Flying Lizard Motorsports Press Release
Flying Lizard Motorsports wrapped up the first test of the 2014 TUDOR
United SportsCar Championship season in successful fashion, running its No. 35
and No. 45 Audi R8 LMS race cars for eight separate sessions over three days,
and finishing with the quickest lap time in the 28-car GT Daytona class at a
1:47.981, quicker than the fastest Audi race and qualifying laps from 2013.
The PR Newswire / UBM Tech / eSilicon No. 35 was shared by Seth Neiman, Dion von Moltke, Alessandro Latif, and Filipe Albuquerque, while the Venezuela / eSilicon No. 45 was driven by Nelson Canache Jr., Spencer Pumpelly, and Markus Winkelhock, with Tim Pappas set to join the trio for the Rolex 24 race coming up in three weeks.
The PR Newswire / UBM Tech / eSilicon No. 35 was shared by Seth Neiman, Dion von Moltke, Alessandro Latif, and Filipe Albuquerque, while the Venezuela / eSilicon No. 45 was driven by Nelson Canache Jr., Spencer Pumpelly, and Markus Winkelhock, with Tim Pappas set to join the trio for the Rolex 24 race coming up in three weeks.
The team had the fastest car in class for three of the eight sessions
and the quickest Audi in six of the eight sessions, as well as the quickest two
Audis in three of the eight sessions.
Quotes from the team:
Steve Conover, Chief Engineer: "With the technical support of Audi
we started and have continued to have great setups on the cars. We have worked
steadily through this test event to prepare for race conditions and while the
absolute pace has been excellent, the speed of the car on used tires has also
been very good."
Alessandro Latif, No. 35 Driver: "The test has been very useful
for me in terms of understanding the car as well as learning the track. We have
also been working towards finding the best race setup and I think we are at a
good point now. Our pace seems strong and the tire wear feels very manageable.
My co-drivers have been a big help in getting me integrated into the team and
up to speed, so I am looking forward to the 24."
Spencer Pumpelly, No. 45 Driver: "Our progress with the R8 LMS has
been very good in terms of getting up to speed on how the car works and what
makes it fast. Going into a 24-hour race there are so many variables that are
outside the control of the team, so it's a good confidence boost knowing that
the ones that are within the team's control are well handled. It's been good
working with Nelson and Markus and each has shown impressive speed. We'll look
forward to adding Tim to the team and coming back here with our sights set on
victory."
Flying Lizard Motorsports returns to Daytona International Speedway for
the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the opening round of the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar
Championship, from January 23rd to 26th. The race gets the green flag at 2:30pm
ET on January 25th.
About Flying Lizard Motorsports
Flying Lizard is based on Sonoma, California, and has competed in the
American Le Mans Series for ten consecutive seasons, from 2004 to 2012 in the
GT class and in 2013 in GTC. The Lizards have won two ALMS GT team
championships (2008 and 2009), one ALMS GTC team championship (2013), and have
secured three ALMS GT Drivers' championships (2008, 2009, and 2010).
Flying Lizard has also competed in the 24 Heures du Mans from 2005
through 2012, finishing third in 2005, fourth in 2006, sixth in 2008, sixth in
2011, and fourth in 2012.
Please visit the team website at www.lizardms.com and the team store at
www.flyinglizardstore.com.
About Audi of America and the Audi R8 LMS
Audi began a new chapter in 2009 with the introduction of the Audi
Sport customer racing program. For the first time it was possible for
motorsport customers to acquire a race car designed for customer racing events.
Since its inception, the success of the R8 LMS has been significant throughout
the GT3 racing format worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013
edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Audi R8 LMS shares more than 50% of its
parts with the Audi R8 street car including the naturally aspirated V10 5.2 Liter
engine, the Audi Space Frame and a variety of other components
Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of
German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury
automotive brands globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe
during 2012, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016,
AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on new products and technologies.
Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information
regarding Audi vehicle and business issues.
Photo credit: Flying Lizard Motorsports [2013 Bob Chapman, Autosport Image]
