The 2019 Northeast Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the

International Motor Sports Association The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive dir ...

(IMSA). The race was held at

Lime Rock Park Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury, Connecticut, Salisbury, in the state's northwest corner. Built in 1956, it is the nation's thi ...

Lakeville, Connecticut Lakeville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, close to Dutchess County, New York. It is within the town of Salisbury, but has its own ZIP Code (06039). As of the 2010 census, the population of L ...

, on July 20, 2019, as the eighth round of the 2019 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the fourth round of the 2019 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.

Background

's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2019 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2018. It was the fifth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the twenty-seventh annual running of the race. The 2019 Northeast Grand Prix was the eighth of twelve sports car races of 2019 by IMSA, and it was the fourth of seven rounds held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. The race was held at the seven-turn

on July 20, 2019. The race was the first of two GT-only rounds on the 2019 IMSA calendar in which the prototype classes, Daytona Prototype international (DPi) and Le Mans Prototype (LMP2) would not take part. On July 11, 2019, IMSA released a technical bulletin regarding the Balance of Performance for the race. The GT Le Mans (GTLM) balance of performance constraints would remain as they were in the previous round at

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-Race track, track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville in Clarington, Ontario, Canada, approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) east of To ...

. In the GT Daytona (GTD) class, after winning the previous round, the BMW M6 GT3 was given a power reduction of 12 horsepower, as well as a 2-liter fuel capacity reduction and a restriction of turbo boost. The Ferrari 488 GT3 and the Porsche 911 GT3 R were made 10 and five kilograms lighter, respectively. Before the race,

Earl Bamber Earl Anderson Bamber (born 9 July 1990) is a New Zealand professional racing driver and racing team owner who currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship for Cadillac Hertz Team Jota and Ca ...

and

Laurens Vanthoor Laurens Vanthoor (; born 8 May 1991) is a Belgium, Belgian professional racing driver currently racing for Porsche in motorsport, Porsche Motorsport as a Factory-backed, factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He currently reside ...

led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 186 points, ahead of Patrick Pilet and

Nick Tandy Nicholas Tandy (born 5 November 1984) is a professional British racing driver currently racing for Porsche Motorsport as a factory driver in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Tandy is the only person to have completed the Grand Slam of overal ...

in second. In GTD,

Mario Farnbacher Mario Farnbacher (born 14 May 1992) is a German racecar driver. He won the IMSA SportsCar Championship in the GTD class in 2019 and 2020, and also won the GT World Challenge America Pro-Am title in 2022. He has class victories at the Petit Le ...

and Trent Hindman led the Drivers' Championship with 151 points; the duo held a nineteen-point advantage over

Frankie Montecalvo Frank Montecalvo (born December 28, 1990) is an American racing driver who currently competes in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Early life A native of Highlands, New Jersey, Montecalvo attended high school at St. John Vianney High Scho ...

and

Townsend Bell Townsend Lorenz Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for FOX Sports’ I ...

in second followed by Bill Auberlen and

Robby Foley Robby Foley (born July 20, 1996) is an American racing driver who currently competes in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Career Raised in Randolph, New Jersey, Foley's motorsports career was kickstarted in 2010 by a severe injury sustain ...

with 123 points in third.

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

and

Acura Acura is the luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. Acura sells cars in the United States, Canada, M ...

were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Porsche GT Team and

Meyer Shank Racing Meyer Shank Racing (MSR; formerly Michael Shank Racing) is an American motorsport organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. History Atlantic Championship Michael Shank, co-owner of Meyer Shank Racing ...

each led their own Teams' Championships.

Entries

A total 21 cars took part in the event split across two classes. There were eight cars entered in GTLM, and 13 in GTD. The most notable change to the grid included the return of Blancpain GT World Challenge America full-time team Wright Motorsports, with drivers Anthony Imperato and Porsche Junior Professional driver Matt Campbell. Pfaff Motorsports regular driver Scott Hargrove would sit out the Lime Rock Park event as well as the following event at

Road America Road America is a motorsport Road racing, road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club ...

