Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia win at the Lime Rock Park Northeast GP

Jordan Taylor put the # 3 C8.R on the pole.

Antonio Garcia finished up, leading all the way against Tommy Miller and Nick Tandy in the # 4 C8.R and the privately backed WeatherTech # 79 Porsche 911 of Cooper McNeil, son of the namesake series founder.

The Northeast GP at Lime Rock Park was a big treat for Corvette fans that lost out last year.

A Corvette win was overwhelmingly expected in the 240-minute race.  Torrid weather and the threat of lightning forced officials to red-flag and eventually end the race with 25 minutes to go.

It was a rather boring 3-stop race that came down to fuel mileage, saving tires and getting through traffic cleanly.  Following an overnight engine change and a minor collision, the # 4 car was bit off the winning pace.

Facing the demise of IMSA GTLM afte this season, GM Program Manager Laura Klauser was reportedly abroad, discussing changes to race for the next 2 years in the new GTD Pro class starting at Daytona next January and at Le Mans.

And beyond that, Laura will help design and invest more money into an all-new Corvette built to FIA GT3 regulations.   Selling cars to customer racers is an intriguing possibility to make the C8.R program pay off. 

Believe it or not, the sound of the Toyota Lexus RC-F GTD GT3 is deeper than the higher pitch of the C8.R mid-engine reverse-flow exhausts.

Photo credits Richard Prince & Jake Galstead

Results compiled by Wayne Ellwood

 Road America is next on Aug 07/08 where IMSA Series President John Doonan will give an annual “State of the Series” address and plans for the future.  Then it’s off to Le Mans Aug 21/22.