Flying Lizard announcement
#1
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I missed something. Can someone explain this email I just received?
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."
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."
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Just got the same email. Whiskey-Tango=Foxtrot!?!?!
It almost looks like a nice kiss-off letter before moving to a different manufacturer platform. This will be a poor reflection on Porsche if things end the way this announcement portends. UGH!
It almost looks like a nice kiss-off letter before moving to a different manufacturer platform. This will be a poor reflection on Porsche if things end the way this announcement portends. UGH!
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^I guess I'm missing the tone. Porsche won't have a competitive platform for the class until at least 2014. It's a lot of coin to spend on another season running mid-pack.....
Last edited by Nizer; 10-26-2012 at 03:07 PM.
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sure seems like switching mfg for one season would be costly
I think they either take a year off (no!)
or switch to another mfg for the foreseeable future (no!)
no matter how you slice it, it seems to be bad for a FL fan
I think they either take a year off (no!)
or switch to another mfg for the foreseeable future (no!)
no matter how you slice it, it seems to be bad for a FL fan
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A couple weeks ago I read the USADA report on the USPS team. Now this email from FL and ya'll are suggesting they may show up in an fcar or vette? If the Giants drop the WS I'm crossing Oct 2012 off the calendar!
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Then the statement from Porsche: http://www.sportssystems.com/novell/...host/AD176.pdf
Porsche Motorsport Development Activity to Transition to Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (type 991) Starting in 2013
Stuttgart, Germany/Santa Ana, Calif. – October 26 --With a new race car based on the new, seventh-generation Porsche 911 (type 991) street car on the horizon, Porsche Motorsport has announced it will wind down its development program for the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (type 997) – a very successful venture which began in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in 2005.
Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche Motorsport worldwide, in making the announcement, explained that the current 911 race car will reach the end of its product cycle, and, while support will continue for customer teams, further new component development will be discontinued in favor of resources devoted to the all-new car.
“Just like our recent Porsche RS Spyder program, we must appreciate the success of our race cars during their product cycle, but move on to new models when it is time to do so. The venerable Porsche 911 GT3 RSR has provided our Porsche customer teams with numerous wins and championships, and will remain competitive in 2013. Porsche will support the customer teams which continue to race that car, but the time has come and we now must focus our research and engineering development efforts on its successor,” said Mr. Kristen.
“The new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is slated to make its North American debut in 2014,” said Kristen.
In North America, the development partner helping to design, engineer and implement improvements in the current 911 RSR race car has been Flying Lizard Motorsports in the GT class of the ALMS. This partnership now is discontinued.
Jens Walther, president of Porsche Motorsport North America, was quick to point out that customer teams still wishing to run the current 911 race car will be able to continue to do so in the American Le Mans Series with full at-the- track engineering and parts support. PMNA shop service from Porsche will also continue in 2013.
“We will be at the track with our usual support for 2013, and some of our current customer teams have already committed to run the 911 GT3 RSR (type 997) next year. Each of the current teams will be announcing their plans as we get closer to the ALMS Winter Test in February,” he said.
Walther also pointed out that the Flying Lizards have been a terrific development partner since they took on the role with Porsche Motorsport in 2007.
“Team owner Seth Neiman and his entire Flying Lizard Motorsports organization have helped both Porsche Motorsport and all our customer teams around the world by being our development partner in the U.S. Together we have won multiple championships in the ALMS. The team has assisted in testing everything from new engines and transmissions to the latest aero package we introduced earlier this year – all to improve the car for everyone. In the midst of all that, they won three straight ALMS GT championships in the most competitive class in sports car racing. We thank Seth and his team for that service, and hope their racing plans going forward continue to include Porsche,” Walther said.
“It’s impressive how the 911 GT3 RSR has developed from year to year. The lap times alone are astounding, because despite the restrictions imposed on us again and again by the regulations, the car just got faster every year,” says Porsche works driver Joerg Bergmeister, who has celebrated the majority of his successes at the wheel of the 911 GT3 RSR.

Stuttgart, Germany/Santa Ana, Calif. – October 26 --With a new race car based on the new, seventh-generation Porsche 911 (type 991) street car on the horizon, Porsche Motorsport has announced it will wind down its development program for the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (type 997) – a very successful venture which began in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in 2005.
Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche Motorsport worldwide, in making the announcement, explained that the current 911 race car will reach the end of its product cycle, and, while support will continue for customer teams, further new component development will be discontinued in favor of resources devoted to the all-new car.
“Just like our recent Porsche RS Spyder program, we must appreciate the success of our race cars during their product cycle, but move on to new models when it is time to do so. The venerable Porsche 911 GT3 RSR has provided our Porsche customer teams with numerous wins and championships, and will remain competitive in 2013. Porsche will support the customer teams which continue to race that car, but the time has come and we now must focus our research and engineering development efforts on its successor,” said Mr. Kristen.
“The new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is slated to make its North American debut in 2014,” said Kristen.
In North America, the development partner helping to design, engineer and implement improvements in the current 911 RSR race car has been Flying Lizard Motorsports in the GT class of the ALMS. This partnership now is discontinued.
Jens Walther, president of Porsche Motorsport North America, was quick to point out that customer teams still wishing to run the current 911 race car will be able to continue to do so in the American Le Mans Series with full at-the- track engineering and parts support. PMNA shop service from Porsche will also continue in 2013.
“We will be at the track with our usual support for 2013, and some of our current customer teams have already committed to run the 911 GT3 RSR (type 997) next year. Each of the current teams will be announcing their plans as we get closer to the ALMS Winter Test in February,” he said.
Walther also pointed out that the Flying Lizards have been a terrific development partner since they took on the role with Porsche Motorsport in 2007.
“Team owner Seth Neiman and his entire Flying Lizard Motorsports organization have helped both Porsche Motorsport and all our customer teams around the world by being our development partner in the U.S. Together we have won multiple championships in the ALMS. The team has assisted in testing everything from new engines and transmissions to the latest aero package we introduced earlier this year – all to improve the car for everyone. In the midst of all that, they won three straight ALMS GT championships in the most competitive class in sports car racing. We thank Seth and his team for that service, and hope their racing plans going forward continue to include Porsche,” Walther said.
“It’s impressive how the 911 GT3 RSR has developed from year to year. The lap times alone are astounding, because despite the restrictions imposed on us again and again by the regulations, the car just got faster every year,” says Porsche works driver Joerg Bergmeister, who has celebrated the majority of his successes at the wheel of the 911 GT3 RSR.

#11
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FL could stick with Porsche by...
running DP
running GA GT
running ALMS GTC
or, doing GT and GTC with one car and do both series (might be a logistical nightmare)
so, not a definite FL/Porsche split. but it will be interesting to see what happens here. I don't think the 918 race car will be out next year and if so, not sure where ALMS (or GA) would put it.
won't be the same next year not seeing a Flying Lizard RSR in ALMS
running DP
running GA GT
running ALMS GTC
or, doing GT and GTC with one car and do both series (might be a logistical nightmare)
so, not a definite FL/Porsche split. but it will be interesting to see what happens here. I don't think the 918 race car will be out next year and if so, not sure where ALMS (or GA) would put it.
won't be the same next year not seeing a Flying Lizard RSR in ALMS
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I bet they will jump to the F car. It's cheaper to run for a year and has better support from the manufacturer. And it's faster and easier on the tires.
All the ALMS needs to do to keep the 997 RSR competitive is a bigger restrictor though. But it sounds like it was declined already, causing them to jump ship.
All the ALMS needs to do to keep the 997 RSR competitive is a bigger restrictor though. But it sounds like it was declined already, causing them to jump ship.
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I bet they will jump to the F car. It's cheaper to run for a year and has better support from the manufacturer. And it's faster and easier on the tires.
All the ALMS needs to do to keep the 997 RSR competitive is a bigger restrictor though. But it sounds like it was declined already, causing them to jump ship.
All the ALMS needs to do to keep the 997 RSR competitive is a bigger restrictor though. But it sounds like it was declined already, causing them to jump ship.
tough situation any way you look at it.
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looks like it's a good time for anyone who wants to send porsche a big fat check for a 991 RSR though!
as a race team owner- these types of development cycle issues are really frustrating, but have to be tolerated because the ACO or FIA or Grand-AM all have a job to do (keeping cars relatively competitive) The restrictor issues, weight penalty, tire size allowance, are generally what they use to prevent one type of car from being preposterously dominant for a long period of time (like when the BMW M3 V8 was bludgeoning the field).
