wheel) was in P9. Holzer added, “It was really fun out there. This was my first race here and I spent the first few laps trying to get used to the track since we didn’t have much running time this week. The car was good, but we just didn’t have the pace here today.”

As the GT leaders battled for position over the next hour, the No. 45 and No. 44 were still too far back to make any significant headway. Near the end, Bergmeister overtook the No. 48 Porsche to finish seventh. The No. 44 was ninth. The No. 4 Corvette won in GT.

Source : Flying Lizard Motorsports