Mario Farnbacher (Germany) and Alex Riberas (Spain) will be looking for another top finish at this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Northeast Grand Prix to run at Lime Rock Park, July 22-23.
The Heart of Racing Porsche duo are ready to take on the 1.5-mile Lime Rock Park circuit that boasts six right hand turns and one left hander. The team has been on the pole in GTD in three of the last four races (Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park). Once again, Riberas is tasked with learning a new circuit, but the young Spaniard has proven to be a quick study. The Heart of Racing drivers are listed second in the GTD drivers standings with 169, just 22 out of the top spot.
“Lime Rock is the shortest track on the schedule and therefore times will be very close,” Riberas said. “Any mistake could be very expensive in qualifying. From the feedback I received from Mario and Ian (James) it’s very difficult to overtake and that will make track position a key factor for the race. I was able to pull away more than 16 seconds at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with one of the best set-up Porsches I have ever driven. I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t be a front runner this weekend as well.”
“Lime Rock is a very short circuit which requires complete focus,” Riberas said. “Because the track is so short, there will be a lot of cars very close together lap time wise. For this reason we have to focus on every turn! Qualifying will be important as well as it is very tough to pass, especially during the last half of the race.”
“Mario and Alex have been qualifying upfront in the past three races and that will be important for this weekend at Lime Rock,” Alex Job, team owner, said. “Alex has been doing his homework on all of these new circuits and I will say he learns fast. I think we will be a factor this weekend at what can be a very tough track.”
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park will be broadcast live on Fox starting from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on July 23. Practice and qualifying can be viewed at IMSA.tv.