IMSA Indy Preview: Opportunity Awaits at The Brickyard

The IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship returns to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks.

A fixture on the schedule since the introduction of GTP in 2023, IMSA returns to Brickyard for the second (and for now last) time as a six-hour endurance race. The fourth leg of the Michelin Endurance Cup will be critical as both the MEC and the overall season championship are on the line. The final two races will contribute to both championships, so teams and drivers will have to be on their A-Game over the course of the next 16 hours of racing.

GTP: Championship Fight On?

Once upon a time, Porsche Penske Motorsport were undefeated on the GTP season. Some people were actually thinking Porsche had the power to run a perfect season. Fast forward to September and my things have changed. Porsche has not won since Laguna Seca in May. Acura and BMW have capitalized on their early season strengths to find victory lane. Now with two races left, there could be a championship fight on our hands. At the moment, the top 6 in GTP are within 385 points – the maximum amount of points a driver can score in a weekend. In contrast, the minimum number of points that can be scored this weekend is 209. All teams will be keeping this in mind over the course of the weekend.

Going into this weekend, BMW has to be seen as the favorite. They are the defending champions of this race. They finally capitalized on their pace to win last time out at Road America. BMW is the closest competitor to Porsche in the points standings. All the ingredients are there for BMW to pounce on their late-season charge. Next to BMW as favorite this weekend is Acura. Behind BMW, Acura was the best of the rest at Road America. Also prior to BMW, Acura themselves won back-to-back at Detroit and The Glen. These arguably are the two strongest cars at this point of the season. Despite the recent BoP where both have slight power reductions, this likely will not change this weekend.

As always, you can never count out Porsche Penske Motorsport and their 963s. They are championship leaders for a reason after all. But it hard to fathom they are looking for their first podium since Detroit in May. Porsche will be anxious to get back to winning ways in Roger’s house. But Porsche will not have it easy as BoP is making the 963 heavier while taking away power for Indy. Cadillac are the wildcards here. It has been a tough season for the GM brand in the top class of IMSA. But they have shown if the strategy is played to perfection, they will take full advantage and stay up front. Lastly, Aston Martin continue to make solid gains with each race. A top-5 after six hours Sunday afternoon is not out of the question for The Heart of Racing Valkyrie.

On the driver front, like Watkins Glen, only two cars will opt for three drivers. Frederick Vesti is back for the #31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac while Kaku Ohta returns to the #93 MSR Acura.

LMP2: Can Spike keep flying high?

The AO Racing duo of Dane Cameron and PJ Hyett are on fire (pun intended). The team is on a high with winning the last two races, catapulting them to the P2 points lead. Their endurance driver, Silver-rated Jonny Edgar, is back for the final two races and look to keep the winning ways going. Their biggest challenge in the 12 car P2 field looks to come from United Autosports. The #22 team of Daniel Goldburg and Paul di Resta, with Swede Rasmus Lindh rejoining for Indy, is looking for their third endurance win of the season. The sister #2 machine of Nick Boulle, Ben Hanley and Juan Manuel Correa also could sneak a surprise, with top-5 performances in 3 of the last 4 races.

Another challenger in LMP2 is InterEuropol Competition. Runners-up at Road America and easily could have won at Mosport if it were not for a mechanical problem late. The team has speed and is very competitive off the truck on a regular basis. Already winners this season at Sebring, InterEuropol has shown they are capable of big results and are ready to deliver again. A potential darkhorse in LMP2 is Era Motorsport. The team welcomes experienced veteran Oliver Jarvis to the team for Indy to partner Tobias Lutke and David Heinemeier Hansson. For Jarvis, this is his first P2 start since racing for United at Daytona in January. It will be interesting to see how Jarvis gets on in new surroundings. Jarvis is not the only driver news in LMP2 however.

LMP2 is where we find (arguably) the biggest story of this race. Logan Sargeant makes his competitive return to racing for the first time in a year this weekend. The American ex-F1 driver will share the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Oreca with Naveen Rao and Benjamin Pederson. Logan is no stranger to P2 machinery, but even he is managing expectations ahead of his IMSA debut. Maybe Sargeant can help improve the team’s performance. With only one top-5 since the team’s podium at Daytona, a new driver will have the team hopeful for a good run Sunday.

GTD PRO: Opportunity for Mustang?

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports holds a 53 point lead over DragonSpeed and Ferrari going into Indianapolis. However, Multimatic Motorsports could be in prime position to take advantage. Ferrari, Corvette and BMW were all given power reductions in the latest BoP. The bad news doesn’t stop there for Corvette. The Z06 GT3 will also carry a 10 kilogram weight increase, the biggest weight change in GTD. Adding insult to injury, Ferrari will be given a 6 kg weight break while Ford has no change in weight.

