2016 Northeast Grand Prix

The 2016 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 23, 2016. The race was the eighth round of the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Track map of Lime Rock Park

Background

edit

Preview

edit
 
Lime Rock Park, where the race was held.

International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2015.[1] It was the second consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the twenty-fifth annual running of the race. The 2016 Northeast Grand Prix was the eighth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2016 by IMSA, and was the fifth round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup.[1] The race was held at the seven-turn 1.530 mi (2.462 km) Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut on July 23, 2016.[2] The GTLM category would participate in the event for the first time since the 2013 running.[3]

IMSA altered the balance of performance to try to create parity within the GTLM category. The BMW M6 GTLM received a reduction in turbo boost pressure and a 2-litre fuel capacity reduction. The Ferrari 488 GTE received an increase in turbo boost pressure, and a 2-litre fuel capacity increase as well as a 1.0 mm refuelling hose restrictor reduction increase. The Ford GT received a 0.1 mm refuelling hose restrictor reduction. The Porsche 911 RSR had its weight increased by 20kg (44 lb).[4]

Entry list

edit

Thirty-one cars were officially entered for the Northeast Grand Prix, with most of the entries being in the Grand Touring Le Mans (GTLM) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) categories. The Prototype Challenge (PC) class was composed of eight Oreca FLM09 cars: three from Starworks Motorsports. BAR1 Motorsports, CORE Autosport, JDC-Miller MotorSports, Performance Tech and PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports entered one car each.[5] GTLM was represented by nine entries from five different brands.[5] In the list of GTD entrants, fourteen GT3-specification vehicles were represented by six different manufacturers.[5] With the absence of the Prototype (P) class from the field, only three racing classes were represented in Lime Rock.[2]

Practice

edit

There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, both on Friday. The two one-hour sessions were on Friday afternoon.[6]

In the first practice session, Renger van der Zande set the fastest time in the No. 8 Starworks car with a time of 48.808 seconds, 0.214 seconds faster than Colin Braun's No. 54 CORE Autosport vehicle, and Stephen Simpson's No. 85 car was third.[7] The GTLM class was topped by the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin. Joey Hand in the No. 66 Ford GT was second and Toni Vilander's Risi Ferrari was third.[8] Audi paced GTD with Magnus Racing's R8 of Lally lapping at 52.807, followed by Jens Klingmann's No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6.[8] The session was stopped for 10 minutes when John Edwards No.100 RLL BMW M6 stopped on track due to a driveline failure.[7]

Braun led the final practice session in CORE's No. 54 car with a lap of 48.990 seconds. Kimber-Smith's No. 52 PR/1's vehicle was second fastest. Marcelli was third fastest for Performance Tech.[9] BMW topped GTLM with Werner's No. 25 car lapping at 51.164 seconds. Vilander was second fastest for Risi Competizione and Milner's No. 4 Corvette was third.[9] Farnbacher led the GTD class in the No. 23 Porsche, followed by Liddell's No. 6 Stevenson Motorsport Audi R8.[9][10]

Qualifying

edit

Friday afternoon's 65-minute three-group qualifying session gave 15-minute sessions to all categories. Cars in GTD were sent out first before those grouped in GTLM, and PC had two separate identically timed sessions. Regulations stipulated teams to nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each classes starting order. IMSA would arranged the grid to put all PCs ahead of the GTLM, and GTD cars.[11][6]

