Two races remain in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. With championships on the line, every lap and every point counts. To add to the late-season press is a trip to one of the most revered grounds in motorsport. All four classes come to the Brickyard, the only regular round of the season that can say that. What can we expect from Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Join us as we preview the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks.
Note: This article will only preview the GT classes. For the prototype preview, click HERE.
GTD PRO: Every Move You Make…
Driving standards have been a big talking point in the IMSA paddock as of late. The close racing on-track have led to plenty of questionable moves. In response, race control have had to make some unsavory decisions. With the championship as close as it is, aggressiveness has to be measured. Championship leader Neil Verhagen speaks to being in the moment. “That’s a tricky one,” the Paul Miller BMW driver states. “Every situation is different. You know, if there’s a contact or whatever and a car becomes damaged because of a situation and that affects their race, obviously, that’s, you know, gonna be looked at as well.”
Nevertheless, Verhagen does not look to change his approach. “We will keep driving the same way we have all year. I feel like we’ve been very clean on that side of things, on driving standards for this year. That’s gonna remain our goal…staying clean and, just trying to collect every point we can.”
“We go to tracks that are very narrow,” says Multimatic’s Ben Barker. “Sometimes, incidents and contact are unavoidable. We’re all racing, we’re all trying to, obviously, gain positions. Sometimes contact happens.” Barker remains confident with Race Control and knows they don’t have it easy. “(Beaux Barfield, Race Director) is very proactive with the way he manages situations. we have to respect the race director, which we do, and we think that he does a good job in managing every situation the best he can.”
No Room for Error…
Since Verhagen and teammate Connor De Philippi holding on to a slim 23-point lead going into Indianapolis, every point will be needed to collect this elusive GTD PRO title. Straightaway, Verhagen says the season championship is what it’s all about. “It means everything for us. That’s obviously been the goal since the team stepped up from GTD to GTD PRO.”
Generally, the team is known for their endurance prowess winning the last two Michelin Endurance Cups. Emphatically, the team recognizes they have to get better in the shorter races. “Where we need to improve…especially for this year, has been the sprint rounds,” Verhagen remarks. Surely, this close, there is only one mission in mind right now. “Winning this championship is the full goal. Leading with two races to go, obviously, the goal will be to hold that.”
Balancing Act
Understandably, the driver’s championships are getting all the attention right now. But do not overlook the manufacturer’s title fight. Chevrolet holds an 87-point advantage over BMW. Ford sits third, just 98 back. This championship will have a little more focus for Barker. “Obviously, the 64 is not in the fight for the driver’s championship,” says the Ford factory driver. “(The manufacturer’s championship) is a highly important championship for us at Ford Racing.” The Brit is also ready to play wingman. “Trying to help the 65 (Fred Vervisch and Chris Mies) where we can for them in the Drivers’ Championship is important as well. (Ford and Multimatic Motorsports) got eyes everywhere.”
And with GTD PRO, you have to have eyes everywhere. Considering five of the seven full-season manufacturers in the class have a chance in at least one of the championships, covering bases is a must.
Protect The Tires
Grip will be of paramount importance this weekend at Indy. Generally, the start-stop nature of the straights and corners will mean tire preservation will be critical for setup. “It’s obviously quite a fairly tight track,” says Barker. “There’s a lot of slow speed, second gear corners, so I think managing probably the rear tires is going to be quite important for the duration of the stint.”
Verhagen agreed and added, “There are a lot of heavy braking zones as well. Making sure that we have the car with some good stopping performance as well, too, to prevent being overtaken or having someone throw a late lunge.”
Tight Spaces Ahead
Traffic will be a major talking point at both Indianapolis and Road Atlanta. With over forty cars at Indianapolis and counts exceeding fifty at Petit Le Mans and both tracks of near-equal length, space will be tight. “It’s tricky,” Barker comments. “There is definitely a bit of door bashing going on. It’s quite slow speed, so I think the speeds are kind of matched between GT and prototype in quite a lot of places, so although there are two fairly long straights, it can get tight.”
“It is difficult for the prototypes, but it’s equally as difficult for us,” notes Verhagen. “We always have to really be watching not only what’s ahead of us, but also what’s coming from behind us as well, too. So, yeah, at the end of the day, yeah, I guess just trust the spotters and hope they make the right calls.”
GTD: More than One Crown
The Michelin Endurance Cup is a championship within a championship. But in GTD, there is another season-long championship in a championship that has a lot of weight. The Bob Akin Award is given to the best Bronze driver over the course of the season. The award comes with a nice little caveat, a ticket to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. For the last two seasons, Orey Fidani has claimed the honor. This season, Brendan Iribe looks to take the award back.
The co-founder of Oculus Virtual Reality last won the award in 2023. Last season, he entered the season finale with an opportunity to win both the Akin and Endurance Cup titles. A lap one accident at Petit Le Mans buried any chances of both. This year, the team is taking no chances.
“Our main goal is the Le Mans entry,” says Inception driver Frederik Schandorff. “That sometimes compromises our end results, because we sometimes need to be on the safe side on the strategy to not really gamble much on cautions and stuff.” Despite winning Indianapolis last year and coming into Indy with a podium last time out at VIR, Schandorff was adamant there will be no change to the strategy. “Because we are so tight in points, if (Orey) Fidani finishes ahead of us in Indianapolis, if we finish second (in Bronze), he will be leading the championship going towards the final round. So, of course, we want to make sure that we finish and hopefully in front of him as well.”
