- Team races from last to sixth in GT-only IMSA round
- Drivers Katherine Legge and Sheena Monk score fourth top-10 of 2023
It was an impressive effort from the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22, with drivers Katherine Legge and Sheena Monk racing their way through the field from last to a sixth-place finish at the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park.
The #66 Gradient squad struggled in qualifying in the first GT-only event of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, lining up 15th on the grid. Monk would advance one position on the opening lap and face intense pressure from behind during her stint.
The team would make their first pit stop under yellow conditions, just shy of the required drive time for Monk—coming back into the pits just one lap later to complete their driver change to Katherine Legge.
Legge would manage to continue to work her #66 Acura forward in the final hours of the race, ultimately crossing the line sixth.
FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix Acura Race Results
- 6th GTD - #66 Katherine Legge and Sheena Monk; Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
Quotes
Katherine Legge (#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22) Started 15th, finished 6th in GTD with co-driver Sheena Monk: "Today feels like a win for us—given that we took a car that really shouldn't have finished in sixth place and put it there. That was really due to immaculate execution of everything by the team. We struggle here [at Lime Rock], especially with the new rules with the [minimum] tire pressures and the cambers. We struggle with understeer here, it's not a track where we're normally strong. And so for us to finish sixth is massively positive. Kudos to all the guys for great pit stops and for executing everything well and us hanging in there!"
Andris Laivins (team owner/manager, Gradient Racing) on today's Acura race at Lime Rock Park: "It feels great! We really struggled all day yesterday. We put the guys through the ringer, making multiple major set up changes throughout the sessions, and we really weren't sure how good of a car we were going to have coming into the race today. But, legit sixth feels like a win! We thought we had a potentially last-place car, so for everybody to keep their cool and keep their head in the game instead of just getting frustrated, we were able to get the car to a decent place for today. And Kat and Sheena both did a tremendous job holding position and advancing where they could without risking an incident and keeping the car out of trouble. I couldn't be happier to be sixth!"
Fast Fact
- Today's two-hour, 40-minute Northeast Grand Prix was the first of two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship stand-alone events for the GTD and GTD PRO classes. The second GT-only race will take place at Virginia International Raceway in August.
Next
After today's GT-only event at Lime Rock, the full IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship field returns August 4-6 for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
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