The2022 Northeast Grand Prix (known as the2022 FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix for sponsorship reasons) was asports car race sanctioned by theInternational Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held atLime Rock Park inLakeville, Connecticut, on July 16, 2022. This race was the ninth round of the2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the sixth round of the 2022 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The race was won by the No. 9 GTD Pro entry of Pfaff Motorsports, driven byMatt Campbell andMathieu Jaminet.[1][2] The GTD class victory was taken by the No. 1BMW M4 GT3 ofPaul Miller Racing, piloted byBryan Sellers andMadison Snow.[3] The race for the GTD class victory came down to the last corner, with the leading #57Mercedes-AMG GT3 ofWinward Racing falling victim to a fuel pump failure and fading to fifth in class.[4]
International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2021.[5] It was the seventh year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2022 Northeast Grand Prix was the ninth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2022 by IMSA, and it was the sixth of eight rounds held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[6] The race was held at the seven-turn 1.530 mi (2.462 km)Lime Rock Park inLakeville, Connecticut on July 16, 2022.[7]
The event marked 50 years since the first IMSA-sanctioned event held at the circuit, which took place as part of the1972 IMSA GT Championship. As a result, 1972 overall winner Bob Bailey served as thegrand marshal for the 2022 edition of the event.[8] As in previous years, it would be the first of two GT-only rounds of theIMSA SportsCar Championship, in which only the GTD Pro and GTD classes competed.[9] In June, Connecticut-based auto parts retailer FCP Euro was announced as the race's title sponsor.[10] FCP Euro also fielded an entry in theMichelin Pilot Challenge event that weekend, which served as the sole IMSA-sanctioned support race.[11] The race, officially labeled the Lime Rock Park 120, was won by the #71Rebel Rock Racing entry of Frank DePew andRobin Liddell.[12]
On July 6, 2022, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outliningBalance of Performance for the event.[13] The lone change was a two liter fuel capacity increase for theLexus RC F GT3.
The #23 Heart of Racing Team entry entered the event as defending GTD-class winners, while the GTD Pro class would compete at Lime Rock for the first time in class history.[9]
Before the race,Matt Campbell andMathieu Jaminet led the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 2056 points, 138 ahead ofAntonio García andJordan Taylor in second.[14] In GTD,Stevan McAleer led the Drivers' Championship with 1765 points, 5 points ahead of Ryan Hardwick andJan Heylen in second followed byBill Auberlen andRobby Foley in third with 1721 points.[14] Porsche and BMW were leading their respective Manufactures' Championships while Pfaff Motorsports and Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports each led their own Teams' Championships.[14]
A total of 15 cars took part in the event, split across two classes. 5 cars were entered inGTD Pro, and 10 inGTD.[15] GTD Pro saw a reduced entry total after the No. 79WeatherTech Racing entry ofCooper MacNeil and returning co-driverJules Gounon moved to the GTD class, having competed in the Pro class for the first six events of the season.[16] MacNeil, an FIA Silver-rated driver, had been eligible to compete in the Pro-Am GTD class for the entire season, and cited the change as an effort to supportMercedes-AMG's push for the GTD manufacturer's championship as well as for undisclosed internal reasons.[8]Jack Hawksworth, who drove the No. 14 GTD Pro entry forVasser Sullivan Racing, returned after missing the previous two rounds due to injuries suffered in a motocross accident.[17] In GTD, several teams returned after forgoing the international round atCanadian Tire Motorsport Park, which only paid points towards the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. Wright Motorsports and Team Korthoff Motorsports returned, as did CarBahn with Peregrine Racing, who had sourced a replacementLamborghini Huracán GT3 chassis after damaging their primary car during the6 Hours of Watkins Glen in June. The Inception Racing McLaren did not return after skipping the race at Mosport, as the team continued to juggle a dual North American and European campaign.[18]