Racing at the ALMS level is really expensive- last time I inquired an RSR was over 500k, the 430 GT2 was 750k and corvette didn't sell C6R vettes to customer teams. annual budgets are easily over 1.5 million per year, some say as high as 4-5 million per car.
FL is a great team and always get the most out of the car but since Seth's company drives the financing from what I understand, I'd be surprised if they didn't just sit out for a bit. Switching the engineering platforms from porsche to ferrari or viper would really seem to be costly past the point of reason.
2013 and 2014 will be wacky years for sportscar racing because of the merger and therefore I'm surveying the landscape before getting all the merger related schedule info and deciding what we will do in 2014. I can't fathom the costs of the FL program in comparison to my grand-am ST team.
as a race team owner- these types of development cycle issues are really frustrating, but have to be tolerated because the ACO or FIA or Grand-AM all have a job to do (keeping cars relatively competitive) The restrictor issues, weight penalty, tire size allowance, are generally what they use to prevent one type of car from being preposterously dominant for a long period of time (like when the BMW M3 V8 was bludgeoning the field).
Racing at the ALMS level is really expensive- last time I inquired an RSR was over 500k, the 430 GT2 was 750k and corvette didn't sell C6R vettes to customer teams. annual budgets are easily over 1.5 million per year, some say as high as 4-5 million per car.
FL is a great team and always get the most out of the car but since Seth's company drives the financing from what I understand, I'd be surprised if they didn't just sit out for a bit. Switching the engineering platforms from porsche to ferrari or viper would really seem to be costly past the point of reason.
2013 and 2014 will be wacky years for sportscar racing because of the merger and therefore I'm surveying the landscape before getting all the merger related schedule info and deciding what we will do in 2014. I can't fathom the costs of the FL program in comparison to my grand-am ST team.
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looks like it's a good time for anyone who wants to send porsche a big fat check for a 991 RSR though!
as a race team owner- these types of development cycle issues are really frustrating, but have to be tolerated because the ACO or FIA or Grand-AM all have a job to do (keeping cars relatively competitive) The restrictor issues, weight penalty, tire size allowance, are generally what they use to prevent one type of car from being preposterously dominant for a long period of time (like when the BMW M3 V8 was bludgeoning the field).
Racing at the ALMS level is really expensive- last time I inquired an RSR was over 500k, the 430 GT2 was 750k and corvette didn't sell C6R vettes to customer teams. annual budgets are easily over 1.5 million per year, some say as high as 4-5 million per car.
FL is a great team and always get the most out of the car but since Seth's company drives the financing from what I understand, I'd be surprised if they didn't just sit out for a bit. Switching the engineering platforms from porsche to ferrari or viper would really seem to be costly past the point of reason.
2013 and 2014 will be wacky years for sportscar racing because of the merger and therefore I'm surveying the landscape before getting all the merger related schedule info and deciding what we will do in 2014. I can't fathom the costs of the FL program in comparison to my grand-am ST team.
as a race team owner- these types of development cycle issues are really frustrating, but have to be tolerated because the ACO or FIA or Grand-AM all have a job to do (keeping cars relatively competitive) The restrictor issues, weight penalty, tire size allowance, are generally what they use to prevent one type of car from being preposterously dominant for a long period of time (like when the BMW M3 V8 was bludgeoning the field).
Racing at the ALMS level is really expensive- last time I inquired an RSR was over 500k, the 430 GT2 was 750k and corvette didn't sell C6R vettes to customer teams. annual budgets are easily over 1.5 million per year, some say as high as 4-5 million per car.
FL is a great team and always get the most out of the car but since Seth's company drives the financing from what I understand, I'd be surprised if they didn't just sit out for a bit. Switching the engineering platforms from porsche to ferrari or viper would really seem to be costly past the point of reason.
2013 and 2014 will be wacky years for sportscar racing because of the merger and therefore I'm surveying the landscape before getting all the merger related schedule info and deciding what we will do in 2014. I can't fathom the costs of the FL program in comparison to my grand-am ST team.
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