Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Mathieu Jaminet (France) finished third in today’s running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park.
MacNeil had the wheel of the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR GTLM for the start of the two-hour-and-forty-minute race under searing 90-degree temperatures. Due to a post qualifying engine change on the No. 4 Corvette, the WeatherTech Racing Porsche started second on the front row.
MacNeil was able to negotiate the GTD traffic around the tight and short Lime Rock track to turn the car over to Jaminet in contention. The Frenchman got in and posted lap times faster than the two Corvettes. However, with weather in the area the IMSA Officials red flagged the race to wait out a lightning strike. As the clock kept running the weather was still in the vicinity and that forced IMSA to throw the checkered flag at 5:30 p.m. giving the WeatherTech Porsche a third-place finish.
“Not the way we wanted this race to finish,” MacNeil said. “My stint was alright. I was able to stick up with the Corvettes, then I hit some traffic with the slower GTD cars and got a little separation. I kept the car clean and handed it over to Mathieu in excellent shape. At the red flag we were in a good position to compete for the win. Mathieu was the fastest car on the track prior, so we had a chance at winning it. With that said, we have to be smart and safe about what we do on the track. It wasn’t safe to continue and that is a shame for us. I am looking forward to our home race at Road America in three weeks.”
Jaminet had a car that could’ve contended for the win.
“We had good speed in the WeatherTech Racing Porsche,” Jaminet said. “Cooper did a good job in the opening stint. It’s just bad luck that the race was stopped. I think we could have had a really good fight with the Corvettes. The Proton Competition team really has the car performing.
“It was fun to race here at Lime Rock. It was the first time for me. It is really quick. It suits our 911 RSR. It was fun to drive here this weekend.”
The IMSA WeatherTech Championship will travel to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 5-8 for the IMSA Sportscar Weekend.
Source. Kyle Chura/WeatherTech Racing
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