There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, both on Friday. The first session lasted 80 minutes on Friday morning while the second session lasted for 75 minutes on Friday afternoon.[19]
The first practice session took place at 11:25 amET and ended withJohn Edwards topping the charts forBMW M Team RLL, with a lap time of 51.735.[20]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTD Pro | 25 | BMW M Team RLL | John Edwards | 51.735 | _ |
| 2 | GTD | 39 | CarBahn with Peregrine Racing | Robert Megennis | 51.814 | +0.079 |
| 3 | GTD Pro | 14 | Vasser Sullivan Racing | Jack Hawksworth | 51.820 | +0.085 |
| Source:[21] | ||||||
The second practice session took place at 3:05 pmET and ended withMatt Campbell topping the charts for Pfaff Motorsports, with a lap time of 51.050.[22]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTD Pro | 9 | Pfaff Motorsports | Matt Campbell | 51.050 | _ |
| 2 | GTD Pro | 3 | Corvette Racing | Jordan Taylor | 51.101 | +0.051 |
| 3 | GTD Pro | 14 | Vasser Sullivan Racing | Jack Hawksworth | 51.263 | +0.213 |
| Source:[23] | ||||||
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Friday’s afternoon qualifying was broken into one session for the GTD Pro and GTD classes, which lasted for 15 minutes.[19] The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am (GTD) class requiring a Bronze/Silver Rated Driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order.[24]
Matt Campbell took overall pole for Pfaff Motorsports, whileFrankie Montecalvo andVasser Sullivan Racing scored pole in GTD.[25]
Pole positions in each class are indicated inbold and by ‡.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTD Pro | 9 |  Pfaff Motorsports |  Matt Campbell | 51.079 | _ | 1‡ |
| 2 | GTD Pro | 14 |  Vasser Sullivan Racing |  Jack Hawksworth | 51.097 | +0.018 | 2 |
| 3 | GTD Pro | 25 | BMW M Team RLL | Connor De Phillippi | 51.227 | +0.148 | 15[a] |
| 4 | GTD Pro | 23 | Heart of Racing Team | Ross Gunn | 51.281 | +0.202 | 3 |
| 5 | GTD Pro | 3 | Corvette Racing | Jordan Taylor | 51.302 | +0.202 | 4 |
| 6 | GTD | 12 | Vasser Sullivan Racing | Frankie Montecalvo | 51.459 | +0.380 | 5‡ |
| 7 | GTD | 39 | CarBahn with Peregrine Racing | Robert Megennis | 51.465 | +0.386 | 6 |
| 8 | GTD | 27 | Heart of Racing Team | Roman De Angelis | 51.477 | +0.398 | 7 |
| 9 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Robby Foley | 51.490 | +0.411 | 8 |
| 10 | GTD | 32 | Team Korthoff Motorsports | Stevan McAleer | 51.516 | +0.437 | 9 |
| 11 | GTD | 57 | Winward Racing | Russell Ward | 51.517 | +0.438 | 10 |
| 12 | GTD | 1 | Paul Miller Racing | Madison Snow | 51.651 | +0.572 | 11 |
| 13 | GTD | 51 |  RWR Eurasia Motorsport | Aidan Read | 51.741 | +0.662 | 12 |
| 14 | GTD | 79 | WeatherTech Racing | Cooper MacNeil | 52.213 | +1.134 | 13 |
| 15 | GTD | 16 | Wright Motorsports | Ryan Hardwick | 52.312 | +1.233 | 14 |
| Sources:[27][28] | |||||||
The morning warm-up took place at 9:05 amET and ended withJules Gounon topping the charts forWeatherTech Racing, with a lap time of 51.342.[29]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTD | 79 | WeatherTech Racing | Jules Gounon | 51.342 | _ |
| 2 | GTD | 16 | Wright Motorsports | Jan Heylen | 51.783 | +0.441 |
| 3 | GTD Pro | 3 | Corvette Racing | Antonio García | 51.877 | +0.535 |
| Source:[30] | ||||||
With a total of 2441 points, Campbell and Jaminet's victory increased their advantage to 226 points over García and Taylor while De Phillippi and Edwards took over fifth position in the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship.[31] The final results of GTD meant McAleer increased his points lead to 40 points over Hardwick and Heylen while De Angelis took over third position in the Drivers' Championship.[31] Porsche and BMW continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Pfaff Motorsports and Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports kept their respective advantages in their Teams' Championships with three rounds remaining.[31]
Class winners are denoted inbold and ‡.
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