A pair of Flying Lizards for 2009

Finally some good racing news to report:

Flying Lizard Motorsports, the 2008 American Le Mans Series GT2 team champions, announced today its 2009 racing program. The Sonoma, California-based team will field two 2009 911 GT3 RSR Porsches in the GT2 class -- the No. 45 and No. 44 -- for the complete 2009 ALMS season.

Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) will return to Flying Lizard in 2009 for his third consecutive season to defend his and the team's 2008 championships. He will be joined in the No. 45 by Patrick Long (USA). In the No. 44, Seth Neiman (USA) will return with co-drivers Darren Law (USA) and Johannes van Overbeek (USA).

2009 will be the third season that Bergmeister and Long have competed together as a team. Two of the top Porsche drivers in the world, together they won back to back ALMS GT2 championships in 2005 and 2006, a total of eight ALMS GT2 races, and won in GT2 at the 2004 24 Heures du Mans (with Sascha Maassen). Bergmeister and Long are again both Porsche Works drivers for the 2009 season. For complete driver biographies, see www.lizardms.com.

Flying Lizard team management for 2009 includes: Seth Neiman, team principal; Tommy Sadler, crew chief and co-technical director; Craig Watkins, chief engineer; Stefan Pfeiffer engineer, No. 45 Porsche and co-technical director; Thomas Blam, chief strategist; Eric Ingraham, team manager and No. 44 Porsche strategist; Jennifer Hart, team marketing; and Paul Pillitteri, team merchandising.

Neiman looks forward to a competitive season: "Flying Lizard is excited and energized to be back with the series for our sixth consecutive year. Our goal this year is to defend our team and drivers' championships. Everything we've done since the day after celebrating at Laguna Seca has been focused on that goal. With 2009 likely to be a step up from the already intense competition of last season, it is going to be a very tough and challenging effort. The fans should be in for a real treat."

Flying Lizard expects to receive its two new 2009 Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs in early January and plans to attend the American Le Mans Series Winter Test in Sebring, Florida in late January. Flying Lizard will announce additional program details in early 2009.

For more on the team, see www.lizardms.com.