The 2023 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 22, 2023. The race was seventh round of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the fourth round of the 2023 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.

Background

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2022. It was the eighth year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the thirty-first annual running of the race. The 2023 Northeast Grand Prix was the seventh of eleven scheduled sports car races of 2023 by IMSA, and it was the fourth round held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. The race was held at the seven-turn Lime Rock Park on July 22, 2023. As in previous years, it was the first of two GT-only rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, in which only the GTD Pro and GTD classes will compete.

After the Chevrolet Grand Prix 13 days earlier, Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth led the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 2110 points, ahead of Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella with 2014 points followed by Antonio García and Jordan Taylor with 2001 points. With 1974 points, Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow led the GTD Drivers' Championship by 212 points over Roman De Angelis and Marco Sørensen. Lexus and BMW were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Vasser Sullivan Racing and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.

On July 13, 2023, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the GTD Pro, and GTD classes. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo received a 10 kilogram weight increase and gained 5.9 horsepower as well as 1 liter of fuel capacity. The Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) received a 20 kilogram weight reduction.

Entries

A total of 20 cars took part in the event split across two classes. 5 cars were entered in GTD Pro, and 15 in GTD. In GTD, Andretti Autosport made their first appearance since the Laguna Seca round. Julien Andlauer returned to the No. 92 Kelly-Moss with Riley entry.

Practice There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, two on Friday. The first session lasted an hour on Friday morning while the second session lasted for 75 minutes on Friday afternoon.

Practice 1 The first practice session took place at 11:45 am ET and ended with Aaron Telitz topping the charts for Vasser Sullivan Racing, with a lap time of 51.762. Antonio García set the fastest time in GTD Pro. ClassTeamDriverTime1GTD12Vasser Sullivan RacingAaron Telitz51.762_2GTD Pro3Corvette RacingAntonio García51.821 +0.0593GTD78Forte Racing powered by US RaceTronicsMisha Goikhberg51.832 +0.070Sources:

Practice 2 The second and final practice session took place at 2:45 pm ET and ended with Antonio García topping the charts for Corvette Racing, with a lap time of 51.029. Frederik Schandorff set the fastest time in GTD. ClassTeamDriverTime1GTD Pro3Corvette RacingAntonio García51.029_2GTD Pro14Vasser Sullivan RacingJack Hawksworth51.155 +0.1263GTD Pro9Pfaff MotorsportsPatrick Pilet 51.195 +0.166Sources:

Qualifying Qualifying featured one session. The only session was for cars in the GTD Pro and GTD classes. Ross Gunn qualified on pole in GTD Pro driving the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team car, beating Jack Hawksworth in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing by just under two tenths of a second. Mike Skeen qualified on pole in GTD driving the No. 32 car for Team Korthoff Motorsports, besting Frederik Schandorff in the Inception Racing entry.

Qualifying results Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by . ClassTeamDriverTime1GTD Pro23 Heart of Racing Team Ross Gunn50.593_12GTD Pro14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Jack Hawksworth50.784 +0.19123GTD Pro3 Corvette Racing Antonio García50.897 +0.30434GTD Pro79 WeatherTech Racing Jules Gounon50.932 +0.33945GTD Pro9 Pfaff Motorsports Patrick Pilet51.074 +0.48156GTD32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mike Skeen51.157 +0.56467GTD70 Inception Racing Frederik Schandorff51.164 +0.57178GTD78 Forte Racing powered by US RaceTronics Misha Goikhberg51.184 +0.59189GTD27 Heart of Racing Team Roman De Angelis51.283 +0.690910GTD12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Frankie Montecalvo51.400 +0.8071011GTD96 Turner Motorsport Patrick Gallagher51.419 +0.8261112GTD97 Turner Motorsport Bill Auberlen51.469 +0.8761213GTD92 Kelly-Moss with Riley Alec Udell51.476 +0.8831314GTD1 Paul Miller Racing Madison Snow51.643 +1.0501415GTD57 Winward Racing Russell Ward51.758 +1.1651516GTD80 AO Racing Team P.J. Hyett51.834 +1.2411617GTD94 Andretti Autosport Jarett Andretti52.030 +1.4371718GTD91 Kelly-Moss with Riley Alan Metni52.051 +1.4581819GTD77 Wright Motorsports Alan Brynjolfsson52.095 +1.5021920GTD66 Gradient Racing Sheena Monk52.632 +2.03920Sources:

Race

Post-race The result kept Barnicoat and Hawksworth atop the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 2462 points. García and Taylor advanced from third to second. The results kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 2226 points, 86 points ahead of race winners De Angelis and Sørensen. Brynjolfsson and Hindman advanced from eighth to fifth while Grenier and Skeen dropped from fifth to ninth. Lexus and BMW continued to lead their respective Manufactures' Championships while Vasser Sullivan Racing and Paul Miller Racing kept their advantages in the Teams' Championships with four rounds left in the season.

