Missing out (and messing up) in IMSA racing at Lime Rock Park

The Corvette Racing Team with Jordan Taylor & Antonio Garcia in the # 3 C8.R missed out on a good chance to notch 2nd place at Lime Rock Park.

Their 3-stop strategy got messed up when Garcia, taking over from Taylor in an early 2nd pit stop, hit a traffic jam on the shortest circuit on the tour.   

Anxious to move up, Garcia tangled with Jules Gounon in the # 79 AMG Mercedes GTD.  The impact broke a toe link in the right rear suspension.

The repair to fix it cost them 5 laps but they salvaged 4th in GTD PRO ahead of the # 25 BMW M4 Rahal Letterman that dropped out with engine trouble after 77 laps.

Lime Rock was the 4th win for Mattieu Jaminet and Matt Campell on their way to becoming IMSA GTD PRO champs in the Pfaff Motorsports # 9 Porsche 911 GT3R.

With 3 races to go, Garcia & Taylor are 2nd in the standings just ahead of the Heart of Racing # 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

To mark IMSA’s 50th anniversary at Lime Rock Park, officials invited US Senator Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut to call the start for the two hour, 40-minute race.

50 years ago, championship-bound Fast Phil Currin finished third overall and was the IMSA GTO winner.  He found, re-purchased and restored his 1963 split-window Corvette which he cherishes today.

Denny Long enlisted New England’s Sam Posey, the top-finishing rookie at INDY that year, to share his Corvette that Long crashed out with brake problems.

Corvette enthusiast/historian/founder of the “no rules” Corvette Club Mike Waal and wife Linda journeyed from the Maryland Eastern Shore in their C6 Corvette.  The corral proved a nice refuge for them and a strong turnout of fans. 

Photos courtesy of Richard Prince, Mike Waal, Jake Galsted, Jan Hyde.