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SOMETHING FROM THE WEEKEND

May 15th, 2012

LotusOwnersClub

Race Reports from Barcelona and Snetterton (11 – 13 May)

FORMULA ONE – SPANISH GRAND PRIX

Kimi Räikkönen bagged his second podium on the trot in Barcelona, charging hard to finish third behind first time grand prix winner Pastor Maldonado and, by just half a second, Fernando Alonso.

The Finn was disappointed not to finish on the top step, though, claiming that the Lotus E20 had the potential to have won every race this year so far. Nevertheless, he is now fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, just 12 points behind leaders Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

Starting on the second row behind team-mate Romain Grosjean, he passed the Frenchman at the start. He held third till the second round of stops, and when Alonso pitted from the lead on Lap 45 the Iceman enjoyed two laps at the front, before being passed by the resurgent Maldonado. Struggling with degradation, he was soon holding up Alonso before pitting for late rubber on Lap 49 and then setting off on

a final sprint on fresh rubber. As the laps counted down he slashed the gap to Alonso by a couple of seconds a lap while the Spaniard struggled with grip. He entered the final of 66 laps 2.3 seconds behind the Ferrari and screamed across the line just 0.6 adrift.

Romain took the chequered flag just ten seconds behind his team-mate, securing fourth place. He had lost several positions at the start, and lost a bit of front wing to Bruno Senna which didn’t help matters, but he recovered to score 12 points.

Currently sitting third, the team now moves within 14 points of McLaren and 25 behind leaders Red Bull Racing in the Constructors Championship.

Kimi Räikkönen: “I had a good start, but I hit the rev limiter and couldn’t take the other two, and then we fell back too far in the middle stint. By pitting late the third time I had a lot of speed for the finish and, given one more lap, I probably could have overtaken Fernando, but that’s easy to say afterwards.”

Romain Grosjean: “Both cars finishing strongly in the points is great for the team. It was pretty difficult for me at the start of the race as it was hard to get the front working properly with the wing damaged, but we made some changes and at the end of the race the car was really flying

GP2 – BARCELONA

May 15th, 2012

LotusOwnersClub

Lotus GP’s James Calado took a storming pole position and second place in Barcelona’s Saturday round, followed by a strong drive to fourth on Sunday to push his way up the driver’s standings to third.

While others, including team

-mate Esteban Gutierrez, were impeded by a yellow flag on their flying run in qualifying, Calado was two tenths faster than anyone else. In the race, traffic and a bold tyre strategy from rival Giedo van der Garde pushed Calado to second. Starting P7 in Race 2 he then battled Gutierrez through Turn 1 and then hunted championship leader Davide Valsecchi down but just missed out on the final podium place, finishing fourth.

Gutierrez left with five points to show for a testing weekend. Qualifying 11^th because he had to abort what looked like a pole lap due to yellow flags, he finished Race 1 tenth and earned a further two points for setting the fastest lap. On Sunday he fought his way up to seventh.

Lotus GP sits second in the team standings on 128 points, behind leaders DAMS on 157.

James Calado: “Race 1 I started from pole and was quite aggressive with Fabio [Leimer] at the start. I was leading when I came into the pits but Fabio was right behind, and we left side-by-side. Giedo [van der Garde] only changed two tyres, which is how he managed to move ahead in the stops. We should look at that for Monaco because there’s obviously a lot of time to be found. From there I just tried to save my tyres, and had to make do with second. Race 2 I made a good start but then got boxed in at Turn 1, where Giedo and Esteban got past. Then I made it past him and Max Chilton too. I got right up behind Davide [Valsecchi] at the end there, but I couldn’t get past and seize third because the car was sliding around too much while I was in his slipstream and I was hitting the rev limiter at the end of the straight.”

Esteban Gutierrez: “The result is not ideal, and our qualifying position affected us a lot. But I did my best. I enjoyed the latter stages of Race 2 as I fought with Giedo [van der Garde], but unfortunately I wasn’t able to take sixth. Five points from this weekend is better than nothing, but I know we are capable of a lot more. We’ll keep pushing!”

