It appears that Lime Rock Park has finished their $5 million paving project on the 1.53 mile course in northwest Connecticut, and just in time. The American Le Mans series event is fast approaching, and has been the headline event for the track since 2004. Looking at the photographs, it appears that the track has added some optional corners, including one after the No Name Straight on the back stretch of the track. The course has always used the optional chicane for the American Le Mans series race, so it will be interesting to see if perhaps a different configuration will be used for the race this year. It is my understanding that this project was done specifically for the American Le Mans Series event, if not also for the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Camping World East Series.
There will be several teams looking to turn their fortunes around when they head to the Northeast Grand Prix, one of which being Risi Competizione. The 2007 GT2 champions have struggled this season to say the least, finishing 13th in class at the most recent event, Utah. Perhaps Mika Salo and Jaime Melo can use their recent GT2 title at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans to propel them to a few strong finishes over the next several months. Another GT2 team that has seen their performance diminish in the last several races would be Primetime Race Group's Joel Feinberg and Chris Hall. The 2nd-year team earned an impressive 5th place finish in GT2 at the 12 Hours of Sebring, a surprise to say the least. The Viper has not impressed lately, however, as a 12th place class finish at the 2nd race of the season, St. Petersburg, has shown. The following two races were just as underwhelming; a pair of 14th place finishes in class. Unfortunately, history is not on this team's side, as ever since the Team Oreca Vipers left the American Le Mans Series after winning the GT1 class in 1999 and 2000, the first two years of the American Le Mans Series' existence, Vipers have done essentially nothing thereafter.
An interesting team to watch in P2 will be De Ferran Motorsports. Lime Rock will only be their 2nd ever race in the series, but if it's anything like their first (a 3rd place finish at Utah), it should be a great one. Aside from GT2, the premier battles to watch will be that of the P2 cars as well as the Penske Porsches and Audi R10's, fresh off yet another 24 Hours of Le Mans victory. It has been a year of surprises for both cars; Penske took a surprise victory at Sebring, and then Audi answered back with consecutive victories at St. Petersburg and Long Beach. The two victories by Audi were surprising, if only for the fact that the Audi R10 has historically struggled on street circuits, getting beat by the much lighter and more nimble Porsche RS Spyder. As of now, 28 cars are on the entry list, meaning that lap traffic is going to be worse than ever, and we will most likely see even more drivers complain about it as compared to the numerous complaints last year at this event.
Since its inception into the series, Lime Rock has seen some significant history. In 2004, Ferrari scored its first-ever GT2 class win with Ralf Kelleners and Anthony Lazzaro behind the wheel of the 360. Two years ago, arguably the greatest racecar of all-time, the Audi R8, ran its final race (and won). The venue? Lime Rock Park. The track has also been witness to one of the closest finishes in series history, when Corvette was beaten out by Aston Martin at the line by 0.033 seconds.
Last year's GT2 winner, Flying Lizard Motorsports, will return, but this time with three machines. Corvette looks to score yet another win at Lime Rock, it's only competition coming from the Bell Motorsports Aston Martin, a team that is not yet up to competitive pace. Sascha Maassen and Ryan Briscoe were victorious last year at this event in the Porsche RS Spyder, and while Maassen will be back to defend his victory, Briscoe will not, now running a full schedule in IndyCar.
The buzz at this year's event will arguably be Andretti Green Racing. IndyCar star Marco Andretti will be making his return to the series (you may recall he raced at Sebring this year), and F1 driver Franck Montagny will make his American Le Mans Series debut. Not to be forgotten, Black Swan Racing will be making their first-ever start in the series, adding another Ford GT to the field. Judging by the performance of the Robertson Racing Ford GT this season, it may be a difficult transition for the team. One final team to watch; Tafel Racing. In only their 2nd season, the switch to Ferrari from Porsche is proving to be a great decision. The team is currently 2nd in GT2 behind Flying Lizard Motorsports.
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