[DIECAST] Minichamps Review: Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Flying Lizards 2005

Hi Guys,

We have another Diecast review. I'm having quite a bit of fun researching and reviewing these diecast cars at the moment so we will stick with them for now. This post is all about a very prominent team with a rich racing history. The Flying Lizards. A good way to start is to review their first Le Mans entry. 


The Flying Lizards.

The Flying Lizards were founded in 2003 by Seth Nieman and started racing in 2004. They were very competitive from the beginning, in their first season of the American Le Mans series they finished 2nd  in both the GT and drivers championship to Alex Job Racing. (Who were using Porsche 911 GT3's as well). Darren Law (USA) and Johannes Van Overbeek (USA) drove for the Flying Lizards. The Flying Lizards beat White Lightning Racing in the team championship also, who went on to win the GT class in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2004.

In 2005 the team finished 3rd in the teams with the drivers Johannes Van Overbeek and Jon Forgaty. Behind White Lightning and Alex Job Racing.

2005 Le Mans 24 Hours.

The 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 73rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 18 and 19 June 2005. This race marked the record 7th victory for Tom Kristensen, including his 6th straight. The race had 49 entrants split into 4 categories LMP1, LMP2, GT1 and GT2. 

The top 4 were LMP1 cars, 3 of which were the Audi R8 and 5th would go to Corvette Racing in GT1 class driven by Jan Magnussen (DEN) Oliver Gavin (GBR) and Olivier Beretta (MCO).
The race saw 24 classified finishers.

Flying Lizards Le Mans Race.

The Flying Lizards' entry was piloted by Johannes Van Overbeek (USA), Lonnie Pechnik (USA) and Team founder Seth Neiman (USA). The team would complete 323 laps and would beat the LMP2 class winners.

The GT2 category would be won by Alex Job Racing and would be classified 10th overall. With White Lightning coming 11th and second in class and Flying Lizards would finish 13th overall but 3rd in class. 12th place was the GT1 entry of Larber Competiton.

It was a good effort by the team and is great to see that the team founder was able to race as well. The Flying Lizards enjoyed a podium at their first Le Mans outing. They also beat a fair few faster cars and also like White Lightning in 2004 beat the LMP2 class leader.

The Model.

Product Code: 400056480
Scale:              1:43
Drivers:           Johannes Van Overbeek (USA), Lonnie Pechnik (USA), Seth Neiman (USA)
Year:               2005
Manufacturer:  Porsche
Limited to:       2880 pieces

This model consists of 58 parts with 137 decorations. With 52 Mask sprays, 44 Tampo prints, 18 Decals, 19 Free sprays and 4 Chromed parts.  

My Thoughts.

Flying Lizards have a great racing pedigree and they have been a great team ever since they started. They have enjoyed great success winning 3 Teams (2008, 2009, 2013) and Driver championships (2008, 2009, 2010)

Minichamps have recreated this stunning podium car as part of their exclusive Le Mans range and is limited to just 2880 pieces world wide, so it's one for the collectors out their to try and get.

Minichamps have also produced many other Flying Lizard Porsche so if you're a fan of the Lizards there's 13 to collect in 1:43 scale and 1:64 scale.

You can BUY this car from Mcslots for less than £18 which is a fantastic price for a limited car!!!

Thanks for reading. Please check out McSlots on eBay and don't forget to share and comment on the review.