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2018 Northeast Grand Prix

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Track map of Lime Rock Park

The 2018 Northeast Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, on July 21, 2018. The race was the eighth round of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Background

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Lime Rock Park, where the race was held.

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2017.[1] It was the fourth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the twenty-seventh annual running of the race.[2] The 2018 Northeast Grand Prix was the eighth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and was the fifth round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup.[2] The race was held at the seven-turn 1.530 mi (2.462 km) Lime Rock Park on July 21, 2018.[1] The race was the first of two GT-only rounds on the 2018 IMSA calendar, in which the prototype class, Prototype (P), would not be taking part.[2]

After the SportsCar Grand Prix 1 week earlier, Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 181 points, ahead of Antonio García and Jan Magnussen with 175 points, and Joey Hand and Dirk Müller with 173 points.[3] In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 183 points, ahead of Katherine Legge with 180 points.[3] Ford and Lamborghini were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while the #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing led the GTLM Teams' Championship. Paul Miller Racing were leading the GTD Teams' Championship.[3]

On July 12, 2018, IMSA issued the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event.[4] In GTLM, The BMW M8 GTE received an increase in turbo boost and a fuel capacity increase of one liter. In GTD, the Lexus RC F GT3 and Mercedes AMG GT3 were given weight increases of 15 and 10 kilograms, respectively.

Entries

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A total of 18 cars took part in the event split across 2 classes. 8 cars were entered in GTLM, and 10 in GTD.[5] In GTD, Wright Motorsports withdrew its #16 entry after Michael Schein had a scheduling conflict.[6] Mario Farnbacher replaced David Heinemeier Hansson in the #15 3GT Racing entry. Gunnar Jeannette returned to the #63 Scuderia Corsa entry.

Practice

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There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, all three on Friday. The first one-hour session was on Friday morning while the second and third sessions were on Friday afternoon.[7]

Practice 1

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The first practice session took place at 11:25 am ET on Friday and ended with Dirk Müller topping the charts for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, with a lap time of 50.924.[8]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTLM 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Dirk Müller 50.924 _
2 GTLM 911 Porsche GT Team Nick Tandy 51.021 +0.097
3 GTLM 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe 51.080 +0.156
Source:[9]

Practice 2

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The second practice session took place at 1:55 pm ET on Friday and ended with Antonio García topping the charts for Corvette Racing, with a lap time of 50.939.[10]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTLM 3 Corvette Racing Antonio García 50.939 _
2 GTLM 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand 51.001 +0.062
3 GTLM 912 Porsche GT Team Laurens Vanthoor 51.118 +0.179
Source:[11]

Practice 3

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The third and final practice session took place at 4:55 pm ET on Friday and ended with Nick Tandy topping the charts for Porsche GT Team, with a lap time of 50.414.[12]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTLM 911 Porsche GT Team Nick Tandy 50.414 _
2 GTLM 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Dirk Müller 50.879 +0.465
3 GTLM 24 BMW Team RLL Jesse Krohn 50.934 +0.520
Source:[13]

Qualifying

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Saturday morning's 40-minute qualifying session was divided into two groups.[7] Both categories had 15-minute individual sessions, and regulations stipulated teams to nominate a single driver to qualify their cars. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order with the grid arranged to put the GTLM cars ahead of all GTD entries.[14]

Qualifying results

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Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap Grid
1 GTLM 3 United States Corvette Racing Spain Antonio García 49.754 _ 1‡
2 GTLM 912 United States Porsche GT Team Belgium Laurens Vanthoor 49.920 +0.166 2
3 GTLM 66 United States Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Germany Dirk Müller 49.945 +0.191 3
4 GTLM 4 United States Corvette Racing United States Tommy Milner 50.048 +0.294 4
5 GTLM 67 United States Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Australia Ryan Briscoe 50.106 +0.352 5
6 GTLM 24 United States BMW Team RLL United States John Edwards 50.285 +0.531 6
7 GTLM 25 United States BMW Team RLL United States Connor De Phillippi 50.385 +0.631 7
8 GTLM 911 United States Porsche GT Team France Patrick Pilet 50.656 +0.902 8
9 GTD 58 United States Wright Motorsports United States Patrick Long 51.491 +1.737 9‡
10 GTD 14 United States 3GT Racing Austria Dominik Baumann 51.628 +1.874 10
11 GTD 15 United States 3GT Racing United Kingdom Jack Hawksworth 51.705 +1.951 11
12 GTD 48 United States Paul Miller Racing United States Bryan Sellers 51.838 +2.084 12
13 GTD 63 United States Scuderia Corsa United States Cooper MacNeil 51.848 +2.094 13
14 GTD 96 United States Turner Motorsport United States Bill Auberlen 51.884 +2.130 14
15 GTD 93 United States Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin United States Lawson Aschenbach 51.989 +2.235 15
16 GTD 33 United States Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport United States Ben Keating 51.989 +2.235 181
17 GTD 86 United States Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin United Kingdom Katherine Legge 52.137 +2.383 16
18 GTD 44 United States Magnus Racing United States John Potter 52.680 +2.926 17
Sources:[15][16]
  • 1 The No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying.