GP3 – BARCELONA

May 15th, 2012

LotusOwnersClub

Lotus’ American GP3 driver Conor Daly took his first GP3 win on Sunday at the Circuit de Catalunya, at the opening round of the 2012 GP3 Series.

On Saturday, he qualified his black and gold car on the front row behind Antonio Felix da Costa, with team-mates Aaro Vainio in P3 and Daniel Abt in P6. Abt made a jump start, managing to get into the lead before he being penalized. Meanwhile, Daly went backwards and finished sixth. Vainio battled throughout to retain his third place.

In Race 2, Daly started third. He outsprinted polesitter Robert Visoiu via the grass into Turn 1, while Tio Ellinas took the lead after a jump start. When he pitted for his drive-thru penalty on Lap 6, Daly was able to cruise into the lead and seal a popular victory. Vainio, meanwhile, finished fourth and Abt seventh.

After two races, Daly sits second in the championship behind Race 1 winner Mitch Evans. Lotus GP leads the Team’s Championship by three points.

Conor Daly: “It’s really cool. I made a mistake yesterday in Race 1, I didn’t have the best start, and I didn’t put ourselves in a good position. I was lucky enough to redeem myself today at the start. It feels so nice to have my first podium and my first win. It feels really good to be in this form heading to Monaco. The car has been really good. The Lotus GP guys have been fantastic, the way we have worked together during testing has been awesome.

BRITCAR MSA BRITISH ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP – SNETTERTON 300

May 15th, 2012

LotusOwnersClub

Team Bullrun’s Lotus Evora GT4 finished second in its class on Saturday at the Snetterton 300, just up the road from Lotus’ headquarters in Norfolk. Martin Byford’s qualifying lap was enough for third on the grid, and team-mate Richard Adams did the first stint of the three hour race. There were six safety car periods during the race, and two were particularly costly for Team Bullrun as they, with third driver David Green, had to unlap themselves twice. Nevertheless, they adapted their strategy and managed to move up a position, scoring the fastest lap along the way, to finish second. The team now leads the championship.

Richard Adams: “Our nearest rivals finished fifth, so this second place is really great news and now we lead the championship, which obviously feels fantastic. It wasn’t an easy race and we lost out twice behind the safety car, having to unlap ourselves. What really got us this result today was the Evora’s excellent fuel consumption. Driving behind the safety car for so many laps meant we were able to take a gamble and pit one time less than we ordinarily would have, and the gamble paid off.”

We’ve Only Just Begun – Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday 22nd April 2012

April 22nd, 2012

LotusOwnersClub

Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean danced their way through the Bahrain desert for a double-podium performance in today’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Kimi took advantage of saved sets of new tyres from qualifying to vault from eleventh to second, whilst Romain scored an equally impressive seventh to third.

Both cars started on the yellow-marked soft Pirelli P-Zero.
Romain changed to a set on mediums on lap 10, then made two further stops for more mediums on laps 25 and 40.
Kimi pitted for a set of softs on lap 11, then fresh sets of mediums on laps 24 and 39.

Drivers’ Championship:
Kimi Räikkönen, P7 (34 Points)
Romain Grosjean, P8 (23 Points)

Constructors’ Championship:
Lotus F1 Team, P3 (57 Points)

Kimi Räikkönen, P2, E20-03
Fastest Lap, 1:37.116 (Lap 41)

“It’s a great result for the team and we deserve it as everyone has been working very hard. To be honest, I’m slightly disappointed we didn’t take the win because we had the pace. I only had one chance to overtake Sebastian (Vettel) and unfortunately I chose the wrong side to try and get past. If I hadn’t made a small mistake at the start and allowed Felipe (Massa) to get through then maybe it would have been a different story, as we spent quite a lot of time fighting with him. At the end of the day, it’s good to have both cars on the podium, especially after last race which didn’t go to plan, but I honestly think we could have taken the victory today.”

