The 2017 Northeast Grand Prix was a 2017 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, 2017. The race was the eighth round of the 2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Background

IMSA's president Scott Atherton confirmed the Northeast Grand Prix was part of the series' schedule for the 2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship at Road America's victory lane in August 2016. It was the third consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the twenty-sixth annual running of the race. The 2017 Northeast Grand Prix was the eighth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2017 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 Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut on July 22, 2017. For the first time since the 2009 running of the event, the PC class would not be competing.

After the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix one week earlier, Antonio García and Jan Magnussen led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 182 points, ahead of Bill Auberlen and Alexander Sims with 179 points, and Joey Hand and Dirk Müller with 172 points. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen with 203 points, ahead of Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen with 195 points. Chevrolet, and Mercedes-AMG were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Corvette Racing, and Scuderia Corsa each led their own Teams' Championships.

Entries

A total of 25 cars took part in the event split across two classes. 8 cars were entered in GTLM and 17 in GTD. In GTD, Alex Job Racing returned after skipping the previous round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Patrick Long joined Daniel Morad in the Alegra Motorsports entry. TRG made their first appearance since the Circuit of the Americas round. Jesse Krohn joined Jens Klingmann in the Turner Motorsport entry.

Practice 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.

Practice 1 The first practice session took place at 12:05 pm ET on Friday and ended with Dirk Müller topping the charts for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, with a lap time of 51.077. Jörg Bergmeister was fastest in GTD. ClassTeamDriverTime1GTLM66Ford Chip Ganassi RacingDirk Müller51.077_2GTLM67Ford Chip Ganassi RacingRyan Briscoe51.268 +0.1913GTLM912Porsche GT TeamLaurens Vanthoor51.330 +0.253Sources:

Practice 2 The second and final practice session took place at 2:25 pm ET on Friday and ended with Gianmaria Bruni topping the charts for Porsche GT Team, with a lap time of 50.601. Madison Snow set the fastest time in GTD. ClassTeamDriverTime1GTLM912Porsche GT TeamGianmaria Bruni50.601_2GTLM66Ford Chip Ganassi RacingDirk Müller51.030 +0.4293GTLM3Corvette RacingJan Magnussen51.079 +0.478Sources:

Qualifying Friday afternoon's 40-minute two-group qualifying, each category had separate 15-minute sessions. Regulations stipulated that teams nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each class' starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put GTLMs ahead of GTD cars.

Qualifying was broken into two sessions. The first was for cars in GTD class. Madison Snow qualified on pole for the class driving the No. 48 car for Paul Miller Racing.

The final session of qualifying was for the GTLM class. Gianmaria Bruni qualified on pole driving the No. 912 car for Porsche GT Team, besting Ryan Briscoe in the #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing entry.

Qualifying results Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by . ClassTeamDriverTime1GTLM912 Porsche GT Team Gianmaria Bruni50.404_12GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe50.540 +0.13623GTLM911 Porsche GT Team Dirk Werner50.606 +0.20234GTLM24 BMW Team RLL John Edwards50.681 +0.27745GTLM4 Corvette Racing Tommy Milner50.720 +0.31656GTLM3 Corvette Racing Jan Magnussen50.730 +0.32667GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Dirk Müller50.806 +0.40278GTLM25 BMW Team RLL Bill Auberlen50.939 +0.53589GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Madison Snow52.508 +2.104910GTD54 CORE Autosport Colin Braun52.699 +2.29523 11GTD28 Alegra Motorsports Patrick Long52.836 +2.4321012GTD15 3GT Racing Jack Hawksworth52.876 +2.47211 13GTD96 Turner Motorsport Jens Klingmann52.937 +2.5331214GTD73 Park Place Motorsports Patrick Lindsey52.947 +2.5431315GTD57 Stevenson Motorsports Andrew Davis52.960 +2.5561416GTD93 Michael Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Katherine Legge52.961 +2.5571517GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Christina Nielsen53.010 +2.6061618GTD007 TRG Brandon Davis53.107 +2.7031719GTD14 3GT Racing Sage Karam53.140 +2.7361820GTD33 Riley Motorsports – Team AMG Ben Keating53.194 +2.7901921GTD86 Michael Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Oswaldo Negri Jr.53.197 +2.7932022GTD16 Change Racing Corey Lewis53.294 +2.8902123GTD75 SunEnergy1 Racing Kenny Habul53.500 +3.0962524GTD50 Riley Motorsports – WeatherTech Racing Cooper MacNeil53.629 +3.2252225GTD23 Alex Job Racing Bill Sweedler53.998 +3.59424Sources:

The No. 54 CORE Autosport entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Articles 43.5 and 43.6 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting driver) and (Change of starting tires). The No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Articles 43.5 and 43.6 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting driver) and (Change of starting tires). The No. 50 Riley Motorsports – WeatherTech Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 43.6 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires). The No. 23 Alex Job Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 43.6 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).

Race

Post-race The result kept García and Magnussen atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 211 points, 7 points ahead of sixth-place finishers Auberlen and Sims. The result kept Balzan and Nielsen atop the GTD Drivers' Championship while Sellers and Snow advanced from sixth to fourth. Chevrolet and Ferrari continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Corvette Racing, and Scuderia Corsa kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships with four rounds left in the season.

