Ford GT’s Ryan Briscoe of Connecticut & Teammate Richard Westbrook Claim Northeast Grand Prix Win At Lime Rock Park
LAKEVILLE, CONNECTICUT (JULY 20, 2019) — Teammates Ryan Briscoe, an Australian-born Connecticut resident, and Richard Westbrook of Great Britain, in the No. 67 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT took the win at the IMSA Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park on July 20, 2019.
“It feels so good to have just won here at Lime Rock, a home race for me with my family here,” Briscoe said. “It’s such a difficult circuit and the conditions today were just brutal with the heat. We went in with a strategy to do three stops instead of the two that’s only necessary with the fuel. But we knew the tire degradation would be so tough. I think that’s what got us the win today doing the three stops, with great pit stops and great driving by Richard at the end. It all just worked out.”
Briscoe enjoyed the Winner’s Circle celebration with his wife, Nicole, an anchor on ESPN’s SportsCenter, and his two daughters.
The win by the No. 67 was their first victory of the season and an upset for Porsche’s five-race consecutive win streak in the GTLM class. The Porsche team was able to hold on and finish second overall in the race. The No. 66 Ford GT of Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller finished in the third position.
The Northeast Grand Prix is Lime Rock Park’s second major event of the season and the largest in terms of single-day spectator turnout. Despite the unusually high temperatures, the weekend turned out to be a success, according to Skip Barber, Lime Rock President, who noted that fans took full advantage of the park setting to enjoy the shaded viewing areas.
Featuring the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Michelin Pilot Challenge, the IMSA Northeast Grand Prix brought race fans two days of on track activity and racing. Lime Rock’s next major spectator race will be the Historic Festival over Labor Day Weekend. For more information, tickets and upgrade experiences, visit www.limerock.com