, replaced instead by Porsche Junior driver Dennis Olsen for the Lime Rock event. Olsen and Campbell would switch places for Road America. Due to this event happening 50 years and one day after the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

Moon landing, GTD team Magnus Racing decided to commemorate the anniversary of the mission by launching a one-off livery designed to look like the Saturn V rocket, and run under the number 11. As Magnus Racing usually ran under car number 44, the team received special dispensation by IMSA to count the points they would score as number 11 towards their full-season points under number 44.

Practice

There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, one on Friday morning and two on Friday afternoon. The first session on Friday morning lasted 90 minutes while the second session on Friday afternoon lasted one hour. The third session on Friday afternoon lasted one hour.

Practice 1

The first practice session took place at 11:25 am ET on Friday and ended with

topping the charts for Porsche GT Team, with a lap time of 50.065.

Oliver Gavin Oliver Benjamin Gavin (born 29 September 1972) is a British racing driver who joined Corvette Racing in 2002. He has won five American Le Mans Series class championships, five 24 Hours of Le Mans class wins, six 12 Hours of Sebring class wi ...

was second fastest in the No. 4 Corvette followed by

Connor De Phillippi Connor De Phillippi (born December 25, 1992) is an American professional racing driver and gold rated BMW Motorsport works driver. Racing career Early career De Phillippi began karting at the age of 5 years old and by the time he was 14 years o ...

in the No. 25 BMW Team RLL entry.

Jan Magnussen Jan Ellegaard Magnussen (born 4 July 1973) is a Danish professional racing driver and was a factory driver for General Motors until the end of the 2020 season. He has competed in Champ Car, Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), NASCAR, the FIA ...

in the No. 3 Corvette was fourth fastest and

Richard Westbrook Richard Westbrook (born 10 July 1975) is a British professional racing driver noted for his success in racing Porsche and International sports cars. As a junior, he attended St Joseph's College, Ipswich. He has won both the Porsche Supercup in ...

's No. 67 Ford GT rounded out the top five. The GTD class was topped by the No. 86

Acura NSX GT3 Evo of

with a time of 1:16.885.

Jeroen Bleekemolen Jeroen Pascal Bleekemolen (born 23 October 1981 in Heemstede) is a Dutch professional Auto racing, racing driver. In the Chrysler Viper GTS-R he drove in the FIA GT Championship, with great success. He competed in the German Formula Three Champi ...

was second fastest in the No. 33 Mercedes-AMG followed by the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini of

Bryan Sellers Bryan Sellers (born August 19, 1982 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American racing driver. Sellers won the title in the U.S. F2000 in 2002 and later competed in the Atlantic Championship and in racing sports cars. Racing career Bryan Sellers first co ...

in third position.

Patrick Long __NOTOC__ Patrick Brian Long (born July 28, 1981) is an American professional racing driver, one of 18 Porsche factory racing drivers, and the only American to hold that distinction. Racing career Sports car racing Following a successful career ...

's No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche was fourth fastest and Matt Campbell in the No. 91 Wright Motorsports Porsche rounded out the top five.

Practice 2

The second practice session took place at 2:20 PM ET on Friday and ended with Antonio García topping the charts for

Corvette Racing Corvette Racing was an American auto racing team established in 1999 by General Motors and Pratt Miller for the purposes of competing in sports car racing internationally. Corvette Racing was originally the official racing program for General M ...

, with a lap time of 50.302.

was second fastest in the No. 6 BMW Team RLL entry followed by

Jesse Krohn Jesse Kurki-Suonio (born 3 September 1990), more commonly known as Jesse Krohn, is a Finnish professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver, currently competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for BMW M Team RLL. He is notable f ...

in the sister No. 24 BMW.

was fourth fastest in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing entry followed by teammate

Joey Hand Joseph Alan Hand (born February 10, 1979) is an American professional racing driver who competes in sports car racing as a Ford factory driver. A former champion of the Star Mazda Series, Hand is the co-winner of the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona dri ...

in the sister No. 66 Ford GT in fifth. The GTD class was topped by the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 of Bill Auberlen with a time of 51.715.