Romain Grosjean, P3, E20-04
Fastest Lap, 1:36.928 (Lap 42)

“It’s a great feeling to get my first podium, and I’m really proud of the whole team for doing an incredible job today. We’ve known all season how quick the car can be, but with such a tight field any small mistakes can make a huge difference. Today I think we got everything right, and we’ve finally been able to prove how competitive we are. Last week I was aiming for my first points, this week I was hoping for top five, but here we are on the podium so who knows where we can go from here! We can be very happy with what we’ve achieved today; hopefully we can now head to the Mugello test and find that last bit of to push us right to the top.”

Eric Boullier, Team Principal

“It was a great team performance today and I’m delighted for everyone, both here in the paddock and back at Enstone. The first three races were very frustrating, as we knew we were capable of a result like this. Until now, small details have hindered our performance, so it’s almost a relief to finally show what we are capable of. We took a bit of a gamble on strategy and I’m pleased to say it paid off. Both drivers put in a fantastic performance, and to have two cars not just on the podium but so closely matched all through the race demonstrates what a strong line-up we have. I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved today.”

Alan Permane, Director of Trackside Operations

“We’ve been saying over the last few races that podium finishes were on their way and today we’ve proved that. To come from eleventh to score a strong second, challenging for the win was an awesome performance from Kimi and shows that the E20 is a superb race car. For Romain to match Kimi’s pace and finish just seven seconds behind him despite having fewer new tyres is a comparably impressive performance. Our race strategy calls today were not as tricky as we’ve seen in other races. We knew we had to make three stops and it became clear as the race went on that our main question was could we beat Sebastian (Vettel)? We gave it a good go. It wasn’t a perfect performance this weekend – we weren’t happy with our performance on the soft tyres in qualifying – but it’s clear we have a car which has the pace to win races. ”

We’ve Only Just Begun – Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday 22nd April 2012

April 22nd, 2012

LotusOwnersClub

Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean danced their way through the Bahrain desert for a double-podium performance in today’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Kimi took advantage of saved sets of new tyres from qualifying to vault from eleventh to second, whilst Romain scored an equally impressive seventh to third.

Both cars started on the yellow-marked soft Pirelli P-Zero.
Romain changed to a set on mediums on lap 10, then made two further stops for more mediums on laps 25 and 40.
Kimi pitted for a set of softs on lap 11, then fresh sets of mediums on laps 24 and 39.

Drivers’ Championship:
Kimi Räikkönen, P7 (34 Points)
Romain Grosjean, P8 (23 Points)

Constructors’ Championship:
Lotus F1 Team, P3 (57 Points)

Kimi Räikkönen, P2, E20-03
Fastest Lap, 1:37.116 (Lap 41)

“It’s a great result for the team and we deserve it as everyone has been working very hard. To be honest, I’m slightly disappointed we didn’t take the win because we had the pace. I only had one chance to overtake Sebastian (Vettel) and unfortunately I chose the wrong side to try and get past. If I hadn’t made a small mistake at the start and allowed Felipe (Massa) to get through then maybe it would have been a different story, as we spent quite a lot of time fighting with him. At the end of the day, it’s good to have both cars on the podium, especially after last race which didn’t go to plan, but I honestly think we could have taken the victory today.”

Romain Grosjean, P3, E20-04
Fastest Lap, 1:36.928 (Lap 42)

“It’s a great feeling to get my first podium, and I’m really proud of the whole team for doing an incredible job today. We’ve known all season how quick the car can be, but with such a tight field any small mistakes can make a huge difference. Today I think we got everything right, and we’ve finally been able to prove how competitive we are. Last week I was aiming for my first points, this week I was hoping for top five, but here we are on the podium so who knows where we can go from here! We can be very happy with what we’ve achieved today; hopefully we can now head to the Mugello test and find that last bit of to push us right to the top.”

Eric Boullier, Team Principal

“It was a great team performance today and I’m delighted for everyone, both here in the paddock and back at Enstone. The first three races were very frustrating, as we knew we were capable of a result like this. Until now, small details have hindered our performance, so it’s almost a relief to finally show what we are capable of. We took a bit of a gamble on strategy and I’m pleased to say it paid off. Both drivers put in a fantastic performance, and to have two cars not just on the podium but so closely matched all through the race demonstrates what a strong line-up we have. I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved today.”

