Uh oh - Flying Lizards leaving Porsche ?

[Deschodt]

Flying Lizard Statement on Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Transition Announcement

October 26, 2012 – Sonoma, CA – Seth Neiman, Flying Lizard team principal said: "I and the entire Flying Lizard family would like to thank Porsche for their support and partnership over the last nine years. Together we have worked hard and have learned to rely on each other in critical moments, of which there have been many throughout our 100 races and multiple GT championships. Joerg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Hartmut Kristen, Jens Walther, Uwe Brettel, Alwin Springer, Roland Kussmaul, Hans-Georg Breuer and many others at Porsche get our special thanks, along with the numerous Porsche employees and affiliates in Germany, Atlanta and Southern California who have been an integral part of our team, and with whom we have become close friends. Flying Lizard remains committed to sports car racing, and we look forward to announcing details of our 2013 racing program later this year."

Uh oh ! My Tshirts are about to become collectible. Ok maybe not the worn shirts, just my posters ;-)
Crap, I hope they don't go to Ferrari, and since Pat Long is a Porsche factory driver, he might not be there anymore... Then again who can blame them, I think the GT3 RSR has not been competitive for the past 2 years.

[widgeon13]

So they are going with another make of car?? This should be interesting.

[Deschodt]

They're not saying but I would put money on Ferrari. It's competitive and the color scheme matches ;-) I have a bunch of obsolete shirts now, traitors ;-)

[9dreizig]

They are moving to Ford... the decision was made after Team Filthy appeared on their fan website
Team Filthy Racing | Facebook

[Deschodt]

That is funny !!!

[MMiller]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Then again who can blame them, I think the GT3 RSR has not been competitive for the past 2 years.

I have been curious about this as well.... Why won't they (Porsche) let the Cayman race?
I know I know the 911 is the marque but it seems to be standing in the way of an awesome mid engine chassis.

[s_wilwerding]

I don't blame FL - they want to win, and the 911 is not a winning car anymore.

Porsche either needs to turn the Cayman into a racecar, or make something like a reasonably-priced 918. As much as I admire Porsche for engineering around the physics of a rear-engined car for 50 years, I think its time as a racecar may be over.

[trekkor]

Ooooops. did I do that?!?







KT

[dennis in se pa]

Maybe it's ALMS or Grand Am that won't let the Porsche be competitive. Why do you think TRG races in GTC? Too much BS and politics in racing.

[biosurfer1]

Trek, I've never seen those pictures before, thats awesome!

Love the Original Customs shout out too

[Buckterrier]

Just opened my email and saw the announcement. While it sucks it certainly is understandable. Imagine the Cayman beating up on Ferrari
We'll see what happens. I have a nice Porsche polo shirt signed by Seth & the crew. I'll still wear it to the races.

[tevake]

Well that is too bad, but understandable considering the results lately.
I want to sent out a big Mahalo (thanks much) for the great race memories over their years of success. A classic private team/ factory support effort.

I hope to see you all back in the fold soon.

Cheers Richard

[KNS]

Originally Posted by s_wilwerding

I don't blame FL - they want to win, and the 911 is not a winning car anymore.

Porsche either needs to turn the Cayman into a racecar, or make something like a reasonably-priced 918. As much as I admire Porsche for engineering around the physics of a rear-engined car for 50 years, I think its time as a racecar may be over.

+1

Porsche's stubborn refusal to move on (and away) from the 911 in competition will cost them customers on the track. The street car, 991, while capable, is just a caricature of its former self.

[Buckterrier]

Seth Neiman is also an awesome guy. I don't know him personally but at the races he is as super fan friendly as they come. At this years ALMS @ LRP during the fan walk of the grid he was at the 45 car. I spoke with him briefly then moved about. A woman with a young boy was close with the boy looking over the car. Seth asked her if she wanted to take a picture of her son sitting in the car. The boy just got a huge smile on his face. He knelt next to the car with the boy sitting in the drivers seat as the mother took the picture. The boy will remember that moment the rest of ihs life and probably will always likes Porsche also because of that picture, and Seth.

[TheMentat]

Maybe it's ALMS or Grand Am that won't let the Porsche be competitive. Why do you think TRG races in GTC? Too much BS and politics in racing.

This...

It has everything to do with the technical regs.

[kach22i]

Flying Lizard Motorsport pull the the plug on Porsche
porschsport.com

One of the most successful Porsche race teams in recent years announced today that they will not be running the 911 GT3 RSR Porsche's next year, although it has not been stated and judging by Teams owner Seth Neiman's statement it looks like they will not be running any Porsche s next year cutting the strong tie with Porsche that they have had over the past nine years.

.................................................. .....................................

Porsche CEO Matthias Müeller talks racing and road cars in interview
Published on September 10, 2012
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120910/alms/120919979

Is there any plan to race the 918?

