Flying Lizard Motorsports will move to Maricopa's APEX Motor Club in 2023

Flying Lizard Motorsports, which has competed in such events as the American Le Mans and 24 Hours of Dayton, has been working with APEX Motor Club to move operations to Maricopa by fall of 2023.

According to a Flying Lizard press release, they’ve decided to start moving their central operations next fall to a “brand-new facility” at APEX.

This “10-time sports car racing champions” company has headquartered for the past two decades at Sonoma Raceway in the southern Sonoma Mountains of California.

“Sonoma has been an amazing home for us, but as our team continues to grow, our organization needs a central headquarters with room to grow, and the APEX facility perfectly fits the bill,” Program Manager Darren Law said. “APEX is really an ideal location for us because both myself and one of my business partners, Tommy Sadler, live locally. The racing community in the area is larger than one would expect, and it is rare that a race facility is in a location such as this.”

Seth Neiman founded Flying Lizard in late 2003, planting the headquarters in two adjacent 3,000-square-foot shops at Sonoma Raceway. He had a 10-year plan for the professional sports car racing team, which entered the American Le Mans Series in a professional competition in 2004.

Under his ownership, they earned three team and three driver championship titles before he sold it to longtime team members Law, Sadler and Thomas Blam.

This new ownership team decided to do a customer racing program and expanded from a one-series focus to putting competitive teams in six championships.

They’ve since won 16 professional sports car racing team and driver championships.

Currently, Flying Lizard runs multiple programs from four separate shops at Sonoma Raceway. However, this is “challenging logistically” with all these programs.

As this team gets closer to its 20-year “milestone,” most of the operations will move into a “pristine” 15,000-square-foot building trackside at APEX.

Flying Lizard will determine its presence in California past the 2023 season after taking possession of the new facility late next year.

The construction for the new race building won’t be completed until then, so it’ll give the team time for planning and organizing a “smooth transition” to a new central headquarters for multiple sports car racing programs.

The new location in Maricopa allows Flying Lizard to “easily” offer on-track testing and arrive-and-drive opportunities for pro and amateur customers.

APEX is a private club for motor sports enthusiasts that includes miles of race-worthy tracks and other accommodations that would be of use for such a company.

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Flying Lizard to APEX,” said Matt Williams, managing partner and vice president at APEX Motor Club. “Our development has always been about being the best, and our association with the Lizards is one more instance of that. We look forward to working cooperatively with the Lizards on the final design of our second track as well as utilizing their input on member activities and driver education.”

APEX is a destination for privateer teams and public track day programs.

Currently, they’re under Phase 1 of a two-phase program.

This 2.27-mile circuit with a 3,400-foot straightaway is to become a 4.2-mile, 22-turn, multiple-configuration circuit on APEX’s 280-acre property.

The Flying Lizards will work with the facility as this development continues, “providing valuable input as a successful customer racing program.”

“This is a great move for Flying Lizard,” said Law. “Our program has seen a lot of changes over the last few years, and it has only made our business more successful. It will be great to have all our cars and programs under one roof and in a brand new and popular facility.”