Alan Permane, Director of Trackside Operations

“We’ve been saying over the last few races that podium finishes were on their way and today we’ve proved that. To come from eleventh to score a strong second, challenging for the win was an awesome performance from Kimi and shows that the E20 is a superb race car. For Romain to match Kimi’s pace and finish just seven seconds behind him despite having fewer new tyres is a comparably impressive performance. Our race strategy calls today were not as tricky as we’ve seen in other races. We knew we had to make three stops and it became clear as the race went on that our main question was could we beat Sebastian (Vettel)? We gave it a good go. It wasn’t a perfect performance this weekend – we weren’t happy with our performance on the soft tyres in qualifying – but it’s clear we have a car which has the pace to win races. ”

LOTUS EVORA LANDS AT LOTUS ALEX JOB RACING IN FLORIDA

April 22nd, 2012

LotusOwnersClub

HETHEL, ENGLAND; TAVARES, FLA., (Mar. 23, 2012)- Lotus Alex Job Racing (AJR) welcomed the team’s Lotus Evora GT car stateside over the weekend. The newest American Le Mans Series (ALMS) GT class competitor was delivered to the team’s shop in Tavares, Fla., located just north of Orlando.

Lotus Owners Club

Team principal Alex Job signed the delivery sheet on the Lotus Alex Job Racing Evora GT and started unpacking six crates of spares and associated components this week. The team begins preparation for the Lotus Evora’s debut at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach to be run April 14.

“The crew at Lotus Motorsport in Hethel has done a lot of the preparation already,” Alex Job, team principal said. “We have a lot of work to do on the car to get it ready for Long Beach and its first trip through the ALMS technical inspection tent. Although the list is long, it is a new challenge and one the team is fully embracing.”

The No. 23 Lotus Alex Job Racing Evora GT with support from Battery Tender, William Rast and Yokohama will be driven by Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell.

Alex Job Racing is one of the most successful teams in sports car racing. The team’s resume includes: ALMS GT series championships in 2004, 2003, 2002; a record 22 consecutive ALMS GT pole positions; the two-time 24-Hour of Le Mans GT class winners; Eight 12-hour of Sebring wins in 2012, 2010, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 1999 and 1995.

The ALMS GT Class is production-based, moderately-modified two-wheel drive race cars comprise the GT class – BMW M3, Corvette C6.R, Ferrari F458 GT, Ford GT-R, Jaguar XKR GT, Lotus Evora and Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. The GT cars share many similarities to their showroom brands. With top speeds of up to 180 mph, these elite GTs produce between 450-500 horsepower and have a minimum weight of 1,145 kilograms (2,480 pounds). All GT race cars have green Leader Light System race position lights and green car numbers.

In 1989, Deltran introduced the Battery Tender Plus into the marketplace. The main reason was that many more AGM style lead acid batteries were being used in a variety of power sports engine start applications. Each and every Deltran Battery Tender Battery Charger® regardless of its size is programmed with a microprocessor that will correctly charge a battery then automatically switch to a maintenance/float mode. Refer to www.batterytender.com for more information.

William Rast, the ‘New America’ denim culture brand, was conceptualized and founded by business partners Justin Timberlake and Trace Ayala in 2005. Originally comprised of only denim, the brand has expanded into a complete lifestyle collection. Grounded in the iconography of American denim heritage and biker culture, yet re-packaged and presented in a contemporary context, William Rast has found its place on the floors of top-tier department stores and boutiques across the globe, and has become a staple for denim fans worldwide.

Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires since 1917. Servicing a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation is a leader in technology and innovation. The company’s complete product line includes the dB Super E-spec™ – the world’s first tire to use orange oil to reduce petroleum – as well as tires for high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, and off-the-road mining and construction applications.