Qualifying results

edit

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

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap Grid
1 PC 54   CORE Autosport   Colin Braun 48.824 _ 81
2 PC 52   PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports   Robert Alon 48.840 +0.016 1‡
3 PC 38   Performance Tech Motorsports   James French 48.930 +0.106 2
4 PC 7   Starworks Motorsport   José Gutiérrez 48.978 +0.154 3
5 PC 8   Starworks Motorsport   Alex Popow 49.222 +0.398 4
6 PC 20   BAR1 Motorsports   Matt McMurry 49.266 +0.442 5
7 PC 85   JDC-Miller MotorSports   Misha Goikhberg 49.659 +0.835 6
8 GTLM 67   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Richard Westbrook 50.748 +1.924 9‡
9 GTLM 25   BMW Team RLL   Dirk Werner 50.834 +2.010 10
10 GTLM 4   Corvette Racing   Tommy Milner 50.858 +2.034 11
11 GTLM 62   Risi Competizione   Toni Vilander 50.902 +2.078 12
12 GTLM 66   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Joey Hand 51.015 +2.191 13
13 GTLM 3   Corvette Racing   Jan Magnussen 51.264 +2.440 14
14 GTLM 911   Porsche North America   Patrick Pilet 51.346 +2.522 15
15 GTLM 100   BMW Team RLL   John Edwards 51.431 +2.607 16
16 GTLM 912   Porsche North America   Frédéric Makowiecki 51.445 +2.621 17
17 PC 88   Starworks Motorsport   Mark Kvamme 51.629 +2.805 8
18 GTD 16   Change Racing   Spencer Pumpelly 53.178 +4.324 18‡
19 GTD 6   Stevenson Motorsports   Andrew Davis 53.222 +4.354 19
20 GTD 9   Stevenson Motorsports   Matt Bell 53.250 +4.398 20
21 GTD 63   Scuderia Corsa   Christina Nielsen 53.250 +4.426 21
22 GTD 48   Paul Miller Racing   Madison Snow 53.330 +4.506 22
23 GTD 23   Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing   Mario Farnbacher 53.538 +4.714 23
24 GTD 96   Turner Motorsport   Bret Curtis 53.588 +4.764 24
25 GTD 73   Park Place Motorsports   Patrick Lindsey 53.609 +4.785 25
26 GTD 27   Dream Racing   Cédric Sbirrazzuoli 53.680 +4.786 312
27 GTD 97   Turner Motorsport   Michael Marsa 53.695 +4.871 26
28 GTD 44   Magnus Racing   John Potter 53.698 +4.874 27
29 GTD 22   Alex Job Racing   Cooper MacNeil 53.784 +4.960 28
30 GTD 33   Riley Motorsports   Ben Keating 53.983 +5.159 303
31 GTD 540   Black Swan Racing   Tim Pappas 54.949 +6.155 29
Sources:[12][13]
  • 1 The No. 54 CORE Autosport entry was sent to the rear of the PC grid as per 43.1 of the Sporting regulations (Starting driver change).[11]
  • 2 The No. 27 Dream Racing Lamborghini was sent to the rear of the GTD grid as per 43.1 of the Sporting regulations (Starting driver change).[11]
  • 3 The No. 33 Riley Motorsports Dodge was sent to the rear of the GTD grid as per 40.1.5 of the Sporting regulations (Tire change).[11]

Race

edit

Race Results

edit

Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Final race classification
Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Tire Laps Time/Retired
Engine
1 PC 8   Starworks Motorsport   Alex Popow
  Renger van der Zande
Oreca FLM09 C 169 2:40:43.254‡
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
2 PC 52   PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports   Robert Alon
  Tom Kimber-Smith
Oreca FLM09 C 169 +0.815
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
3 PC 38   Performance Tech Motorsports   James French
  Kyle Marcelli
Oreca FLM09 C 168 +1 Lap
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
4 PC 20   BAR1 Motorsports   Matt McMurry
  Johnny Mowlem
Oreca FLM09 C 168 +1 Lap
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
5 GTLM 4   Corvette Racing   Oliver Gavin
  Tommy Milner
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 167 +2 Laps‡
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
6 GTLM 3   Corvette Racing   Antonio García
  Jan Magnussen
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 167 +2 Laps
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
7 GTLM 67   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Ryan Briscoe
  Richard Westbrook
Ford GT M 167 +2 Laps
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V6
8 GTLM 62   Risi Competizione   Toni Vilander
  Giancarlo Fisichella
Ferrari 488 GTE M 167 +2 Laps
Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8
9 GTLM 66   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Dirk Müller
  Joey Hand
Ford GT M 167 +2 Laps
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V6
10 PC 88   Starworks Motorsport   Mark Kvamme
  Remo Ruscitti
Oreca FLM09 C 165 +4 Laps
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
11 GTD 44   Magnus Racing   John Potter
  Andy Lally
Audi R8 LMS C 162 +7 Laps‡
Audi 5.2L V10
12 GTD 6   Stevenson Motorsports   Andrew Davis
  Robin Liddell
Audi R8 LMS C 162 +7 Laps
Audi 5.2L V10
13 GTD 33   Riley Motorsports   Jeroen Bleekemolen
  Ben Keating
Dodge Viper GT3-R C 161 +8 Laps
Dodge 8.3L V10
14 GTD 48   Paul Miller Racing   Bryan Sellers
  Madison Snow
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 C 161 +8 Laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
15 GTD 9   Stevenson Motorsports   Lawson Aschenbach
  Matt Bell
Audi R8 LMS C 161 +8 Laps
Audi 5.2L V10
16 GTD 96   Turner Motorsport   Bret Curtis
  Jens Klingmann
BMW M6 GT3 C 161 +8 Laps
BMW 4.4L Turbo V8
17 GTD 97   Turner Motorsport   Michael Marsal
  Markus Palttala
BMW M6 GT3 C 161 +8 Laps
BMW 4.4L Turbo V8
18 GTD 16   Change Racing   Corey Lewis
  Spencer Pumpelly
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 C 161 +8 Laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
19 GTD 22   Alex Job Racing   Cooper MacNeil
  Leh Keen
Porsche 911 GT3 R C 161 +8 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
20 GTD 73   Park Place Motorsports   Jörg Bergmeister
  Patrick Lindsey
Porsche 911 GT3 R C 160 +9 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
21 GTD 63   Scuderia Corsa   Christina Nielsen
  Alessandro Balzan
Ferrari 488 GT3 C 160 +9 Laps
Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8
22 GTD 540   Black Swan Racing   Tim Pappas
  Andy Pilgrim
Porsche 911 GT3 R C 160 +9 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
23 GTLM 911   Porsche North America   Patrick Pilet
  Nick Tandy
Porsche 911 RSR M 159 +10 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
24 GTD 27   Dream Racing   Cédric Sbirrazzuoli
  Lawrence DeGeorge
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 C 158 +11 Laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
25