Results Class winners are denoted in bold and . +Final race classificationClassTeamDriversChassisTireTime/RetiredEngine1GTLM911 Porsche GT Team Patrick Pilet Dirk WernerPorsche 911 RSR1812:40:18.956Porsche 4.0 L Flat-62GTLM912 Porsche GT Team Gianmaria Bruni Laurens VanthoorPorsche 911 RSR181 +14.500Porsche 4.0 L Flat-63GTLM24 BMW Team RLL John Edwards Martin TomczykBMW M6 GTLM181 +39.946BMW 4.4 L Turbo V84GTLM3 Corvette Racing Jan Magnussen Antonio GarcíaChevrolet Corvette C7.R181 +40.203Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V85GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe Richard WestbrookFord GT181 +52.302Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V66GTLM25 BMW Team RLL Bill Auberlen Alexander SimsBMW M6 GTLM180 +1 lapBMW 4.4 L Turbo V87GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Dirk Müller Joey HandFord GT177 +4 LapsFord EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V68 GTD 73 Park Place Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister Patrick LindseyPorsche 911 GT3 R175 +6 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-69 GTD 48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison SnowLamborghini Huracán GT3 175 +6 Laps Lamborghini 5.2 L V1010GTD28 Alegra Motorsports Patrick Long Daniel MoradPorsche 911 GT3 R175 +6 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-611GTD57 Stevenson Motorsports Andrew Davis Lawson AschenbachAudi R8 LMS175 +6 LapsAudi 5.2L V1012GTD93 Michael Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Andy Lally Katherine LeggeAcura NSX GT3174 +7 LapsAcura 3.5 L Turbo V613GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Christina Nielsen Alessandro BalzanFerrari 488 GT3174 +7 LapsFerrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V814GTD15 3GT Racing Robert Alon Jack HawksworthLexus RC F GT3174 +7 LapsLexus 5.0L V815GTD23 Alex Job Racing Townsend Bell Bill SweedlerAudi R8 LMS173 +8 LapsAudi 5.2L V1016GTD86 Michael Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Jeff Segal Oswaldo Negri Jr.Acura NSX GT3173 +8 LapsAcura 3.5 L Turbo V617GTD50 Riley Motorsports – WeatherTech Racing Cooper MacNeil Gunnar JeannetteMercedes-AMG GT3173 +8 LapsMercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V818GTD16 Change Racing Corey Lewis Jeroen MulLamborghini Huracán GT3173 +8 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V1019GTD14 3GT Racing Scott Pruett Sage KaramLexus RC F GT3171 +10 LapsLexus 5.0L V820 DNFGTD007 TRG Brandon Davis James DavisonAston Martin V12 Vantage GT3164 Lost PowerAston Martin 6.0 L V1221GTD96 Turner Motorsport Jens Klingmann Jesse KrohnBMW M6 GT3163 +18 LapsBMW 4.4L Turbo V822GTLM4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Tommy MilnerChevrolet Corvette C7.R151 +30 LapsChevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V823 DNFGTD33 Riley Motorsports – Team AMG Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben KeatingMercedes-AMG GT3125 SuspensionMercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V824 DNFGTD75 SunEnergy1 Racing Tristan Vautier Kenny HabulMercedes-AMG GT369 Shock AbsorberMercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V825 DNFGTD54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett Colin BraunPorsche 911 GT3 R39 EnginePorsche 4.0 L Flat-6Sources:+Tyre manufacturersKeySymbolTyre manufacturerContinentalMichelin

Standings after the race

+Prototype Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Jordan Taylor Ricky Taylor 226 2 João Barbosa Christian Fittipaldi 207 3 Misha Goikhberg Stephen Simpson 200 4 Dane Cameron Eric Curran 199 5 Ryan Dalziel Scott Sharp 183

+PC Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 James French Patricio O'Ward 216 2 Don Yount 182 3 Buddy Rice 120 4 Kyle Masson 108 5 Gustavo Yacamán 89

+GTLM Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Antonio García Jan Magnussen 211 2 Bill Auberlen Alexander Sims 204 3 Joey Hand Dirk Müller 196 4 Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook 195 5 Patrick Pilet Dirk Werner 194

+GTD Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Alessandro Balzan Christina Nielsen 228 2 Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating 211 3 Andy Lally Katherine Legge 205 4 2 Bryan Sellers Madison Snow 197 5 Lawson Aschenbach Andrew Davis 195

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

+Prototype Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #10 Wayne Taylor Racing 226 2 #5 Mustang Sampling Racing 207 3 #85 JDC-Miller MotorSports 200 4 #31 Whelen Engineering Racing 199 5 #2 Tequila Patrón ESM 183

+PC Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #38 Performance Tech Motorsports 216 2 #26 BAR1 Motorsports 185 3 #20 BAR1 Motorsports 182 4 #8 Starworks Motorsport 58 5 #88 Starworks Motorsport 28

+GTLM Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #3 Corvette Racing 211 2 #25 BMW Team RLL 204 3 #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 196 4 #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 195 5 #911 Porsche GT Team 194

+GTD Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #63 Scuderia Corsa228 2 #33 Riley Motorsports Team AMG 211 3 #93 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian 205 4 2 #48 Paul Miller Racing 197 5 #57 Stevenson Motorsports 195

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

+Prototype Manufacturers' Championship standings +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Cadillac 245 2 Nissan 218 3 Mazda 216

+GTLM Manufacturers' Championship standings +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 223 2 Ford 219 3 BMW 216 4 Porsche 209 5 Ferrari 112

+GTD Manufacturers' Championship standings +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Ferrari 238 2 Mercedes-AMG 235 3 Acura 232 4 1 Porsche 225 5 1 Audi 221

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

References