Flying Lizard Motorsports Press Release
Following a promising effort during yesterday's GT Daytona qualifying session, the Lizards were unfortunately unable to convert their strong starting spots into race results in the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen, with the No. 45 Yoddle / Venezuela / eSilicon Audi R8 LMS fighting through a flat tire and a suspension repair to stay on track and earn 14th place points for its drivers Nelson Canache Jr., Brett Sandberg, and Spencer Pumpelly. Nelson started the race with a double stint, interrupted by a flat left rear tire which required a slow in lap to the pits for repairs. Brett was up next for his double stint but it too was interrupted, as he was run wide by a PC car and spun due to pickup on his tires. Brett's awareness allowed for a quick dive into the pits but damage from a light wall impact after the spin meant that the team had to take the car behind the wall for further repair, replacing the right front upright and right rear track rod. Spencer then took over for his double stint before Brett finished the race out, although even a top ten finish was out of reach at that point.
As planned prior to the race, Spencer also joined Dion von Moltke and Seth Neiman in the No. 35 PR Newswire / UBM Tech / eSilicon Audi R8 LMS, starting that car from 6th place and rising to 3rd place during his stint. Dion maintained that spot for his first run in the car, and the team ran as high as 2nd place in class during Seth's stint. Dion closed out the race with a triple stint but despite the team's early pace only a 7th place finish was possible after losing laps to the class leading BMW, which showed consistently amazing pace throughout the race.
The team now enters the heart of the season, with the Watkins Glen race kicking off a run of five races in nine weekends. Next up, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on July 13th!
About Flying Lizard Motorsports
Flying Lizard is based on Sonoma, California, and has competed in the American Le Mans Series for ten consecutive seasons, from 2004 to 2012 in the GT class and in 2013 in GTC. The Lizards have won two ALMS GT team championships (2008 and 2009), one ALMS GTC team championship (2013), and have secured three ALMS GT Drivers' championships (2008, 2009, and 2010).
Flying Lizard has also competed in the 24 Heures du Mans from 2005 through 2012, finishing third in 2005, fourth in 2006, sixth in 2008, sixth in 2011, and fourth in 2012.
Please visit the team website at www.lizardms.com and the team store at www.flyinglizardstore.com.
About Audi of America and the Audi R8 LMS
Audi began a new chapter in 2009 with the introduction of the Audi Sport customer racing program. For the first time it was possible for motorsport customers to acquire a race car designed for customer racing events. Since its inception, the success of the R8 LMS has been significant throughout the GT3 racing format worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Audi R8 LMS shares more than 50% of its parts with the Audi R8 street car including the naturally aspirated V10 5.2 Liter engine, the Audi Space Frame and a variety of other components.
Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2012, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on new products and technologies.
Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicle and business issues.
Photo credit: Flying Lizard Motorsports / Bob Chapman
