Marco Seefried will replace Patrick Lindsey in the No. 73 Park Place Porsche 911 GT3 R running the Northeast Grand Prix July 20 at Lime Rock Park with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Lindsey will miss the Northeast Grand Prix due to commitments as a pilot for his company Mira Vista Aviation, a first. Seefried previously stepped in for Lindsey at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course while he was running at Spa-Franchorchamp with the FIA World Endurance Championship. A fair trade as Lindsey took home the championship in the GTE Am Class this past June.
Seefried helped earn the team a fourth-place finish when previously paired with Park Place Motorsports main-stay and Porsche Works Driver Patrick Long at Mid-Ohio. The near podium finish came after starting at the end of the GT Daytona grid after Seefried fell victim to the muddy Ohio course and became stuck during qualifying.
Park Place Motorsports finished fourth in the previous race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Another near podium finish, only halted by time and Long being forced to defend his position. The team’s current strength and history will hopefully aid Long and Seefried in their quest to find Porsche’s first win of the year. Park Place Motorsports last appearance at Lime Rock Park in 2017 with Lindsey and Porsche Works Driver Jörg Bergmeister resulted in a GTD Class win.
The Lime Rock Park weekend is an abrupt one with practice taking place Friday, July 19 and both qualifying and the Northeast Grand Prix taking place Saturday, July 20. The seven turn, 1.5-mile course hosts the first of two GT-only events for IMSA. Qualifying is set to run from 9:35 to 10:15 a.m. EDT; the GTD Class leads GTLM. The Northeast Grand Prix kicks off at 3:10 p.m. EDT and can be followed with IMSA.tv, IMSA Radio or the NBC Sports app. A delayed broadcast airs 9:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20 on NBCSN.
DRIVER QUOTES
Marco Seefried, Driver of the No. 73 Park Place Porsche
“My experience with Lime Rock is a while ago now,” Seefried said. “It was at the GrandAm time when we drove without the chicane on the backstretch and the cars often went airborne over the crest. I remember, since the track is so short, it is a very unforgiving track and bites you on the smallest mistake you do, because within a blink you find yourself a lap down. At Lime Rock, everything and everybody has to be spot on to have success. That’s why I’m really happy and glad to face that challenge together with Park Place Motorsport and Patrick Long in a Porsche because I really think that’s a very strong combination.”
Patrick Lindsey, Team Principal
“I’m happy to have Marco filling in for me,” Lindsey said. “He’s a very strong driver and I think we saw that at Mid-Ohio. You have to have a solid line-up at Lime Rock to have any shot at doing well along with a mistake-free race. No pressure. Pat and Marco together should be another fun show to watch.”
Patrick Long, Porsche Works Driver
“Lime Rock as we call it the Bull Ring of the IMSA schedule,” Long said. “It’s technical, twisty and tough to pass on but some fast corners. Porsche always has a good advantage with tire life and agility at the race track. Last year, I had pole position, but I had a technical issue at the end of the race and couldn’t pull the whole race together. I’m optimistic this year that we can close the deal. Great to have Marco back in the car. I have good confidence that he’ll do a great job filling in for Patrick and we’ll get right to business.”
