The Northeast Grand Prix will be the seventh round for the Prototype Challenge category and sixth for GT Daytona, with Prototype and GT Le Mans absent from the track for the round. Here is all you need to know ahead of the race weekend at Lime Rock Park.
Click here for more on the entry list for the Northeast Grand Prix.
Prototype Challenge
Seven entries from the spec class will take to the track, but some drivers are still yet to be confirmed; BAR1 Motorsports, for example, has both driver slots empty, while the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports and No. 85 JDC/Miller Motorsports entries each have their second seats vacant alongside drivers James French and Mikhail Goikhberg, respectively.
As always, the Core Autosport crew will likely be the opponent to beat at the Northeast Grand Prix.
Team owner and driver Jon Bennett is joyful to be back at a track, where he won in 2012 with Colin Braun.
“I’m really looking forward to this race, because it gives me the opportunity to win the TOTAL Pole Award and lead the field to the green flag at a track right around the corner from home,” said Bennet.
Bennet and Braun drive the points-leading car in the PC championship standings after being victorious at CTMP.
They have managed to obtain a marginal 10 points gap over two-time 2015 race-winners Mike Guasch and Tom Kimber-Smith, drivers of the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca FLM09.
Renger van der Zande and Mirco Schultis will be in the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Martini-sponsored Oreca FLM09 once again, trying to snatch a third win of the season after winning at Detroit and Watkins Glen.
“The Silver (Pro-Am) driver will play a big role at Lime Rock, because it’s such a small track,” van der Zande said. “Even a little issue will cause you to go down a lap very easily. Winning at Lime Rock Park requires a real team effort.”
Mikhail Goikhberg lies third in the standings, scoring top-five finishes in all six races driving the JDC/Miller Motorsports No. 85 entry. Being only 13 points behind the championship-leader, the points battle continues to be close.
GT Daytona
A total of 11 GT-style cars are set to take the green flag at Lime Rock Park this weekend.
The TUDOR Championship welcomes a brand new entry to the series, as the expierenced Compass360 Racing team will make their long awaited GTD debut with an Audi R8 LMS and drivers Ray Mason and Pierre Kleinubing.
Another Audi R8 LMS to race this weekend is the championship-leading Paul Miller Racing entry with Christopher Haase and Dion von Moltke. Second in the GTD championship is the Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America with drivers Leh Keen and Cooper MacNeil; they are 10 points behind the Audi in the standings entering this weekend.
Co-driving the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia with Townsend Bell, this will be the home race for Bill Sweedler. The Ferrari 458 Italia should be well-suited for the fast flowing nature of the track.
The No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW Z4, driven by Michael Marsal and Dane Cameron (of Action Express Racing, making a one-off drive with the Prototype class absent), should also excel at the tight and twisty Lime Rock Park circuit due to it's short wheelbase and exceptional corner speeds.
This will be the first time the GT Daytona category races since the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen; they did not compete at the most recent round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
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David van den Boom is a writer for the VAVEL USA Racing section. Follow him on Twitter at @david__vdb.