Lightning, impending weather halt Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park
Mario Farnbacher and Jeff Kingsley lead Acura results with ninth-place finish

LIME ROCK, CT. (July 17, 2021) – Lightning and threatening weather conditions forced IMSA race officials to call today’s Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park with just under 30 minutes to go in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT class-only contest.

The red flag waved with one hour, 10 minutes remaining in the two hour, 40-minute contest, just as GTD category teams were nearing their final scheduled pit stops. Multiple lightning strikes in the Lime Rock area continued under the red flag, as the race clock continued to run and approaching thunderstorms then led officials to call the race.

Mario Farnbacher and Jeff Kingsley led the way for Acura in their Compass Racing NSX GT3 Evo, making up one position just after the first round of pit stops to end the day 9th in GTD.

IMSA Northeast Grand Prix Acura GTD Race Results
9th GTD – #76 Jeff Kingsley, Mario Farnbacher, Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
11th GTD – #66 Till Bechtolsheimer, Marc Miller, Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
13th GTD – #44 John Potter, Andy Lally, Magnus Racing with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo

Quotes
Mario Farnbacher (#76 Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) Started 10th, finished 9th: “I’m just disappointed, for myself, for the team and for the fans. We had a huge crowd here this weekend, but the weather prevented us from putting on a proper race for them. I was actually hoping for some rain, as I think we have a very good wet weather car and would have made up a bunch of positions. I understand that the safety of the fans and race workers comes first, but it’s just an unfortunate result for everyone.”

Marc Miller (#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) Started 9th, finished 11th: “I think we had a fast car. We just didn’t get the track position we needed. If the race had resumed, I think we would’ve been in a really good position, as we needed just a splash [of fuel] at our final stop to get us to the end. I think we could’ve made up a lot of position in the final round of [pit] stops. We were hoping to make it a good show at the end of the race, but didn’t get the opportunity.”

Fast Fact
Saturday’s two-hour, 40-minute Northeast Grand Prix was the first of two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship stand-alone events for the production-based GTLM and GTD classes. The second GT-only race will take place at Virginia International Raceway in October.

NEXT
The full WeatherTech SportsCar Championship field returns for the next race on the schedule, the August 6-8 IMSA Sports Car Weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.