| July 19, 2019 Staff Report IMSA Wire Service LAKEVILLE, Conn. – Tandy Tops 1-2 Porsche Sweep in Northeast Grand Prix Practice Day at Lime RockThe ongoing battle for IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans (GTLM) class supremacy between Porsche GT Team teammates continued in Friday’s three practice sessions at Lime Rock Park for Saturday’s two-hour, 40-minute Northeast Grand Prix. And while there’s no points or prize money awarded for leading practice, that didn’t prevent No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR driver Nick Tandy from stealing the fastest time of the day from teammate Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 912 entry late in the day’s third and final practice session. Tandy finished the day atop the time chart with a best lap of 49.782 seconds (106.592 mph), 0.156 seconds quicker than Vanthoor. “This track is quite specific,” Tandy said. “It’s the tire wear that we have. So, there’s a different car that you have between qualifying and the race. We just focused on the race preparation for most of the session, and then at the end put a new set of tires on and did a qualifying simulation, which was pretty good. It was a good time to go out on track, so to end Day 1 with Porsche 1-2, it’s a good start.” Saturday’s race will be televised on NBCSN at 9:30 p.m. ET. Live streaming is availablef beginning at 3 p.m. ET on the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. IMSA Radio also will have live coverage on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio. Sellers, Paul Miller Racing Looking to Return to Lime Rock Victory Lane in No. 48 Lamborghini The 2018 Northeast Grand Prix was the second and final victory of the season for the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 team and driver Bryan Sellers, but it helped to propel them to the WeatherTech Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class title at season’s end. This weekend marks a year since that victory – the most-recent one for the team – making Sellers and the team extra hungry to return to the top step of the podium. It’s also a big weekend for the team as it’s the closest race to home for team owner Paul Miller, who hails from Parsippany, New Jersey. “This is a huge place for Paul Miller Racing,” Sellers said. “He’s just two hours away, and this is a place that he grew up coming to, racing at, and this is a place where we want to get a result every single time we come. We’ll try and work hard for him, because the smile on his face after a result at this one is worthwhile.” Sellers posted the fastest lap of the final practice session Friday afternoon with a time of 51.797 seconds (102.445 mph), just a tick slower than Bill Auberlen’s overall best GTD time of the day at 51.715 (102.608 mph) in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3. “It’s hard to tell in these sessions,” Sellers said. “Basically, what happens is you go towards the track temp coming down and you’re scrubbing tires at the end, so the number looks good, right? But the important thing is, we seem to have a pretty good car.” Sellers is sharing the No. 48 Lamborghini with Corey Lewis this weekend. Lewis normally is the team’s third driver in IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup rounds, but Lewis was pressed into service this weekend as a late replacement for Ryan Hardwick, who is nursing an injury sustained during practice at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park two weeks ago. Trinkler Scores Motul Pole Award One Year after Team TGM’s Inaugural IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Win at Lime Rock Park Lime Rock Park continues to deliver positive momentum for Team TGM in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. The Ted Giovanis-led squad scored its inaugural series win one year ago this weekend at the “bullring” with the No. 46 Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Owen Trinkler and Hugh Plumb. The team would go on to win two additional races on its way to the 2018 Grand Sport (GS) class championship. During the 15-minute qualifying session for Saturday’s Lime Rock 120, Trinkler put the No. 46 first on the charts again with his second consecutive and third overall Motul Pole Award of the season with a time of 53.963 seconds (98.600 mph). “I’m so happy for our team and Team TGM and Motul for doing this Pole Award,” said Trinkler. “This Mercedes-AMG GT4 did a great job here at Lime Rock Park. I’m so happy that we got the pole again. Threepeat for us and let’s see if we can just get the job done tomorrow.” Trinkler’s pole position led a top-five field with five different manufacturers. The No. 39 Audi R8 GT4 for Carbahn Motorsports will start alongside Team TGM’s Mercedes-AMG on the front row. After winning at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park two weeks ago, the No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R for Rebel Rock Racing will start third next to the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 in fourth place. Starting fifth will be the No. 69 Motorsports In Action McLaren GT4. Lewis Earns Second Career IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Motul Pole Award for Hyundai, Bryan Herta Autosport in TCR Michael Lewis proved to be untouchable in Friday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR qualifying session at Lime Rock Park. The series rookie posted the quickest sector time in all three of the track’s segments to earn his second Motul Pole Award of 2019 in the No. 98 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Veloster TCR N. Lewis quickly made himself comfortable at Lime Rock, having also paced Practice 1 this morning. “First of all, thank you to Bryan Herta Autosport for providing me and (co-driver) Mark Wilkins this awesome Veloster N TCR,” said Lewis. “Hyundai is building a great machine and Bryan Herta Autosport is really putting it together well. “The car rolled off the trailer very well and we were able to get it done in practice, get a good baseline and make it happen in qualifying. It was a great couple laps, a little bit stressful. There was some traffic that exited in front of us on our clear lap so just had to make some space and we went for it.” Lewis and Wilkins will be driving for their second win of the season, after taking home the first Pilot Challenge victory at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Hyundai and BHA in May. Two other Pilot Challenge rookies followed suit behind Lewis in TCR. Alex Papadopulos, will start second in the No. 3 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giuietta TCR, while Brian Henderson qualified third in the No. 84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic TCR. The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge 120 goes green on Saturday, July 20 at 11:10 a.m. ET. The race can be streamed live on IMSA.tv with IMSA Radio commentary. The NBCSN television broadcast will air on Friday, July 26 at 6 p.m. ET. Excitement Builds for New Corvette Stingray in IMSA Paddock While many teams and competitors were resting up Thursday night ahead of a busy day of on-track activity at Lime Rock Park, the new Corvette C8 “Stingray” was being officially unveiled in Tustin, California. The new road-going sports car from Chevrolet is revolutionary as the first mid-engine Corvette in an illustrious history for the car that dates back to 1953. And while no news has yet been announced on when the C8 will hit WeatherTech Championship racetracks, there’s plenty of excitement for the new production vehicle. “I was very fortunate after Watkins Glen and after Canadian Tire Motorsport Park to have two spells at the Nurburgring working with the Corvette road car group on the 2020 Corvette Stingray,” said No. 4 Corvette Racing C7.R driver Oliver Gavin. “It was great to be part of that entire operation and to work with that team at such a challenging track. The Stingray was absolutely everything Tadge (Juechter, Corvette Executive Chief Engineer) said at the launch. “The overall experience you get is absolutely fantastic. I got a lot of enjoyment and pleasure in driving the Stingray and working with the team. It’s great to see. It’s a fantastic product and a great car. The Corvette owners are going to love it. I just can’t believe that it’s going to be sold for less than $60,000! That’s absolutely extraordinary with the performance in the car.” |