Results Class winners denoted in bold and with ClassTeamDriversChassisTime/RetiredEngine1GTD Pro23 Heart of Racing Team Ross Gunn Alex RiberasAston Martin Vantage AMR GT31682:40.25.371Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V82GTD Pro14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Ben Barnicoat Jack HawksworthLexus RC F GT3168 +0.336Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V83GTD Pro9 Pfaff Motorsports Klaus Bachler Patrick PiletPorsche 911 GT3 R (992)168 +0.859Porsche 4.2 L Flat-64GTD Pro3 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jordan TaylorChevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD168 +1.138Chevrolet 5.5 L V85GTD27 Heart of Racing Team Roman De Angelis Marco SørensenAston Martin Vantage AMR GT3168 +14.443Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V86GTD92 Kelly-Moss with Riley Julien Andlauer Alec UdellPorsche 911 GT3 R (992)168 +14.998Porsche 4.2 L Flat-67GTD77 Wright Motorsports Alan Brynjolfsson Trent HindmanPorsche 911 GT3 R (992)168 +15.451Porsche 4.2 L Flat-68GTD96 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley Patrick GallagherBMW M4 GT3168 +17.228BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I69GTD78 Forte Racing powered by US RaceTronics Misha Goikhberg Loris SpinelliLamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2168 +19.880Lamborghini 5.2 L V1010GTD66 Gradient Racing Katherine Legge Sheena MonkAcura NSX GT3 Evo22168 +25.336Acura 3.5 L Turbo V611GTD80 AO Racing Team P.J. Hyett Sebastian PriaulxPorsche 911 GT3 R (992)168 +25.893Porsche 4.2 L Flat-612GTD Pro79 WeatherTech Racing Jules Gounon Daniel JuncadellaMercedes-AMG GT3 Evo168 +26.841Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V813GTD1 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison SnowBMW M4 GT3168 +30.943BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I614GTD57 Winward Racing Philip Ellis Russell WardMercedes-AMG GT3 Evo168 +37.213Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V815GTD32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mikaël Grenier Mike SkeenMercedes-AMG GT3 Evo168 +38.011Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V816GTD97 Turner Motorsport Bill Auberlen Chandler HullBMW M4 GT3167 +1 lapBMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I617GTD12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Frankie Montecalvo Aaron TelitzLexus RC F GT3166 +2 LqpsToyota 2UR 5.0 L V818 DNFGTD70 Inception Racing Brendan Iribe Frederik SchandorffMcLaren 720S GT3 Evo102Did Not FinishMcLaren M840T 4.0 L Turbo V819 DNFGTD91 Kelly-Moss with Riley Kay van Berlo Alan MetniPorsche 911 GT3 R (992)46Did Not FinishPorsche 4.2 L Flat-620 DNFGTD94 Andretti Autosport Jarett Andretti Gabby ChavesAston Martin Vantage AMR GT341Did Not FinishAston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8Source:

Standings after the race

+GTP Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Pipo Derani Alexander Sims 1872 2 Connor De Phillippi Nick Yelloly 1862 3 Filipe Albuquerque Ricky Taylor 1843 4 Nick Tandy Mathieu Jaminet 1809 5 Sébastien Bourdais Renger van der Zande 1743

+LMP2 Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Ben Hanley George Kurtz 973 2 Mikkel Jensen Steven Thomas 970 3 Paul-Loup Chatin Ben Keating 967 4 Ryan Dalziel Dwight Merriman 906 5 Giedo van der Garde 850

+LMP3 Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Felipe Fraga Gar Robinson 1115 2 Wayne Boyd Anthony Mantella 934 3 Garett Grist 928 4 Matt Bell Orey Fidani 916 5 João Barbosa Lance Willsey 788

+GTD Pro Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Ben Barnicoat Jack Hawksworth 2462 2 1 Antonio García Jordan Taylor 2311 3 1 Jules Gounon Daniel Juncadella 2302 4 Klaus Bachler Patrick Pilet 2281 5 Ross Gunn Alex Riberas 2083

+GTD Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Bryan Sellers Madison Snow 2226 2 Roman De Angelis Marco Sørensen 2140 3 Aaron Telitz Frankie Montecalvo 1971 4 Brendan Iribe Frederik Schandorff 1920 5 3 Alan Brynjolfsson Trent Hindman 1748

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

+GTP Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #31 Whelen Engineering Racing 1872 2 #25 BMW M Team RLL 1862 3 #10 WTR with Andretti Autosport 1843 4 #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 1809 5 #01 Cadillac Racing 1743

+LMP2 Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR 973 2 #11 TDS Racing 970 3 #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports 967 4 #18 Era Motorsport 906 5 #8 Tower Motorsports 889

+LMP3 Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #74 Riley Motorsports 1115 2 #17 AWA 934 3 #30 Jr III Motorsports 928 4 #13 AWA 916 5 #4 Ave Motorsports 808

+GTD Pro Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing 2462 2 1 #3 Corvette Racing 2311 3 1 #79 WeatherTech Racing 2302 4 #9 Pfaff Motorsports 2281 5 #23 Heart of Racing Team 2083

+GTD Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #1 Paul Miller Racing 2226 2 #27 Heart of Racing Team 2140 3 #12 Vasser Sullivan Racing 1971 4 #70 Inception Racing 1920 5 3 #77 Wright Motorsports 1748

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

+GTP Manufacturers' Championship standings +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Cadillac 2079 2 BMW 2032 3 Acura 2029 4 Porsche 1985

+GTD Pro Manufacturers' Championship standings +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Lexus 2462 2 1 Chevrolet 2311 3 1 Mercedes-AMG 2302 4 Porsche 2281 5 Aston Martin 2094

+GTD Manufacturers' Championship standings +/– Manufacturer Points 1 BMW 2435 2 Aston Martin 2319 3 1 Porsche 2194 4 1 Lexus 2141 5 1 McLaren 2117

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

References

External links