Flying Lizard Sets Driver Lineup for Rolex 24 At Daytona

Flying Lizard Motorsports announced today the driver lineup for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Long (USA), Seth Neiman (USA), and Johannes van Overbeek (USA) will pilot the Flying Lizard No. 45 Porsche-powered Riley Daytona Prototype for the 24-hour race on January 29-30, 2011 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Flying Lizard No. 45 DP is powered by a Porsche Motorsport-prepared, 911-based flat-6 engine. The chassis, previously run by Brumos Racing, won the race overall in 2009.

The four drivers also teamed up for the 2010 Rolex 24, finishing second in GT in the No. 67 Flying Lizard/TRG Porsche GT3 Cup car. Bergmeister and Long are Porsche factory drivers. Bergmeister has won three times at the Rolex 24: in GT in 2009 (with Patrick Long), in GT and overall in 2003, and in GT in 2002, all with TRG. He was also the Grand-Am DP champion in 2006 (with Krohn Racing). Bergmeister and Long have driven together in the Flying Lizard No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the ALMS for the last two seasons. Bergmeister is five-time ALMS GT drivers’ champion (2005-2006 and 2008-2010); three of those titles were driving with Flying Lizard (2008 through 2010). Bergmeister is the only driver in Grand-Am and ALMS history to win the championship in both series in the same year (2006). Long has won the ALMS GT drivers’ title three times, all with Bergmeister: 2005, and 2009-2010.

van Overbeek, who drove with the Lizards from 2004-2009 in the ALMS, has competed eight times at the Rolex 24. Notably, in 2007 he finished third with JLowe Racing, in 2004 took the pole and second in GT (and third overall) with Seth Neiman and Mike Rockenfeller in the Flying Lizard No. 74 Porsche and finished third in GT and overall in 2003. All four drivers will participate in the next test January 7-9 at Daytona.

Flying Lizard Team Perspective

Tommy Sadler, Flying Lizard crew chief and technical director: “We made a lot of progress at the test at Homestead last week and are very happy with the engine and chassis choice. The test gave us a chance to start tuning performance: the car is still new to us but we’re getting acclimated quickly.”

Joerg Bergmeister: “Daytona is good start to the year: it brings together great drivers, teams and cars from different series and classes. Last year, with this same driver lineup, we ran at the front of the pack; hopefully we can build on that to another podium finish this year. It’s fun to be back in a DP again. This is my first time in a Porsche Riley; the test went well and I think we learned a lot about the car- -it looks like it will be a good combination.”

Patrick Long: “I’m excited to have the opportunity to go after the overall win at Daytona. We have a group of talented drivers who are also good friends and there’s a strong camaraderie. It’s never an easy task here at Daytona, but we know what it will take and just have to get down to it. It’s been a few years since I’ve been in a DP, and this is also my first time in a Riley. The test last week went smoothly: we were competitive and problem-free from the time we put it on the track; hopefully that’s indicative of how things will go in January.”

Johannes van Overbeek: “I’m happy to head to Daytona again with Flying Lizard and Seth, Joerg, and Patrick. It’s a nice change of pace to run a Porsche-powered Riley. Historically the level of competition at this race in the DP class has been extremely high and it should be a very exciting race.”

[Source: Flying Lizard Motorsport]