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.
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.
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.
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]
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] | ||||||
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] | ||||||
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] | ||||||
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]
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.
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]
Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.
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