Flying Lizard Announces 2014 Program

SONOMA, Calif., Nov. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a decade in the American Le Mans Series and coming off of a team championship clinching GTC class win in the final ALMS race at Road Atlanta, Flying Lizard Motorsports today announced that it would join the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with two cars to be run in the GT Daytona class for the 2014 season.  The team will continue to campaign the No 45 as it has since the team's inception while adding the No 35 to its stable, replacing No 44.  Flying Lizard will announce its 2014 driver lineup at a later date.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131111/FL14357)

For the first time in its history, the team is working with a new manufacturer, and has taken delivery of two Audi R8 LMS race cars for the 2014 racing program.  Based on the R8 street car, the R8 LMS has had significant success in GT3 format racing worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Chief Strategist Thomas Blam talked about the new partnership with Audi Sport customer racing and the opportunity to race the R8 LMS, saying "We are excited to be working with Audi. Their success with prototypes and the potential of the R8 LMS is a great fit for our experience and success in GT.  While we have a huge amount to learn about this car and the new GTD class in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, our early assessment is that we are in a great position to work for race wins immediately and should be competing for the championship this year. This is, of course, absolutely our goal.  The car has excellent potential and we can't wait to get started."

Team Principal and Driver Seth Neiman on the shift from Porsche: "This is certainly a substantial change for the team as Porsche has been a great partner for many years. Equally, Audi is a great company with a spectacular racing pedigree, a serious commitment to GT racing, and a clear commitment to forging an alliance to continue both of our winning traditions far into the future. They know how to win, we know how to win, and we both are totally focused on doing just that. This is a strong foundation for a long and successful relationship."

Flying Lizard will take to the track with its new cars for the first time on November 16^th and 17^th at Sebring International Raceway and on November 19^th and 20^th at Daytona International Speedway for the IMSA sanctioned season opening tests for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

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.

SOURCE Flying Lizard Motorsports