INDYCAR – LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX

April 22nd, 2012

LotusOwnersClub

A tough weekend for the Lotus-engined teams in California. Having been sidelined for much of practice and qualifying due to bad weather and a water pump issue, Lotus HVM’s Simona di Silvestro suffered an engine failure 11 laps from the end of the 85 lap race, demoting her to 20th. Lotus Team Barracuda BHA’s Alex Tagliani, who qualified tenth, struggled during the race and was also hit by EJ Viso, forcing him to pit for a new front wing. Ultimately, he retired and registered 21st place. Lotus Dragon Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais finished 17th after hitting a tyre wall and losing two laps. His team-mate, Katherine Legge, also lost her front wing – she crossed the line in 19th. The highest Lotus finisher was DDR’s Oriol Servia. He dropped two laps due to a kafuffle in the pits, but passed champion Dario Franchitti on the last lap for 15th. However, a car pile-up bumped him back down to 16th, after he stalled and needed his crew to push him across the finish line.

Oriol Servia, Lotus DDR: “We lost a wheel nut and that’s what put us two laps down. Not the best day out there, but I’m really happy with the team, they kept their heads down and in the end that’s what will give us the results.”

Alex Tagliani, Lotus Team Barracuda BHA: “I think the car was decent in the race. We made some passes and I think the car would have been good to have a decent finish if we ran the whole race.”

Simona De Silvestro, Lotus HVM Racing: “We had issues in practice and qualifying and only ran like six laps total going into the race, so we were excited to be running such a great race. We had good pit stops and only 11 laps to go when we lost the engine, so it’s really frustrating. Not fun!”

Sebastien Bourdais, Lotus Dragon Racing: “I lost the car on brakes, lost the rear, and went sideways. By then, it was too late, I was in the tyre wall. I thought for sure the car was all broken, but when I checked for damage, there was nothing, When the safety team got me going, I was two laps down, but decided to bring it home.”

TOUCH-AND-GO – BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX

April 22nd, 2012

LotusOwnersClub

A mixed result this afternoon for Lotus F1 Team during qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, as Romain once again demonstrated his raw pace and Kimi found himself out of position on the final grid for tomorrow’s race

Kimi Räikkönen, E20-03

Position: [Q1] P9 [Q2] P11
Best Time: [Q1] 1:34.552 [Q2] 1:33.789
Laps Completed: [Q1] 3 [Q2] 3

Romain Grosjean, E20-04

Position: [Q1] P4 [Q2] P3 [Q3] P7
Best Time: [Q1] 1:34.041 [Q2] 1:33.246 [Q3] 1:33.008
Laps Completed: [Q1] 3 [Q2] 7 [Q3] 3

A two hour break following this morning’s free practice session provided a good opportunity for the drivers to relax and shelter from the intense Bahrain heat.

As Q1 got underway, rival teams flooded out onto the circuit to complete early runs in the session. The E20s by contrast remained firmly parked in the Lotus F1 Team garage until the mid-point of the session; a tactic that certainly proved successful.

With a single flying lap each, Kimi and Romain leapt straight to the summit of the leader board; the Finn taking top spot briefly before the Frenchman eclipsed his team mate’s time by an impressive 0.4 seconds.

Despite completing just one run apiece on the slower, white marked medium compound Pirelli tyres, the team decided that both drivers had set sufficiently competitive times to see them through to Q2. As the chequered flag flew, both Romain and Kimi had in fact done more than enough; sailing into the second session in P4 and P9 respectively.

With 3 minutes elapsed in Q2, Kimi flew out of the box for his first single lap run on the soft compound tyres. The Finn was clearly pushing hard, and went fastest momentarily before gradually slipping to P6 as others improved on his time. Romain completed a 2 lap stint, but was not as happy as his team-mate; finishing his initial run in P11.

Both drivers returned immediately to the garage for a fresh set of soft tyres as the team weighed up whether a second run would be required. Satisfied with his pace, the Finn remained parked for the remainder of the session. Romain on the other hand was keen to improve on his initial showing, and emerged with just 3 minutes of running time remaining.

The move paid off for the Frenchman, who produced a stunning lap to jump 8 places up to P3; easily making it through to the pole position shootout. Kimi by contrast was an unfortunate victim of the final cut, missing out by fractions of a second as his time was bettered at the very last minute to demote the Finn to a starting slot of P11 for tomorrow’s race.

And so the final showdown arrived, with Romain the last Lotus standing. The Frenchman chose to complete just a single run, surging out of the garage with 3 minutes to run on the soft compound tyres. As the second hand ticked down to zero, the reigning GP2 Champion crossed the line to take P7 on the grid with his best time of the day; a 1:33.008.