Back to Bigger Picture
Zooming out and looking at the full points standings, Iribe and Inception are doing well. The aforementioned VIR podium has Iribe sixth in points. While they are mathematically alive, it would take a miracle for them to be in contention after Indy. Ahead of them it’s essentially a three-horse race.
We have gone ad nauseum about Winward’s epic comeback to take back the championship in this second half of the season. The bigger question is can they can be stopped. This team has found the right momentum at the right time and it is a freight train. No matter what you throw at this team, they rise to the occasion. Safe to say they will be right there in contention come Sunday looking to put one hand on this championship. If they perform well as they did last year before a penalty knocked them down the order, they will absolutely be in the hunt.
Behind them in second is the steady and consistent hand of Turner Motorsport. Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher are making sure they keep Winward close. Their runner-up at VIR was their third podium this season. Amazingly, the gap to the leader did not change. Turner was 36 behind the leader after Road America, still 36 behind the leader going to Indy.
Stopping the Spiral
Remember in June when I said the No. 4 Corvette couldn’t get out its own way? Yea that is what’s happening to Heart of Racing right now. This team has not been able to buy a break since Watkins Glen. A bad day in Canada, post-race penalty at Road America and a costly penalty in winning position at VIR. Ouch. Going into Canada, I wondered if anyone could match Heart of Racing. Despite not winning, they were the picture of a championship team, consistent great runs and having the right breaks.
Arriving in Indianapolis, this is all but a memory. Dudu Barichello went from first to third in points at VIR. While the team is in the hunt now – just 56 points back of Russell Ward and Philip Ellis, they need a statement race and bad. And I say this knowing they finish fourth at VIR. The problem is the two teams they are fighting in this championship finished ahead of them, taking advantage of their mistake.
Furthermore, I say this not to sound alarms, but Indianapolis was the team’s worst overall performance last season. The car struggled, was a non-factor all day, involved in multiple wrecks before ending the day outside the Top 10. If Heart of Racing wants to go to Road Atlanta with a fighting chance, a big day at Indianapolis would go a long way.
Balance of Performance
Weight
Aston Martin, Corvette and the Lamborghini Temerario among others will be heavier this weekend. The Vantage tops the group with 20kg added weight. Corvette is close in tow with 18kg added weight. Finally, the Temerario after winning the last two races will be given 14kg of additional weight. Small ballasts
On the lighter side, BMW and McLaren will get small 3kg weight reductions for Indianapolis. Lexus, Mercedes, Porsche and the Lamborghini Huracan will see no weight changes from VIR.
Power
Mercedes will see a 3.2% drop in Stage 1 power for Indy. That may not be considered a bad thing considering how the track plenty of low speed corners, as discussed earlier. Simultaneously, the AMG-GT3 will get a 0.5% increase in Stage 2. That’s nothing compared to the Lamborghini Temerario. While the car will get 1.8% boost in Stage 2, it will be down a whopping 5% in Stage 1 from VIR.
Porsche (-1% and -0.4% respectively) and McLaren (-0.9% in both) will see drops in both stages. BMW and Corvette will maintain Stage 1 power from VIR with increases in Stage 2. Critically, Corvette will be given max Stage 2 power for Indy.
Another big swing comes for Lexus. Stage 1 will see the RC F lose 2.2% power while Stage 2 will see a 3.3% increase.
Energy
Lastly, there is energy levels to discuss. Ferrari will see a 14MJ increase from VIR while Aston Martin gets a 10MJ increase of their own. Going in the other direction, the Lamborghini Temerario will have a 32MJ decrease for max stint energy as Mercedes will see a 23MJ drop of their own.
Ford (-11MJ) and BMW (-1MJ) are contenders that will see decreases while championship rivals Corvette (+7MJ) and Porsche (+13MJ) will get energy increases to help in their title bids.
On-Track Schedule
(All times ET US)
Friday
- 3:25-4:55pm: Free Practice 1
Saturday
- 10:45am-12:15pm: Free Practice 2
- Qualifying
- 5:05pm: GTD
- 5:25pm: GTD PRO
- 5:45pm: LMP2
- 6:05pm: GTP
Sunday
- 3:10pm: Race (2 Hours 40 Minutes)
Media Schedule
Radio (IMSA Radio)
Friday
- Free Practice 1: 3:20pm ET/12:20pm PT
Saturday
- Free Practice 2: 10:40am ET/7:40am PT
- Qualifying: 5:00pm ET/2:00pm PT
Sunday
- Pre-Race: 2:30pm ET/11:30am PT
- Race: 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT
- Post-Race: 6:00pm ET/3:00pm PT
SiriusXM will simulcast the IMSA Radio race broadcast. Coverage starts Sunday at 3pm ET/12pm PT on Channels 252 (Vehicles) and 996 (SXM App).
TV/Streaming
United States: NBC Sports on Peacock
International: IMSA YouTube Channel & IMSA.tv
Saturday
- Qualifying: 5:00pm ET/2:00pm PT
Sunday
- Race: 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT (Broadcast on both NBC network and Peacock in US)
Time Converter for International Fans: Click HERE
Peacock: Click HERE
IMSA YouTube Channel: Click HERE
IMSA Radio: Click HERE
Featured Photo: GT cars on the frontstretch at Indianapolis in 2025 – Photo Courtesy: Porsche Newsroom
