The most famous speedway in the world. "The Brickyard", Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for the first time ever, plays host to an IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship endurance race for the very first time. A 2 hour and 40-minutes sprint race? Forget about it. Today, we are going all out, for six hours. A six-hour race, yes, it is an endurance event, but it might go by so quickly that if you blink, you could miss something. On the other hand, we could see several yellow flags today considering track density. Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the combination of the oval and the infield road course, which has more twists and turns than rises and falls, as it is relatively flat, like the one at Daytona International Speedway, adds up to 2.439 miles in length. 56 cars in four classes are slated to start today's race. Traffic density will be a major factor all day.
56 cars on this short circuit equals almost 23 cars per mile! There will be nowhere for the drivers to rest today over the course of the next six hours. Some teams have opted for two driver pairings and others are going with three. Let's look at our class polesitters. Overall and in GTP it is the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V Series.R driven by Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande. In the LMP2 class, Nick Boulle aboard the #52 PR1 Mathiasen/Intereuropol Oreca 07 breaks a four-race pole streak by P.J. Hyett, AO Racing, and "Spike" the dragon. Boulle, the American amateur Bronze rated driver, is sharing the #52 car today with Jakub Smiechowski of Poland and Frenchman Tom Dillman. Boulle is a jeweler by profession, but he is proving himself as a racing driver as well.
In the GT Daytona Pro class, things are kind of fascinating. Everybody thought "Rexy" the dinosaur, the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3R with its green tyrannosaurus Rex livery earned the pole with the driving team of Laurin Heinrich of Germany and Porsche factory driver Michael Christensen of Denmark. However, the dinosaur, temporarily went extinct as the car failed post-race scrutineering and the stewards found an infraction. What that is, isn't clear but we might expound on it before the green flag.
In the GT Daytona division, it is the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 that scored pole with an all-Australian lineup as team boss and solar energy magnate Kenny Habul returns stateside to race in IMSA. He is sharing the car with countrymen Jordan Love, who has been a mainstay in global GT3 racing, and Australian Supercars and GT racing veteran Chaz Mostert completing the driving trio. Again, I really believe traffic is going to be a critical factor in the race today as this is the first time Indianapolis has hosted an IMSA endurance race. Other sports car championships have run endurance events here in the past, but with fewer cars on the grid and the cars all running to similar specifications.
Breaking down the classes in the 56-car field, there are 11 GTP cars, 10 LMP2 cars, 13 in GTD Pro and the largest class represented class is GTD with 22. We have, for the NBC Sports and Peacock broadcast, Dave Burns, Brian Till, Calvin Fish, Townsend Bell, and James Hinchcliffe in the broadcast booth, who will be rotating in and out through the six hours, and taking care of all we need to know in the pit lane will be Matt Yocum, Georgia Henneberry, and Hannah Newhouse. Drivers come from Formula 1, IndyCar, and sports cars just the same.\
Names we recognize, future starrs. The goals are the same of conquering The Brickyard and becoming a winner at the greatest track in the world. Only one place in the world where an imperative phrase, "drivers start your engines", brings a crowd of fans to their feet. That is here, at The Brickyard. The coolest cars on the planet. A 200 mile per hour car show. 56 strong starting with 150 drivers. Some have raced here before. Some are on debut. Many have not won. This is going to be very special. Drivers are chasing history today.
This place never gets old. The yard of bricks that stretches from the start/finish line through pagoda plaza. In 1961 it was paved with asphalt, but there are still millions of bricks across the finish line. The fans in the infield are pumped! They are ready to watch a sports car endurance race. This is the penultimate race of the season and the IMSA Battle on the Bricks, is right here, right now. 56 cars, six hours, championships on the line, with some rain in the forecast. Indianapolis makes great names. Team Penske, "The Captain", Roger Penske, ahd Chip Ganassi Racing, are both here.
We have Rahal, Andretti, Action Express under team owner, Bob Johnson, all the stars are here. Last time out at Road America it was a Penske Porsche 1-2. The cars are on track ready to race. Ldt's look at the circuit. 2.436 miles. It is dominated by two long straightaways and two very tricky sectors of corners. 190 miles an hour into turn one in a GTP car. Watch out for drama. Turn seven is a huge overtaking opportunity. Watch turn 14, the final turn onto the frontstretch. There is nuance as we get ready to go. We've got rain in the forecast. These GTP cars have such high horsepower and torque and putting power down in the rain is going to be a bugaboo.
Watch for the fly by wire braking systems. This is going to be maddening! Here we go. We're ready. Green flag! Away we go! The race is on! Bourdais gets the lead but here comes Matthieu Jaminet and Louis Deletraz. Six hous. Don't get sucked into going bonkers. Three deep in GTP for Jack Aitken in the #31 Whelen Cadillac as we see the GTD Pro and GTD start. Corvette leading Mustang. ABS brakes in the GT3 cars, not in the GTP or LMP2 cars. There's rain coming. We need t watch. Porsche, Acura, Cadillac, everyone is absolutely pushing like mad!
Get the energy into the Michelin tires. That will pay dividends. Matthieu Jaminet flying Plummet Airways already and settling in. Nasr jinking around and goes around Deletraz. Felipe Nasr pushing, pushing, pushing. He drove around the #40 Acura like he was standing still. The BMW #24 BMW M Hubrid LMDh is pushing. As the rain comes, watch the curbs and the paint. Porsche inside Cadillac. Nasr passing Bourdais. Penske Porsche vs, Ganassi Cadillac.