TOP TEN FINISH FOR LOTUS AT BARBER

April 6th, 2012

LotusOwnersClub

Two races into Lotus’ campaign, powering five cars on the IndyCar grid, its engines have shown great potential and a big step forward. Sebastien Bourdais finished ninth, giving Lotus its first Top 10 finish as an IZOD IndyCar Series manufacturer.

“It feels like a victory”, said Sebastien Bourdais (# 7 Lotus Dragon Racing) with a trembling voice, as he stepped out of the car at the end of the race. Bourdais, who drove one of the most exciting races of his career, added “I am so happy for the guys on my team. They worked so hard to give me a good car. The Lotus car was awesome. It was so dialed in. Jay Penske put a great team together, and I am so happy to be reunited again with my engineer, Craig Hampson. I can’t thank my team enough. The motor is better but not where we want to be. We were conservative on power, but we were able to hold the pace and take good care of the tyres while other teams killed their tyres. It’s what allowed us to move up from the 17th position. All in all, this was a great day for the Dragon Racing Team and for Lotus. This brings back good memories of the days when I was winning races.”

Katherine Legge Indycar Dragon Racing Helmet Bourdais’ teammate, Katherine Legge (#6, Dragon Racing) finished 23rd: “We were basically testing today during the race, with tyre pressures, bar settings, and different things. Because we were testing, we were on a different strategy than everyone else. We were having to move over [to allow others to pass] and so we were getting into the marbles, which ultimately led to my spin,” recalled the IndyCar rookie.

Team owner Jay Penske beamed with pride when asked about what positives exist in this development phase. “I should show you the section times. In the corners and twisty sections, we are fast. And so far, we have had no mechanical failures on the car,” said Penske. “It’s really a sign of what a great job the team has done building these cars and basically doing development out of the trucks at the races.”

Oriol Servia, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, DRR, IndyCar

Despite having very limited track time this weekend, Oriol Servia (#22 Lotus DRR) finished 13th after starting from 26th place. As he crossed the start/finish line at the end of the race, Oriol came over the radio to the guys saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Great job guys, we will keep getting there.” After getting out of the car, he said: “We were as good as anyone in the corners for sure, and that’s what helped me move to the front. We had good lap speed, a good strategy, pitted early and put good laps together and passed a couple of cars, which is an odyssey with the lack of speed that we have on a straight line. I know it’s 13th place, but it feels like a podium.”

Simona De Silvestro (#78 – Lotus HVM Racing) drove a strong race, making several passes on track to gain positions. At one point the Swiss driver had climbed up to 17th place. She was pretty satisfied with her day, despite some problems with the pit stops. ” We had a couple of boo-boos in the pits which didn’t help us, but I think we had a solid car and drove pretty well. We really just have to take the positive out of this weekend and go even better next weekend.”

Alex Tagliani Indycar BHA Bryan Herta Autosport Helmet cropped

For Alex Tagliani (#98 BHA Lotus Team Barracuda), the race started and ended on lap one, due to engine failure. “We took the green flag, went into turn one and the engine just died,” said Tagliani. “It seems to be a pretty heavy mechanical failure from what I understand. What’s sad is that we didn’t get to use our red tyres this weekend – we saved them all for the race and we didn’t even have the chance to try one set of them this weekend.”

Claudio Berro, Director of Lotus Racing was elated with today’s results. “First, I want to congratulate the Lotus drivers and their teams for doing such a great job this weekend. Congratulations to Sebastien for his ninth spot finish, to Oriol for moving up the field so well, to Simona for putting in a great drive, to Katherine for being patient and putting in all the laps, and to all four Lotus teams for finding really good setups and for their hard work and perseverance. However, we feel very badly for Alex Tagliani and would like to apologize to him and the BHA Team.” He added, “Lotus will continue to push the engineers to make the engines better. We will keep working hard and push for good results.”

In two weeks, the Lotus teams head to the west coast for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The 85-lap competition will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network at 3:30 p.m. ET.