But then the 997 RSR began to age, and in the background Porsche's attention began to turn to a future back in the big time under its own name. Flying Lizard, already scaled back to a two-car team, could still be considered one of the best teams around, but the podium tap began to slowly turn off. A single victory in 2011 followed, and again in 2012 when we meet our car.
The car here never managed to see victory lane, in the hands of Porsche ace Marco Holzer and team owner Seth Neiman the #44 couldn't quite match its team-mate – whose drivers took 5th in the title – placing Neiman 10th and Holzer 11th when the campaign finished. And that would be how the partnership between Flying Lizard and Porsche ended. Porsche had set its sights on a return to full-time GT competition with its own team and would no longer be developing the 997 RSR. Flying Lizard were forced to look elsewhere, continuing with a customer-based 911 Cup assault on the ALMS's GTC category before moving permanently away from the 911.
But today this example still shines in the southern-US sunshine. GTE-spec 911s have always sounded fantastic, with so few flat-sixes left in the world to be their comparison. But bedecked in the silver and red livery of this outfit of small-team success it looks fantastic. Could there be a better livery for a 911?
Photography by Ben Miles.