In late 2012 when Porsche announced that factory support of the 997 RSR platform was coming to an end it marked the beginning of a sea change in US sports car racing for Porsche fans. The Grand-AM/ALMS merger was playing out and long-time Chief Engineer of Flying Lizard Motorsports (FLM), Craig Watkins, announced his retirement. Shortly there after, FLM dropped the RSR from their line-up and ran a two car season in GTC. Then, as the 2013 season wound down, and the final races of the ALMS and GRAND-AM series waved their last checkered flags, Flying Lizard and Porsche parted ways after a 10-year partnership. Porsche racing fans everywhere were devastated.
Flying Lizard Motorsport Is Coming Home To Porsche, Sort Of
Late last week Flying Lizard Motorsport announced they’re returning to Porsche, as part of an expansion in their ongoing racing efforts. While not an official Porsche development partner, as they were in the past, FLM will field two customer cars in the Pirelli Porsche GT3 Cup. The team expects to run the full season, consisting of eight races, beginning March 6-8 at Circuit of the Americas.
“After looking at several race series, we felt the Pirelli Porsche GT3 Cup had something very unique to offer both teams and drivers,” said Law. “Our history with Porsche goes back to day one of our program, and our fans haven’t let us forget it. We enjoyed great success with Porsche and look forward to running them again. It’s a proven race machine, and perfect for all types of racers. Not only do we want to allow customers to race in a professional environment, but have a strong package for the best chance of development and success. Through this series, we hope to provide just that, and we’re excited to get started.”
To be clear, this isn’t like before. FLM and Porsche aren’t partnering up like they did before. That race has already been run. Instead, FLM is focusing on managing and supporting customer cars in an effort to make them competitive. Something they are uniquely positioned to do given their past experience. Could it be a way to rebuild a relationship with Porsche as well? Of course. However, I wouldn’t expect any massive changes anytime soon.
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