Heroic Team Effort Nets Top-Six Finish for Gradient Racing at Lime Rock Park

Gradient Racing blended cunning pitlane strategy and on-track opportunism to score a superb sixth-place finish in the latest round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, the FCP Euro North West Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park.

The result represented a magnificent turnaround in fortunes for drivers Sheena Monk and Katherine Legge as well as the crew of the #66 JG Wentworth Acura NSX GT3 Evo 22, who looked like unlikely challengers just 24 hours earlier.

The duo had found it hard a comfortable set-up through Friday’s pair of practice sessions at the Connecticut track, the shortest on the IMSA calendar.

With neither driver managing a top-10 time in practice and Sheena then qualifying 15th in the GTD class, hopes of a strong result were pinned on the ability to turn strategic decisions in the Austin, TX, team’s favour.

A strong start by Monk enabled the Newtown, PA, native to gain a spot on the opening lap and she made up two further positions to hold 12th by the time a Full-Course Yellow was declared on the 40-minute mark.

It was here where quick thinking and excellent teamwork in the pits set in motion the course of the rest of the two-hour, 40-minute race.

Opting to pit for fuel and tires as soon as the pitlane opened guaranteed #66 would not lose a lap to the class leaders, who remained on track as they awaited the 45-minute mark, at which point driver changes would become viable.

Sheena Monk was ultimately pleased with the team’s performance. (Photo by https://jcrbphoto.com/)

Rejoining the back of the pack and then pitting for a driver change-only stop while others took on fuel enabled further position gain and Katherine wasted no time in making further progress as the race resumed; the Atlanta-based Briton up to 10th by the one-hour mark.

Despite the relentless pace and a lack of straight-line speed compared to rival cars, Katherine drove superbly to manage her tires and strike whenever opportunities presented themselves; her fastest lap less than 0.1 seconds slower than the class winner.

Keeping a cool head through two more Full-Course Yellow periods helped her climb to sixth place – a position she held for the final 30 minutes.

Gradient Racing’s third top-six finish of the year – and the second in the past three races – leaves Katherine and Sheena eighth in the Drivers’ standings, but only 40 points away from fifth spot with 385 points available at each of the remaining four races.

Katherine Legge waiting to jump aboard the #66 JG Wentworth Acura NSX GT3 Evo22

Katherine Legge said: “Sixth was like a win for us as we really didn't have a great car. Sheena did a great job and the team did an equally great job with strategy and pitstops, which allowed us to finish in the top six and grab some very valuable points. We're incredibly happy and super-proud of the whole JG Wentworth Acura NSX squad. We weren't fast, but we got there in the end.”

Andris Laivins, Team Manager, said: “What a recovery! We didn’t have the pace and the crew threw everything at it between the sessions on Friday hunting for a solution. I think we made our Acura better, but finishing sixth came down to just executing with what we had on track and in the pits. Sheena and Kat kept their cool, stayed out of trouble and moved up when they had the chance. Kat's final stint was a nail-biter but bringing it home in the front half of the field feels like a win.”