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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

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. 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. 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. The race was held at the seven-turn 1.530 mi (2.462 km) Lime Rock Park on July 21, 2018. 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.

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. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 183 points, ahead of Katherine Legge with 180 points. 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.

On July 12, 2018, IMSA issued the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event. 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

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

Practice

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.

Practice 1

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.

Practice 2

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.

Practice 3

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.

Qualifying

Saturday morning's 40-minute qualifying session was divided into two groups. 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.

Qualifying results

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

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

• 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

Post-race

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. The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 218 points, 10 points ahead of Legge. 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.

Results

Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Final race classification Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Tire Laps Time/Retired Engine 1 GTLM 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand Dirk Müller Ford GT M 178 2:40.12.527‡ Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 2 GTLM 3 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jan Magnussen Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 178 +11.431 Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 3 GTLM 912 Porsche GT Team Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor Porsche 911 RSR M 178 +13.601 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 4 GTLM 4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 178 +37.964 Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 5 GTLM 911 Porsche GT Team Patrick Pilet Nick Tandy Porsche 911 RSR M 178 +40.949 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 6 GTLM 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook Ford GT M 178 +45.063 Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 7 GTLM 25 BMW Team RLL Connor De Phillippi Alexander Sims BMW M8 GTE M 176 +2 Laps BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 8 GTD 48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison Snow Lamborghini Huracán GT3 C 172 +6 Laps‡ Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 9 GTD 44 Magnus Racing John Potter Andy Lally Audi R8 LMS C 172 +6 Laps Audi 5.2L V10 10 GTD 63 Scuderia Corsa Cooper MacNeil Gunnar Jeannette Ferrari 488 GT3 C 172 +6 Laps Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 11 GTD 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Katherine Legge Álvaro Parente Acura NSX GT3 C 172 +6 Laps Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 12 GTD 15 3GT Racing Jack Hawksworth Mario Farnbacher Lexus RC F GT3 C 172 +6 Laps Lexus 5.0L V8 13 GTD 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating Mercedes AMG GT3 C 171 +7 Laps Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 14 GTD 14 3GT Racing Dominik Baumann Kyle Marcelli Lexus RC F GT3 C 171 +7 Laps Lexus 5.0L V8 15 GTD 58 Wright Motorsports Patrick Long Christina Nielsen Porsche 911 GT3 R C 171 +7 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 16 DNF GTLM 24 BMW Team RLL John Edwards Jesse Krohn BMW M8 GTE M 129 Did Not Finish BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 17 DNF GTD 93 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Justin Marks Lawson Aschenbach Acura NSX GT3 C 1 Crash Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 18 DNF GTD 96 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley Bill Auberlen BMW M6 GT3 C 0 Crash BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8 Sources:

Tyre manufacturers Key Symbol Tyre manufacturer C Continental M Michelin

Standings after the race

Prototype Drivers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 Eric Curran Felipe Nasr 198 2 Filipe Albuquerque 197 3 Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande 188 4 Jon Bennett Colin Braun 183 5 Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya 177

GTLM Drivers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 1 Joey Hand Dirk Müller 208 2 Antonio García Jan Magnussen 207 3 2 Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook 206 4 1 Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor 197 5 1 Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner 195

GTD Drivers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 Bryan Sellers Madison Snow 218 2 Katherine Legge 208 3 Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating 194 4 Cooper MacNeil 179 5 1 Álvaro Parente 173

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

Prototype Teams' Championship standings Pos. +/– Team Points 1 No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing 198 2 No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing 197 3 3 No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing 188 4 No. 54 CORE Autosport 183 5 No. 6 Acura Team Penske 177

GTLM Teams' Championship standings Pos. +/– Team Points 1 1 No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 208 2 No. 3 Corvette Racing 207 3 2 No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 206 4 1 No. 912 Porsche GT Team 197 5 1 No. 4 Corvette Racing 195

GTD Teams' Championship standings Pos. +/– Team Points 1 No. 48 Paul Miller Racing 218 2 No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin 208 3 No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports 194 4 No. 63 Scuderia Corsa 179 5 No. 15 3GT Racing 173

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

Prototype Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Cadillac 234 2 Acura 222 3 Mazda 210 4 Nissan 209

GTLM Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 230 2 Chevrolet 219 3 Porsche 216 4 BMW 204 5 Ferrari 58

GTD Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Lamborghini 225 2 Acura 209 3 Mercedes-AMG 200 4 Lexus 198 5 Ferrari 192

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

References

1. ^ Goodwin, Graham (August 6, 2017). "IMSA Announce 2018 Calendar". DailySportsCar. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
2. ^ Pruett, Marshall (August 4, 2017). "IMSA's 2018 WeatherTech calendar released". racer.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
3. ^ "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. ^ "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. ^ "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.

• 2018 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season
• 2018 in sports in Connecticut
• July 2018 sports events in the United States