The 2026 Battle on the Bricks produced a dramatic 2-hour, 40-minute contest at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the GTP and GTD Professional victories each determined within the closing phases. BMW M Group WRT secured its first IMSA victory with the #24 taking the highest step of the rostrum.
GTP
BMW M Group WRT lastly broke by within the prime class as Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor took the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 to a primary IMSA victory for the workforce.
The race started with a significant incident at Flip 1. Contact involving the #25 BMW of Philipp Eng and the #6 Porsche of Laurin Heinrich despatched Julien Andlauer’s #7 Porsche right into a spin, with the #99 AO Racing LMP2 and different vehicles additionally turning into concerned. The incident compelled an early security automobile.
As soon as the race settled down, Jack Aitken took the lead within the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Collection.R from pole sitter Tom Blomqvist’s #60 Acura. Aitken and Earl Bamber then managed a lot of the race for Cadillac, with the #31 remaining on the entrance by nearly all of the operating.
The decisive part got here through the last warning interval. Laurin Heinrich’s #6 Porsche had been operating close to the entrance, however a brief fill through the first pit sequence and a troublesome last cease dropped the Porsche again. The #24 BMW emerged in second, giving Sheldon van der Linde a transparent alternative to assault Bamber within the #31.
With lower than six minutes remaining, van der Linde used site visitors to get alongside Bamber and accomplished the transfer for the lead. He had already tried to cross the Cadillac a number of occasions, however this time the transfer caught.
Van der Linde introduced the #24 house 2.926 seconds forward of the #31, giving BMW M Group WRT its first IMSA WeatherTech Championship victory in its debut GTP season. It was additionally Sheldon van der Linde’s first IMSA victory.
“My first IMSA win – wonderful!,” stated Sheldon van der Linde afte the race.
“I had goosebumps once I overtook Earl Bamber just a few laps from the top. I actually had to verify I stayed targeted. I had a little bit of dangerous luck with site visitors throughout my stint at first, however I knew my time would come. The automobile and our technique have been good in the present day. I’m completely delighted for the workforce, who greater than deserve this victory.
“Folks typically overlook that WRT are competing of their first season within the IMSA Collection. What they’re reaching right here and within the FIA WEC with their victories this 12 months is unbelievable. I’m proud to be a part of this workforce.”
The #31 completed second, with Earl Bamber and Jack Aitken securing one other robust end result for Motion Specific Racing. The end result additionally prolonged Aitken’s championship lead over Heinrich to 147 factors heading into the season finale.
The #6 Porsche accomplished the rostrum with Laurin Heinrich and Kévin Estre, recovering strongly after falling again through the last pit sequence. The #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac completed fourth, whereas the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura of Colin Braun and Tom Blomqvist completed fifth.
The championship now heads to Petit Le Mans with Jack Aitken holding the benefit within the GTP standings.
LMP2
LMP2 was turned the wrong way up by the opening-lap accident, with a number of championship contenders caught within the Flip 1 incident.
The #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA of George Kurtz, which entered Indianapolis main the championship, was among the many vehicles caught up within the crash. The automobile ultimately misplaced greater than 40 laps after two separate journeys to the storage for repairs. The #99 AO Racing ORECA of PJ Hyett was additionally closely broken, though the workforce managed to return the automobile to the race.
With the main championship contenders in bother, Period Motorsport capitalized. Christian Rasmussen and Nick Boulle drove the #18 ORECA 07-Gibson to victory, with Rasmussen taking the automobile throughout the road 15 seconds forward of the #52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA shared by Misha Goikhberg and Harry Tincknell.
The #22 United Autosports ORECA had been in rivalry for the victory late within the race, however Paul di Resta acquired a drive-through penalty with 32 minutes remaining for passing underneath yellow. The penalty dropped the automobile down the order, though it recovered to complete third.
The #43 Inter Europol Competitors ORECA had seemed set to profit from the issues affecting the championship contenders. Jeremy Clarke and Tom Dillmann have been ultimately handed the category lead, however a drive-through for Clarke after contact with a GTD automobile and a late splash of gasoline in the end dropped the #43 to sixth.
Regardless of the troublesome end result, Clarke and Dillmann left Indianapolis main the LMP2 championship by 4 factors over George Kurtz and Alex Quinn. The victory was Period Motorsport’s first LMP2 win for the reason that 2024 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
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