
The2017 Northeast Grand Prix was a 2017sports car race sanctioned by theInternational Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held atLime Rock Park inLakeville, Connecticut on July 22, 2017. The race was the eighth round of the2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
IMSA's president Scott Atherton confirmed the Northeast Grand Prix was part of the series' schedule for the2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship atRoad America's victory lane in August 2016.[1] 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.[2] The race was held at the seven-turn 1.530 mi (2.462 km)Lime Rock Park inLakeville, Connecticut on July 22, 2017.[2] For the first time since the 2009 running of the event, the PC class would not be competing.[3][4]
After theMobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix one week earlier,Antonio García andJan Magnussen led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 182 points, ahead ofBill Auberlen andAlexander Sims with 179 points, andJoey Hand andDirk Müller with 172 points.[5] In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led byAlessandro Balzan andChristina Nielsen with 203 points, ahead ofBen Keating andJeroen Bleekemolen with 195 points.[5]Chevrolet, andMercedes-AMG were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, whileCorvette Racing, andScuderia Corsa each led their own Teams' Championships.[5]
A total of 25 cars took part in the event split across two classes. 8 cars were entered in GTLM and 17 in GTD.[6] In GTD,Alex Job Racing returned after skipping the previous round atCanadian Tire Motorsport Park.[6][7]Patrick Long joinedDaniel Morad in the Alegra Motorsports entry.[8]TRG made their first appearance since theCircuit of the Americas round.[9]Jesse Krohn joinedJens Klingmann in theTurner Motorsport entry.[10]
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.[11]
The first practice session took place at 12:05 pmET on Friday and ended withDirk Müller topping the charts forFord Chip Ganassi Racing, with a lap time of 51.077.[12]Jörg Bergmeister was fastest in GTD.[13]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTLM | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Dirk Müller | 51.077 | _ |
| 2 | GTLM | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Ryan Briscoe | 51.268 | +0.191 |
| 3 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Laurens Vanthoor | 51.330 | +0.253 |
| Sources:[14][15] | ||||||
The second and final practice session took place at 2:25 pmET on Friday and ended withGianmaria Bruni topping the charts forPorsche GT Team, with a lap time of 50.601.[16]Madison Snow set the fastest time in GTD.[17]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Gianmaria Bruni | 50.601 | _ |
| 2 | GTLM | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Dirk Müller | 51.030 | +0.429 |
| 3 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing | Jan Magnussen | 51.079 | +0.478 |
| Sources:[18][19] | ||||||
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.[20][11]
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 forPaul Miller Racing.[21]
The final session of qualifying was for the GTLM class.Gianmaria Bruni qualified on pole driving the No. 912 car forPorsche GT Team, besting Ryan Briscoe in the #67Ford Chip Ganassi Racing entry.[22]
Pole positions in each class are indicated inbold and by ‡.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTLM | 912 | 50.404 | _ | 1‡ | ||
| 2 | GTLM | 67 | 50.540 | +0.136 | 2 | ||
| 3 | GTLM | 911 | 50.606 | +0.202 | 3 | ||
| 4 | GTLM | 24 | 50.681 | +0.277 | 4 | ||
| 5 | GTLM | 4 | 50.720 | +0.316 | 5 | ||
| 6 | GTLM | 3 | 50.730 | +0.326 | 6 | ||
| 7 | GTLM | 66 | 50.806 | +0.402 | 7 | ||
| 8 | GTLM | 25 | 50.939 | +0.535 | 8 | ||
| 9 | GTD | 48 | 52.508 | +2.104 | 9‡ | ||
| 10 | GTD | 54 | 52.699 | +2.295 | 231 | ||
| 11 | GTD | 28 | 52.836 | +2.432 | 10 | ||
| 12 | GTD | 15 | 52.876 | +2.472 | 11 | ||
| 13 | GTD | 96 | 52.937 | +2.533 | 12 | ||
| 14 | GTD | 73 | 52.947 | +2.543 | 13 | ||
| 15 | GTD | 57 | 52.960 | +2.556 | 14 | ||
| 16 | GTD | 93 | 52.961 | +2.557 | 15 | ||
| 17 | GTD | 63 | 53.010 | +2.606 | 16 | ||
| 18 | GTD | 007 | 53.107 | +2.703 | 17 | ||
| 19 | GTD | 14 | 53.140 | +2.736 | 18 | ||
| 20 | GTD | 33 | 53.194 | +2.790 | 19 | ||
| 21 | GTD | 86 | 53.197 | +2.793 | 20 | ||
| 22 | GTD | 16 | 53.294 | +2.890 | 21 | ||
| 23 | GTD | 75 | 53.500 | +3.096 | 252 | ||
| 24 | GTD | 50 | 53.629 | +3.225 | 223 | ||
| 25 | GTD | 23 | 53.998 | +3.594 | 244 | ||
| Sources:[23][24] | |||||||
The result kept García and Magnussen atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 211 points, 7 points ahead of sixth-place finishers Auberlen and Sims.[25] The result kept Balzan and Nielsen atop the GTD Drivers' Championship while Sellers and Snow advanced from sixth to fourth.[25] 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.[25]
Class winners are denoted inbold and ‡.
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| Previous race: Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix | 2017 season | Next race: Continental Tire Road Race Showcase |