SEBRING, Fla., (September 26, 2023) – At a warm and sunny Sebring International Raceway, professional sports car racing team Flying Lizard Motorsports celebrated a wildly successful race weekend with several entries in the GT America Powered by AWS and the Pirelli GT4 America series. The team now leads both the driver and team points battles in the two series heading into the season finale pair of double headers at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“I have said this in the past, but this was a phenomenal weekend for Flying Lizard Motorsports,” said Program Manager Darren Law. “It is going to be hard to top our results from this weekend: two poles, three wins, three additional podiums and we head to the final race at Indy leading in drivers’ championship and team championship. It is still not locked up yet so we will need to execute well at Indy, but we are firing on all cylinders now!”

GT4 America Race One (NOLA Makeup)
The first race of the weekend took place sooner than normal, as the GT4 America competitors needed to make up a rained-out race from NOLA Motorsports Park earlier in the season. Andy Lee and the No. 8 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 started the race on Thursday afternoon from second in class, and sixth overall. At the drop of the green flag, the battle commenced, with the front of the field diving into the opening turns, elbows out, all vying for position. Lee wisely maintained position, not taking any unreasonable risks so early in the race. With five minutes complete, the field had begun to settle enough to get bold, and Lee passed Terry Borcheller in the No. 20 to take fifth overall and close in on Michai Stephens for fourth. In an impressive move, Lee made sweeping passes in turns two through five on Stephens and the No. 7 of Kay van Berlo, taking the class lead. He held third place overall and the class lead to the conclusion of his stint, pitting during the mandatory window to hand over the driving duties to Sabo. With a great pit stop, Sabo joined the race maintaining the class lead as he exited pit lane, holding his lead over the No. 47 of Matt Travis. He had a strong stint, keeping the class lead in Pro-Am, giving the team the maximum 25 points allowed for the race win.

GT4 America Race One
Following the strong success of the previous day’s result, Elias Sabo and Andy Lee had eliminated ten of the 35 points that stood between them and the driver standing points leaders. The pair started race two from fifth in class, with Jason Bell and Michael Cooper returning to the two-driver series to start in fourth. A wreck in turn six during the first lap left the No. 8 Aston Martin Vantage of Elias Sabo heavily damaged, effectively ending his race and the pair’s chance for additional points in the championship. Bell continued his fourth place run after the race went back go green, and then yellow again just before the pit lane window opened. As the green-flag racing later resumed, Bell turned over the driving duties to co-driver Michael Cooper, who joined the action in fourth. Over the course of his 22-minute stint, he made the pass on Aaron Povoledo in Turn 16, and Andrew Davis in turn five, moving up to second place in just two minutes. He and Bell finished in second place behind the No. 47 of NOLASPORT’s Jason Hart and Matt Travis. The finish brought them within three points of Bimmerworld, whose drivers finished behind in third.

GT4 America Race Two

Following the previous day’s incident, the team replaced Elias Sabo and Andy Lee’s damaged No. 8 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 with the same car used in GT America, allowing them to compete in the final race of the weekend. Though the car started from pit lane, Andy Lee ran the entirety of the race, earning valuable championship points with an 7th place finish, finishing ahead of championship contender rival NOLASPORT. Michael Cooper and the No. 2 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 started from fourth in class and seventh overall, hungrier than ever to finish on the top step after the previous day’s second-place finish. He had a strong opening lap, positioning himself to run in the top three and reel in the Pro-Am class leader. While defending from an also eager Bryan Heitkotter, the No. 47 NOLASPORT entry of Jason Hart went off course, and Cooper sailed to the lead. He led through the entirety of his stint, pitting at the halfway point for his driver change to Jason Bell. Again, the Flying lizard crew executed a flawless stop and Jason Bell resumed the race where they left off in first place. Jason drove a mistake free stint and was never seriously threatened for position. He brought home the second win of the weekend for Flying Lizard Motorsports as well as the second win of the season for Bell and Cooper in the GT4 America class.

GT America Race One
Starting the GT America weekend off on a strong note, Jason Bell and the No. 2 Aston started the single-driver 40-minute sprint from second place in the GT4 class with Elias Sabo and the No. 8 Aston Martin starting from third place. He jumped to the lead in the opening turn of the first lap, moving championship contender Rob Holland between himself and Sabo. He pulled away to create a two-second lead while Sabo applied heavy pressure to Holland. Andy Wilzoch started his final race weekend of the season from tenth place, racing the No. 460 Porsche 911 GT3 R. The field quickly spread out, but not before Wilzoch assumed ninth place. In the last lap, he passed the No. 70 of Mirco Schultis for eighth place. Bell clinched the GT4 class win with Elias Sabo in third, giving Bell and Flying Lizard a boost in the driver and team championship standings.  

GT America Race Two
Continuing his run at the front, Bell started the GT America race from pole position on the front row without teammate Elias Sabo, following Sabo’s car swap to GT4 America. With Rob Holland starting just behind, Bell started the race as the sole Lizard entry, determined to lead to the checkered flag. As the green flag waved, the battle for second place behind Bell commenced, allowing him to pull away. Tony Gaples won the fight for second place over Rob Holland and went on to charge to the lead with 19 minutes remaining. Bell closed out the weekend with a second-place finish, his fourth podium of the weekend.  Andy Wilzoch closed out his 2023 season with a clean eighth-place finish,

The Lizards will close out the final race weekend of the SRO America season in just over a week’s time, defending their points leads at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, October 5-8. Sabo will withdraw his GT America entry and only compete in the GT4 America doubleheader with Andy Lee, while Jason Bell will continue his fight for the GT America championship as well as return for a final weekend in GT4 America with Michael Cooper. For tickets or more information, visit indianapolismotorspeedway.com.

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About Flying Lizard Motorsports

Based out of Sonoma, California, Flying Lizard Motorsports is one of the most iconic sports car teams in motorsports, having celebrated ten driver and team championships, as well as competed internationally at the 24 Hours of Le Mans eight times.

The Lizards burst on the American Le Mans Series scene in 2004, competing in the GT class until 2012. In 2013, the team moved to the GTC class, still competing in legendary events such as the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona. In 2014, the team expanded its program to include running two Audi R8 LMS in the TUDOR Championship, and in 2015, again expanded the program to include two Porsches in Porsche Club racing. Flying Lizard closed out the season with a dominating win at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill with Toyo Tires, a win they repeated in 2016, 2017, and 2018. The 2020 season proved the team’s most successful to date, earning four titles in the GT4 America championship. Flying Lizard Motorsports has proven to be a championship contender no matter the race series or race car. For more information, visit lizardms.com.

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About Apex Motor Club

Apex Motor Club is Arizona’s premier motorsports club located just 35 miles southwest of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and the only private motorsports club located within a major metropolitan area. APEX is the ultimate country club for automotive enthusiasts where car culture, racing and country club lifestyles converge. Enjoy an hour of track time in your latest acquisition, drive off track, into your privately-owned garage and join like- minded enthusiasts in the clubhouse for food, beverages, and activities.

To learn more about the newest racing circuit in the country, visit https://apexmotorclub.com