Race

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Post-race

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As a result of winning the race, Hand and Müller took the lead of the GTLM Drivers' Championship. Briscoe and Westbrook dropped from first to third while Bamber and Vanthoor advanced from fifth to fourth.[17] The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 218 points, 10 points ahead of Legge.[17] Ford, and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Paul Miller Racing kept their advantage in the GTD Teams' Championship. The #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing entry took the lead of the GTLM Teams' Championship with four rounds remaining.[17]

Results

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Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Final race classification
Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Tire Laps Time/Retired
Engine
1 GTLM 66 United States Ford Chip Ganassi Racing United States Joey Hand

Germany Dirk Müller

Ford GT M 178 2:40.12.527‡
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6
2 GTLM 3 United States Corvette Racing Spain Antonio García

Denmark Jan Magnussen

Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 178 +11.431
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
3 GTLM 912 United States Porsche GT Team New Zealand Earl Bamber

Belgium Laurens Vanthoor

Porsche 911 RSR M 178 +13.601
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
4 GTLM 4 United States Corvette Racing United Kingdom Oliver Gavin

United States Tommy Milner

Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 178 +37.964
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
5 GTLM 911 United States Porsche GT Team France Patrick Pilet

United Kingdom Nick Tandy

Porsche 911 RSR M 178 +40.949
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
6 GTLM 67 United States Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Australia Ryan Briscoe

United Kingdom Richard Westbrook

Ford GT M 178 +45.063
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6
7 GTLM 25 United States BMW Team RLL United States Connor De Phillippi

United Kingdom Alexander Sims

BMW M8 GTE M 176 +2 Laps
BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8
8 GTD 48 United States Paul Miller Racing United States Bryan Sellers

United States Madison Snow

Lamborghini Huracán GT3 C 172 +6 Laps‡
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
9 GTD 44 United States Magnus Racing United States John Potter

United States Andy Lally

Audi R8 LMS C 172 +6 Laps
Audi 5.2L V10
10 GTD 63 United States Scuderia Corsa United States Cooper MacNeil

United States Gunnar Jeannette

Ferrari 488 GT3 C 172 +6 Laps
Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8
11 GTD 86 United States Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin United Kingdom Katherine Legge

Portugal Álvaro Parente

Acura NSX GT3 C 172 +6 Laps
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
12 GTD 15 United States 3GT Racing United Kingdom Jack Hawksworth

Germany Mario Farnbacher

Lexus RC F GT3 C 172 +6 Laps
Lexus 5.0L V8
13 GTD 33 United States Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen

United States Ben Keating

Mercedes AMG GT3 C 171 +7 Laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
14 GTD 14 United States 3GT Racing Austria Dominik Baumann

Canada Kyle Marcelli

Lexus RC F GT3 C 171 +7 Laps
Lexus 5.0L V8
15 GTD 58 United States Wright Motorsports United States Patrick Long

Denmark Christina Nielsen

Porsche 911 GT3 R C 171 +7 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
16

DNF

GTLM 24 United States BMW Team RLL United States John Edwards

Finland Jesse Krohn

BMW M8 GTE M 129 Did Not Finish
BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8
17

DNF

GTD 93 United States Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin United States Justin Marks
United States Lawson Aschenbach
Acura NSX GT3 C 1 Crash
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
18

DNF

GTD 96 United States Turner Motorsport United States Robby Foley
United States Bill Auberlen
BMW M6 GT3 C 0 Crash
BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8
Sources:[18][19]
Tyre manufacturers
Key
Symbol Tyre manufacturer
C Continental
M Michelin

Standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.


References

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  1. ^ a b Goodwin, Graham (August 6, 2017). "IMSA Announce 2018 Calendar". DailySportsCar. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Pruett, Marshall (August 4, 2017). "IMSA's 2018 WeatherTech calendar released". racer.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. July 10, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  4. ^ Dagys, John (July 12, 2018). "Lexus, Mercedes-AMG Hit With Weight Increases for Lime Rock". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  5. ^ Dagys, John (July 11, 2018). "18 Entries for Lime Rock". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  6. ^ Dagys, John (July 20, 2018). "No. 16 Wright Porsche Withdrawn from Lime Rock". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Continental Tire Keys to the Race: Lime Rock". sportscar365.com. July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  8. ^ Dagys, John (July 20, 2018). "Mueller Tops Opening Practice at Lime Rock". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  9. ^ "03_Results_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. July 20, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  10. ^ Dagys, John (July 20, 2018). "Garcia, Corvette Quickest in Practice 2". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  11. ^ "03_Results_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. July 20, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  12. ^ Dagys, John (July 20, 2018). "Porsche Paces Friday at Lime Rock". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  13. ^ "03_Results_Practice 3.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. July 20, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  14. ^ "2018 IMSA Sporting Regulations & Series Supplementary Regulations of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. May 16, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  15. ^ "03_Results_Qualifying.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. July 20, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  16. ^ "01_Starting Grid_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. July 21, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. July 24, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  18. ^ "03_Results_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. July 21, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  19. ^ "2018 NORTHEAST GRAND PRIX". racing-reference.info. Retrieved November 13, 2023.


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