MM: No, it is no race car. There could be a possibility [down the road], but up to now there is no plan.

Are you interested in expanding the racing version of the Cayman into a more professional level than it is now?

MM: That's an interesting question, because we thought about the Cayman and a GT4 series, but it depends on the regulations and some possibilities in the future. We could imagine that the Cayman could also be a race car. But there is no decision now.

Will the 911 remain Porsche's official GT entry for the foreseeable future?

MM: For sure.

Any thought of changing the Cayman or the 911 from their traditional six-cylinder engines?

MM: At the beginning we will have the same engines as in the 911. For the next generation of the 991 [the new 911] we think to have turbo engines and for the second generation of the 982 [the upcoming Cayman] and 991 we have no decision now, but you know downsizing in engines is very important especially in countries where we have [strong] CO2 regulations. We will see what the future will bring.

Do you have a timeline for the return of the 911 Turbo?

MM: It will start production in 2014.


Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120910/alms/120919979#ixzz2AQV7hYlw

What is the present opinion regarding Porsche possibly offering four-cylinder cars in the future?

MM: Downsizing is a topic, and we have to make up our mind what the right amount of cylinders will be in the future. From my point of view, the 911 is well-prepared with the six-cylinder for the future, but within the Boxster and Cayman I could imagine we could have a four-cylinder boxer engine.


Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120910/alms/120919979#ixzz2AQW4BVhA

[Flieger]

When I asked Seth why he chose Porsche he mentioned their awesome support for customer teams (Porsche Motorsport truck at all the races) and of course that they were dominant back when Flying Lizard started out.

That the 911 is was not so competetive early in this year may not be reason enough to move away from Porsche, as the hated Balance of Performance process keeps the 911 from remaining a dog for too many races. That is one big reason Porsche cited for continuing with the 911. They can just ask for more waivers, since the 911 has traditionally used fewer waivers than other teams.

I am awaiting more news.

[SSNA26]

Could it be possible that the Lizards are moving to Grand-Am with out Porsche factory support? With a move to Grand-Am a change of car would be in order, GT3 Cup (...hopefully). I do not believe that Porsche has a dedicated factory support program for teams that race "only" a GT3 Cup car. With the merge of Grand-Am and ALMS for 2014 would it make sense for a team to change to a different marque race car for only a season and risk the possibility of major regulations change only a year later? Flying Lizard has been racing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona (a Grand-Am event) the past few years in a GT3 Cup as well as many of their drivers have been racing GT3 Cup cars during "off" weekends in other series, so the experience could be used as an asset for 2013 (don't forget that Flying Lizard started with GT3 Cup cars in Grand-Am). An early switch to Grand-Am could be just what the doctor ordered in re-guards to Flying Lizard and Porsche for a major North American GT championship.

[Deschodt]

While an early move to Grand-Am is possible, I think the crux of the issue is that Porsche officially dropped development of the 997 GT3RSR in favor of the 991 model which won't be out till 2014. In other words, in 2013 you are SOL with an older non-competitive GT3.

So the lizards were effectively left with the option of wasting lots of money to fight for 4th place next year, or jump ships, I think...

Now the rumors seem to point to ALMS specs for the GT class in unified GrandAM so I'm not sure it would be a good idea to jump to GrandAm early...

[SSNA26]

No where in the press release does it mention that Flying Lizard will not be racing their RSR's, it doesn't even directly say that they Porsche and Flying Lizard are separating. However reading between the lines it implies that Porsche is no longer providing factory support to the Lizards, but that is speculation. Since Long and Bergmeister are Porsche factory drivers they too will no longer be with the Lizards, especially if the Lizards aren't racing Porsches. With the tweet from Long "Don't panic, its not as bad as you may assume. #lizards" might imply that Long is staying with the Lizards for 2013 (Long probably isn't going to leave Porsche with the LMP1 prospect only 2 years away.) Which brings us to the assumption that the Lizards will be racing a Porsche in 2013, and with cup cars "only" costing $2XX thousand compared to the just under $700 thousand which an RSR cost, possibly we will see Lizards in Grand-Am. Seth Neiman buys new race cars each season, he will save hundreds of thousands of dollars, race Grand-Am tracks, will not need to radically change his network or car crew, and gain a general knowledge of Grand-Am before the other big hitting ALMS GT teams get a chance, if Flying Lizard switch to Grand-Am for 2013. Porsche will also be factory supporting the 991 in 2014, why totally abandon a marque to race for a single season in a dying series and possibly never gain factory support again (BMW, Ferrari, and Corvette already have smaller programs then Porsche and are not going to pick up their long time competitor) when they can jump in the shallow end of the Grand-Am transition and gain factory support once again in 2014?