DNF

GTD 23   Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing   Mario Farnbacher
  Alex Riberas
Porsche 911 GT3 R C 142 Tie rod
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
26

DNF

PC 85   JDC-Miller MotorSports   Misha Goikhberg
  Stephen Simpson
Oreca FLM09 C 108 Did Not Finish
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
27

DNF

PC 7   Starworks Motorsport   José Gutiérrez
  Sean Rayhall
Oreca FLM09 C 100 Clutch
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
28

DNF

GTLM 25   BMW Team RLL   Bill Auberlen
  Dirk Werner
BMW M6 GTLM M 89 Crash
BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8
29

DNF

GTLM 912   Porsche North America   Earl Bamber
  Frédéric Makowiecki
Porsche 911 RSR M 89 Crash
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
30

DNF

PC 54   CORE Autosport   Jon Bennett
  Colin Braun
Oreca FLM09 C 69 Suspension
Chevrolet 6.2 L V8
31

DNF

GTLM 100   BMW Team RLL   John Edwards
  Lucas Luhr
BMW M6 GTLM M 4 Crash
BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8
Sources:[14][15]
Tyre manufacturers
Key
Symbol Tyre manufacturer
C Continental
M Michelin

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Pruett, Marshall (August 8, 2015). "IMSA: 2016 schedule revealed". Racer. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "IMSA announces new title sponsor, 2016 schedule". motorsport.com. August 9, 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  3. ^ Dagys, John (August 8, 2015). "2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Schedule Released". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  4. ^ Dagys, John (15 July 2016). "IMSA Makes Further BoP Changes to GTLM". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "GTLM Makes Return to Lime Rock; Entry List Released". sportscar365.com. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b Dagys, John (21 July 2016). "Continental Tire Keys to the Race: Lime Rock Park". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b Myrehn, Ryan (22 July 2016). "Van der Zande Quickest in Opening Practice at Lime Rock". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b Pruett, Marshall (22 July 2016). "IMSA: Starworks leads FP1 at Lime Rock". Racer. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Pruett, Marshall (22 July 2016). "IMSA: CORE autosport, BMW, Porsche lead Lime Rock FP2". Racer. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  10. ^ Myrehn, Ryan (22 July 2016). "Braun Paces Practice 2 at Lime Rock". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d "2016 IMSA Sporting Regulations & Series Supplementary Regulations of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. May 25, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 5, 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  12. ^ "03_Results.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  13. ^ "01_Starting Grid.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  14. ^ "03_Results.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  15. ^ "2016 NORTHEAST GRAND PRIX". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 24 May 2024.


IMSA SportsCar Championship
Previous race:
SportsCar Grand Prix
2016 season Next race:
Continental Tire Road Race Showcase