The 2016 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 23, 2016. The race was the eighth round of the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Background

Preview

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. 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. The race was held at the seven-turn Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut on July 23, 2016. The GTLM category would participate in the event for the first time since the 2013 running.

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 20 kg (44 lb).

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. With 192 points, Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner led the GTLM Drivers' Championship, 5 points ahead of Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook. 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. Chevrolet and Ferrari were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Starworks Motorsport, Corvette Racing, and Scuderia Corsa each led their own Teams' Championships.

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

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.

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

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

Qualifying 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.

Qualifying results Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by . +ClassTeamDriverTime1PC54 CORE Autosport Colin Braun48.824_82PC52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Robert Alon48.840 +0.01613PC38 Performance Tech Motorsports James French48.930 +0.10624PC7 Starworks Motorsport José Gutiérrez48.978 +0.15435PC8 Starworks Motorsport Alex Popow49.222 +0.39846PC20 BAR1 Motorsports Matt McMurry49.266 +0.44257PC85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg49.659 +0.83568GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Richard Westbrook50.748 +1.92499GTLM25 BMW Team RLL Dirk Werner50.834 +2.0101010GTLM4 Corvette Racing Tommy Milner50.858 +2.0341111GTLM62 Risi Competizione Toni Vilander50.902 +2.0781212GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand51.015 +2.1911313GTLM3 Corvette Racing Jan Magnussen51.264 +2.4401414GTLM911 Porsche North America Patrick Pilet51.346 +2.5221515GTLM100 BMW Team RLL John Edwards51.431 +2.6071616GTLM912 Porsche North America Frédéric Makowiecki51.445 +2.6211717PC88 Starworks Motorsport Mark Kvamme51.629 +2.805818GTD16 Change Racing Spencer Pumpelly53.178 +4.3241819GTD6 Stevenson Motorsports Andrew Davis53.222 +4.3541920GTD9 Stevenson Motorsports Matt Bell53.250 +4.3982021GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Christina Nielsen53.250 +4.4262122GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Madison Snow53.330 +4.5062223GTD23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Mario Farnbacher53.538 +4.7142324GTD96 Turner Motorsport Bret Curtis53.588 +4.7642425GTD73 Park Place Motorsports Patrick Lindsey53.609 +4.7852526GTD27 Dream Racing Cédric Sbirrazzuoli53.680 +4.7863127GTD97 Turner Motorsport Michael Marsa53.695 +4.8712628GTD44 Magnus Racing John Potter53.698 +4.8742729GTD22 Alex Job Racing Cooper MacNeil53.784 +4.9602830GTD33 Riley Motorsports Ben Keating53.983 +5.1593031GTD540 Black Swan Racing Tim Pappas54.949 +6.15529Sources:

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). 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). 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).

Race

Post-race 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. 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. 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. 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.

Race results Class winners are denoted in bold and . PC stands for Prototype Challenge, GTLM (Grand Touring Le Mans) and GTD (Grand Touring Daytona) +Final race classificationClassTeamDriversChassisTireTime/RetiredEngine1PC8 Starworks Motorsport Alex Popow Renger van der ZandeOreca FLM091692:40:43.254Chevrolet 6.2 L V82PC52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Robert Alon Tom Kimber-SmithOreca FLM09169 +0.815Chevrolet 6.2 L V83PC38 Performance Tech Motorsports James French Kyle MarcelliOreca FLM09168 +1 LapChevrolet 6.2 L V84PC20 BAR1 Motorsports Matt McMurry Johnny MowlemOreca FLM09168 +1 LapChevrolet 6.2 L V85GTLM4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Tommy MilnerChevrolet Corvette C7.R167 +2 LapsChevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V86GTLM3 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jan MagnussenChevrolet Corvette C7.R167 +2 LapsChevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V87GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe Richard WestbrookFord GT167 +2 LapsFord EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V68GTLM62 Risi Competizione Toni Vilander Giancarlo FisichellaFerrari 488 GTE167 +2 LapsFerrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V89GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Dirk Müller Joey HandFord GT167 +2 LapsFord EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V610PC88 Starworks Motorsport Mark Kvamme Remo RuscittiOreca FLM09165 +4 LapsChevrolet 6.2 L V811GTD44 Magnus Racing John Potter Andy LallyAudi R8 LMS162 +7 LapsAudi 5.2L V1012GTD6 Stevenson Motorsports Andrew Davis Robin LiddellAudi R8 LMS162 +7 LapsAudi 5.2L V1013GTD33 Riley Motorsports Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben KeatingDodge Viper GT3-R161 +8 LapsDodge 8.3L V1014GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison SnowLamborghini Huracán GT3161 +8 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V1015GTD9 Stevenson Motorsports Lawson Aschenbach Matt BellAudi R8 LMS161 +8 LapsAudi 5.2L V1016GTD96 Turner Motorsport Bret Curtis Jens KlingmannBMW M6 GT3161 +8 LapsBMW 4.4L Turbo V817GTD97 Turner Motorsport Michael Marsal Markus PalttalaBMW M6 GT3161 +8 LapsBMW 4.4L Turbo V818GTD16 Change Racing Corey Lewis Spencer PumpellyLamborghini Huracán GT3161 +8 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V1019GTD22 Alex Job Racing Cooper MacNeil Leh KeenPorsche 911 GT3 R161 +8 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-620GTD73 Park Place Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister Patrick LindseyPorsche 911 GT3 R160 +9 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-621GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Christina Nielsen Alessandro BalzanFerrari 488 GT3160 +9 LapsFerrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V822GTD540 Black Swan Racing Tim Pappas Andy PilgrimPorsche 911 GT3 R160 +9 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-623GTLM911 Porsche North America Patrick Pilet Nick TandyPorsche 911 RSR159 +10 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-624GTD27 Dream Racing Cédric Sbirrazzuoli Lawrence DeGeorgeLamborghini Huracán GT3158 +11 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V1025 DNFGTD23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Mario Farnbacher Alex RiberasPorsche 911 GT3 R142Tie rodPorsche 4.0 L Flat-626 DNFPC85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg Stephen SimpsonOreca FLM09108Did Not FinishChevrolet 6.2 L V827 DNFPC7 Starworks Motorsport José Gutiérrez Sean RayhallOreca FLM09100ClutchChevrolet 6.2 L V828 DNFGTLM25 BMW Team RLL Bill Auberlen Dirk WernerBMW M6 GTLM89CrashBMW 4.4 L Turbo V829 DNFGTLM912 Porsche North America Earl Bamber Frédéric MakowieckiPorsche 911 RSR89CrashPorsche 4.0 L Flat-630 DNFPC54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett Colin BraunOreca FLM0969SuspensionChevrolet 6.2 L V831 DNFGTLM100 BMW Team RLL John Edwards Lucas LuhrBMW M6 GTLM4CrashBMW 4.4 L Turbo V8Sources:+Tyre manufacturersKeySymbolTyre manufacturerContinentalMichelin

Championship standings after the race

+Prototype Drivers' Championship standings +/– 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. 191Source:

+PC Drivers' Championship standings +/– 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 210Source:

+GTLM Drivers' Championship standings +/– 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 193Source: