2016 Northeast Grand Prix

 

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]

Before the race, Alex Popow and Renger van der Zande led the Prototype Challenge Drivers' Championship with 231 points, ahead of Robert Alon and Tom Kimber-Smith in second by 14 points, and Stephen Simpson and Misha Goikhberg in third with 209 points.^[5] With 192 points, Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner led the GTLM Drivers' Championship, 5 points ahead of Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook.^[5] In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen with 191 points; the duo held a twenty two-point advantage over Mario Farnbacher and Alex Riberas.^[5] Chevrolet and Ferrari were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Starworks Motorsport, Corvette Racing, and Scuderia Corsa each led their own Teams' Championships.^[5]

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.^[6] GTLM was represented by nine entries from five different brands.^[6] In the list of GTD entrants, fourteen GT3-specification vehicles were represented by six different manufacturers.^[6] With the absence of the Prototype (P) class from the field, only three racing classes were represented in Lime Rock.^[2]

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.^[7]

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.^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[9] The session was stopped for 10 minutes when John Edwards No.100 RLL BMW M6 stopped on track due to a driveline failure.^[8]

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.^[10] 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.^[10] Farnbacher led the GTD class in the No. 23 Porsche, followed by Liddell's No. 6 Stevenson Motorsport Audi R8.^[10][11]

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.^[12][7]

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:[13][14]

• 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).^[12]
• 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).^[12]
• 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).^[12]

With a total of 267 points, Popow and van der Zande's victory allowed them to extend their advantage in the Prototype Challenge Drivers' Championship to 17 points over Alon and Kimber-Smith.^[5] The final results of GTLM meant Gavin and Milner's victory allowed them to extend their advantage in the Drivers' Championship by 5 points over Briscoe and Westbrook. García and Magnussen advanced from fifth to third.^[5] Balzan and Nielsen's eleventh-placed finish allowed them to keep their advantage in the GTD Drivers' Championship, but their advantage was reduced to 13 points as race winners Lally and Potter jumped to second.^[5] Chevrolet continued to the GTLM Manufactures' Championship while Audi became the leader of the GTD Manufactures' Championship. Starworks Motorsport, Corvette Racing, and Scuderia Corsa kept their respective advantages in their of Teams' Championships with four rounds left in the season.^[5]

Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡. PC stands for Prototype Challenge, GTLM (Grand Touring Le Mans) and GTD (Grand Touring Daytona)

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:[15][16]

Tyre manufacturers Key Symbol Tyre manufacturer C Continental M Michelin

Prototype Drivers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Driver Points 1     João Barbosa   Christian Fittipaldi 220 2     Eric Curran   Dane Cameron 216 3     Jordan Taylor   Ricky Taylor 211 4     Marc Goossens 197 5     Oswaldo Negri Jr. 191 Source:[5]

PC Drivers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Driver Points 1     Alex Popow   Renger van der Zande 267 2     Robert Alon   Tom Kimber-Smith 250 3     Stephen Simpson   Misha Goikhberg 235 4     Jon Bennett   Colin Braun 212 5     James French   Kyle Marcelli 210 Source:[5]

GTLM Drivers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Driver Points 1     Oliver Gavin   Tommy Milner 228 2     Ryan Briscoe   Richard Westbrook 218 3   2   Antonio García   Jan Magnussen 197 4   1   Bill Auberlen   Dirk Werner 195 5   1   Giancarlo Fisichella   Toni Vilander 193 Source:[5]

GTD Drivers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Driver Points 1     Alessandro Balzan   Christina Nielsen 212 2   1   Andy Lally   John Potter 199 3   1   Mario Farnbacher   Alex Riberas 187 4     Jeroen Bleekemolen   Ben Keating 186 5     Andrew Davis   Robin Liddell 185 Source:[5]

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

Prototype Teams' Championship standings Pos. +/– Team Points 1     No. 5 Action Express Racing 220 2     No. 31 Action Express Racing 216 3     No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing 211 4     No. 90 VisitFlorida Racing 197 5     No. 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian 191 Source:[5]

PC Teams' Championship standings Pos. +/– Team Points 1     No. 8 Starworks Motorsport 267 2     No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports 250 3     No. 54 CORE Autosport 235 4     No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports 235 5     No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports 235 Source:[5]

GTLM Teams' Championship standings Pos. +/– Team Points 1     No. 4 Corvette Racing 192 2     No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 187 3   2   No. 3 Corvette Racing 170 4   1   No. 25 BMW Team RLL 166 5   1   No. 62 Risi Competizione 164 Source:[5]

GTD Teams' Championship standings Pos. +/– Team Points 1     No. 63 Scuderia Corsa 212 2   1   No. 44 Magnus Racing 199 3   1   No. 23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing 187 4     No. 33 Riley Motorsports 186 5     No. 6 Stevenson Motorsports 185 Source:[5]

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

Prototype Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1     Chevrolet 236 2     Honda 227 3     Mazda 212 4     BMW 56 5     Ford 30 Source:[5]

GTLM Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1     Chevrolet 227 2     Ford 217 3     Porsche 209 4   1   Ferrari 204 5   1   BMW 200 Source:[5]

GTD Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1   1   Audi 220 2   1   Ferrari 210 3     Porsche 209 4   1   Dodge 199 5   1   BMW 197 Source:[5]

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