Toni Vilander Toni Markus Vilander (born 25 July 1980) is a Finnish professional racing driver who currently drives for the Risi Competizione Ferrari team in various categories of sports car racing. After a single-seater career which reached the level of the ...

was second fastest in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari followed by Dennis Olsen in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche in third position. Marco Seefried's No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche was fourth fastest and Matt Campbell in the No. 91 Wright Motorsports Porsche rounded out the top five.

Practice 3

The third and final practice session took place at 4:55 pm ET Friday and ended with

topping the charts for Porsche GT Team, with a lap time of 49.782.

was second fastest in the sister No. 912 Porsche followed by

in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing entry.

was fourth fastest in the No. 4 Corvette and Dirk Müller's No. 66 Ford GT rounded out the top five. The GTD class was topped by the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo of

with a time of 51.797. Patrick Long in the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche was second fastest followed by Mario Farnbacher's No. 86 Acura in third position. The No. 11 Magnus Racing Lamborghini of

Andy Lally Andrew Joseph Lally (born February 11, 1975) is an American former professional auto racing driver who currently serves as the president for the Trans Am Series. He competed full-time in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving the Audi R ...

was fourth fastest and Zacharie Robichon's No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche rounded out the top five. The Turner Motorsport entry did not set a lap time. Marcel Fässler crashed the No. 4 Corvette Racing entry at turn five, damaging his vehicle's front nose, but managed to managed to return to the pitlane for repairs.

Qualifying

Saturday's morning qualifying session was divided into two groups that lasted 15 minutes each. Cars in GTD were sent out first and, after a ten-minute interval, GTLM vehicles drove onto the track. All cars were required to be driven by one participant and the starting order was determined by the competitor's fastest lap. IMSA then arranged the grid so that the GTLM field started in front of all GTD cars. The first was for cars in the GTD class. Trent Hindman qualified on pole for the class driving the No. 86 car for

, beating Ben Keating in the No. 33 Mercedes-AMG by less than one-tenth of a second. The No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán of

Corey Lewis Corey Sutherland Lewis (also known as Rey, Reyyy or The Rey) is an American comic book creator. He is primarily known as the creator of ''Sharknife'', published by Oni Press. Other works include ''PENG'' for Oni, and providing back-up comic stri ...

set the third fastest time. However, the team were sent to the back of the GTD grid after the car failed post-qualifying technical inspection where it was discovered that the Lamborghini was found to not have complied with mandated ride height. As a result,

s No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW was promoted to third position followed by Zacharie Robichon's No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche in fourth, and Richard Heistand's No. 12 Lexus in fifth position. The final session of qualifying was for cars in the GTLM class.

qualified on pole driving the No. 912 car for Porsche GT Team, beating teammate

in the sister No. 911 Porsche by 0.052 seconds. Following in third was

's No. 25 BMW followed by Dirk Müller in the No. 66 Ford GT in fourth. The

entries started fifth and sixth followed by

Ryan Briscoe Ryan John Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian–American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America. In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishin ...

's No. 67 Ford GT in seventh position.

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the vice presidential nominee under ...

in the No. 24 BMW Team RLL entry rounded out the GTLM qualifiers.

Qualifying results

Pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

s in each class are indicated in bold and by . * The No. 48 Paul Miller Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field for violating competition rules regarding the car's ride height.

Race

Post-race

The final results of GTLM kept Bamber and Vanthoor atop the Drivers' Championship as they extended their advantage to eight points over Pilet and Tandy. Briscoe and Westbrook advanced from sixth to fourth. The final results of GTD meant Farnbacher and Hindman extended their advantage to 30 points as Auberlen and Foley took over second position. Long advanced from fifth to third while Montecalvo and Bell dropped from second to fourth. Porsche and Acura continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Porsche GT Team and Meyer Shank Racing kept their respective advantages in their Teams' Championships with four rounds left in the season.

Race Results

Class winners are denoted in bold and .

Standings after the race

* 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

External links

{{Northeast Grand Prix Northeast Grand Prix

Northeast Grand Prix The Northeast Grand Prix (until 2006: New England Grand Prix) was a professional sports car racing, sports car race held at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States as part of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Previous editions of t ...