The #64 duo of Mike Rockenfeller and Seb Priaulx sit fourth, 233 points behind the #3 Corvette in the standings. A big weekend at Indy would go a long way toward a championship comeback for Multimatic. As for the last of the five manufacturers in contention, Porsche has a slight power reduction. Apart from a rear wing angle adjustment, AO Racing and Rexy look very strong again at Indy. Laurin Heinrich and Klaus Bachler are very much in the frame to repeat their class win from 2024.

Transitioning to Lamborghini and Lexus, could Indy be the bright spot in a dark season? Lamborghini has not had much to smile about since their podium in Detroit. Pfaff Motorsports have taken this learning season in stride as they come to grips with Lamborghini machinery. Could a slight weight break give this championship-winning squad an competitive chance this weekend? Lexus and their aging warrior have fought valiantly all season to be as competitive as possible. Like Lamborghini, Detroit has been the highlight of their season so far. Like Lamborghini, there were given a favorable BoP. Lexus will see a slight power increase at Indy. Vasser Sullivan will hope the added power will at least see them fighting for a podium come Sunday afternoon.

Elsewhere in the Indy paddock, Mercedes returns to GTD PRO. Kenny Habul’s 75 Express team is back for the first time since Daytona and Mr. Habul is bringing some fire power. Joining Kenny in the #75 entry will be Mercedes factory driver Mikael Grenier and Australian Supercars star Broc Feeny, making his IMSA and US racing debut.

GTD: Can Anyone Stop Winward?

Winward Racing is arguably the most complete team in GTD. They are fast every time cars are on track. They have won regular rounds and enduros. And when they do not win, they are always in contention. But IMSA BoP has not done Mercedes any favors for this weekend. The Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo will see a power reduction in both stage 1 and stage 2. While the weight remains unchanged, less power will mean less speed for Indy’s straightaways. But that has not stopped Russell Ward and his team before, so do not expect it to be a hindrance again.

This now begs the question: Who in this 18-car GTD field can take the fight to Winward? You do not have any shortage of options. Watkins Glen winners Heart of Racing and defending Indy winners Wright Motorsports have to top the list. Silver-rated young gun Casper Stevenson is second in the standings looking to keep his championship hopes alive. A big weekend in Indy for Heart of Racing and Aston Martin will go a long way. Their podium at VIR was the first since their Watkins Glen win in June. While VIR was damage control, Heart of Racing looks to keep positive momentum going on Sunday.

Wright Motorsports is not quite in the championship fight. But Porsche’s 911 GT3R challenger seems to love Indianapolis. The BoP may favor Porsche, which swept the GTD classes in the 6 Hour in 2024. With their speedy endurance pro in Australian Tom Sargeant returning, Wright is expected to contend for class honors. At a minimum, the team could earn their first podium since their runner-up at January’s Rolex 24. This team has been consistent, but they have lacked that extra race-winning pace. Maybe the Brickyard is the place to change that narrative.

Outside of Wright and Heart of Racing, the #021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari has found new life in the season’s second half. Since young Kenton Koch joined the team in July, their performance has been stellar. Three top-10s, back-to-back podiums and the team’s first IMSA win at Road America in August. In contrast, their best finish prior to Koch’s arrival was 11th. It is amazing what a young talented driver can do to change a team’s fortunes. For Indy, Koch and his driving partner for those three races, Onofiro Triarsi, will switch to the #023. Ferrari factory driver James Calado joins them reprising his endurance driver role in the team.

Accompanying the additional Endurance Cup entries and third drivers returning for Indy will be a new driver with a familiar surname. Eduardo Barichello, son of F1 veteran Rubens, will make his IMSA debut this weekend. The Silver-rated Brazilian is an eleventh hour replacement in the #19 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin replacing team owner Rory van der Steur. Eduardo is a logical choice, given he has been racing for Aston Martin in the LMGT3 class in the World Endurance Championship this season. Competing in the Racing Spirit of Leman squad, the high point of their season was Eduardo’s home race in Sao Paulo in July. Young Barichello put the Aston Martin on class pole, which the team converted to a podium finish. Keep an eye on Eduardo as he gets on in the IMSA paddock this weekend at Indy.

On-Track Schedule and Air Times (All Times US EDT)

IMSA teams get their first crack of the 2.45-mile road course on Friday morning with a 90-minute free practice starting at 11:15am. Action picks up Saturday morning with final practice from 8:55am-10:25am before Qualifying at 3:15pm. Qualifying will stream on Peacock (US) and IMSA YouTube (global, US blocked) with coverage starting at 3:10pm. On Sunday, the green flag will fly for the main event at 11:40am. In the United States, the race will be streamed in its entirety on Peacock with coverage starting at 11:30am. NBC will have race coverage from 3-6pm. Outside the United States, the race can be streamed on IMSA TV or IMSA’s Youtube Channel with coverage going live at 11:35am.

If you are unable to watch, you can listen along on IMSA Radio streaming through the Radio Show Limited and IMSA websites. The IMSA Radio feed will be simulcast on SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Channel 206 in vehicles, Channel 996 in the SXM app) with race coverage going live at 11:30am on Sunday.