Flying Lizard Ready for Season Jump Start at Laguna Seca

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."

Follow the Lizards
The ALMS Monterey at Laguna Seca race will get the green flag at 1:30 pm PT Saturday May 12. The race will be broadcast live in ESPN3.com and in car footage will be available live on ALMS.com. ESPN2 will broadcast the race on Sunday, May 13 from 2:00pm - 4:00pm PT. In Europe MotorsTV will broadcast live, in Latin America/Middle East there will be live coverage on Fox and in Canada live coverage on Rogers Sports Net. Flying Lizard will broadcast the team radio live throughout the race; read the team race blog for frequent team updates at www.lizardms.com. The team will also participate in the official test day at Le Mans on June 3.

About Flying Lizard Motorsports
Flying Lizard returns to the American Le Mans Series for their ninth season and the fourth consecutive season for Bergmeister and Long together in the No. 45. The Lizards have won two ALMS GT team championships (2008 and 2009) and have finished in the top three each year since 2004. The team has secured three ALMS GT drivers' championships: Bergmeister and Long took the title together in 2009 and 2010 and Bergmeister with Wolf Henzler in 2008. Bergmeister is five-time ALMS GT drivers' champion (2005-2006 and 2008-2010) and Long has won the title three times (2005, and 2009-2010), all with Bergmeister. Bergmeister is the only driver in Grand-Am and ALMS history to win the championship in both series in the same year (2006).

Flying Lizard has also competed in the 24 Heures du Mans from 2005 through 2011, finishing third in 2005, fourth in 2006, sixth in 2008, and sixth in 2011.

Visit the team website at www.lizardms.com. For the latest team racing apparel and Porsche gear visit the Flying Lizard stores online and in the paddock.

The privateer team is based in Sonoma, California.