International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2022 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 in Lakeville, 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 the 1972 IMSA GT Championship. As a result, 1972 overall winner Bob Bailey served as the grand marshal for the 2022 edition of the event.[8] As in previous years, it would be the first of two GT-only rounds of the IMSA 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 the Michelin 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 #71 Rebel Rock Racing entry of Frank DePew and Robin Liddell.[12]
On July 6, 2022, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event.[13] The lone change was a two liter fuel capacity increase for the Lexus 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 and Mathieu Jaminet led the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 2056 points, 138 ahead of Antonio García and Jordan Taylor in second.[14] In GTD, Stevan McAleer led the Drivers' Championship with 1765 points, 5 points ahead of Ryan Hardwick and Jan Heylen in second followed by Bill Auberlen and Robby 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 in GTD Pro, and 10 in GTD.[15] GTD Pro saw a reduced entry total after the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing entry of Cooper MacNeil and returning co-driver Jules 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 support Mercedes-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 for Vasser 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 at Canadian 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 replacement Lamborghini Huracán GT3 chassis after damaging their primary car during the 6 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]
Practice
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]
Practice 1
The first practice session took place at 11:25 am ET and ended with John Edwards topping the charts for BMW M Team RLL, with a lap time of 51.735.[20]
The second practice session took place at 3:05 pm ET and ended with Matt Campbell topping the charts for Pfaff Motorsports, with a lap time of 51.050.[22]
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]
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]
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