Nasr really beginning to motor. He is throwing caution to the wind. Again, rain drizzling and the skies are darkening. We are going to see more. As Bob Dylan sang in one of his songs, a hard rain is gonna fall. In the GTD Pro class we see Dirk Mueller chasing after one of the Lexus RC F GT3's. Two fornt engine V8 sports cars as the #45 Lamborghini and the #34 Ferrari both go off the circuit and back on. That's cold tires. Oh no. The #65 Mustang gets punted by the #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3. There's severe damage for rookie driver Maximilian Paul of Germany sharing with countryman Luca Engslter.
That was a late move by the rookie, clattering into Dirk Mueller in the #65 Ford Mustang GT3 and he has a broken toe link. Mueller sharing with Joey Hand. They go straight back to the garage. The #65 has had a fraught time. No real body damage but there's big suspension damage. The suspension has been tweaked and the Lambo's steering is toed out. The #40 Acura has been spun around by a GTD car and things are going a bit pear shaped. If you are Jack Aitken in the #31 Whelen Cadillac, how decivisve can you be? Watch the traffic. Watch the traffic. Watch the traffic. The GTP cars are 30 miles an hour faster than the production-based cars.
Deletraz spun because he simply got in the way of one of the GT3 cars. That was Rasmus Lindh in the #56 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3. This is their first start with the Ferrari and here comes the Lamborghini on the JDC-Miller #85 Porsche 963! Gianmaria Bruni goes for it and now, Tijmen van der Helm in the Porsche scrapping with Romain Grosjean. The GTD cars are all over the place and the GTP cars are trying everything to escape the ornet's nest. Aitken chasing Bourdais, hard. Jack Aitken passes by Sebastien Bourdais.
Bourdais and van der Zande are driving for rides next year because Ganassi will not race a Cadillac prototype in 2025. They will just be in IndyCar. The GT Daytona cars, it is insane because you have the prototypes screaming past you at all times. In the #40 Acura pit, Louis Deletraz is told everything looks OK. Deletraz is mad at one of the other drivers calling the driver a "moron". Left front steering arm damage for the Maxi Paul and Luca Engstler Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2. Feel it out, don't just dive into the turn. The blindspots on a GT Daytona car are massive. Nicky Catsburg in the #4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R has Mike Rockenfeller in the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 all over him like cheap suit.
There was weight taken off the Mustang, power was added. Now they are in the sweet spot. Our championship leader in GTD Pro, the ride height was too low on "Rexy" the #77 dinosaur Porsche 911 GT3R. The weather is dry for now. To the west of us, it is beginning to rain. We are going to see mixed conditions all day. Are the teams prepared on setups? Are there enough rain tires? Weather will be part of our conversation today. The mist has stopped. Oh dear. Another spinner, the #88 LMP2 car. With the tire deal, we have the wet tires and the slicks. The #88 AF Corse entry is stuck at least partially in the gravel and we have a spin too for the #22 United Autosport Oreca as well.
Luis Perez Companc and Dan Goldburg have both spun. Full power, loop the car around and we should have a Full Course Yellow to rescue Luis Perez-Companc sharing with Nicklas Nielsen and Dylan Murry. Dan Goldburg in the #22 entry has Paul di Resta and Bijoy Garg as teammates. The #88 spun all by his lonesome and poor old Goldburg did the same thing up the road. He had contact with Sheena Monk in the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 sharing with Stevan McAleer and Tatiana Calderon. You cannot be a bull in a China shop.
A bull in a China shop is actually a very silly saying, that sounds good on paper. I have seen an experiment and bulls don't automatically knock China over. But I guess, if you are an exuberant racing driver, you can be a bull in a China shop and play dodge 'em cars but it will get you nowhere. Luis Perez Companc is back on his way again. This is going to be a mentally fatiguing race. We have 48 cars in the sprint race last year. Eight more cars here for the endurance event at 56. Reset how aggressive you are. It has dried out and we could see raindrops later. Everyone is up to snuff now.
Felipe Nasr might shoot through the target and lose a bit. Can Sebastien Bourdais and Jack Aitken catch up? Or will the Porsche go for it. A few takers are in the lane in GTP. Porsche, BMW, Acura, and more, but the sister cars. Is this a five or a six-stop race for GTP? Five and a half is more likely. Both BMWs in the lane. WTR Andretti Acura's are in the lane, both of them. Mathieu Jaminet gets topped off with gas. "Jam Jam" didn't have enough grip and so he changes the anti-rollbar to stiffen it. There's no tire warmers in IMSA. The crowd are reaching for their umbrellas. Rain could be on the way.
Now, the GTD Pro and GTD cars are pitting. Are we going to see rain tires? That's the question. Yes, Mr. Shakespeare. Yes indeed. Winward Mercedes, Corvette, and more going for wet weather tires. Vasser Sullivan Lexus in the lane, car #12. Frankie Montecalvo gets in the car and tye are going for more slick tires. Montecalvo sharing with Parker Thompson and Aaron Telitz. Both United LMP2's have slick tires. A lot of the GTD and GTD Pro cars are going to wets but cold, slick Michelin's in heavy rain is going to be a big problem for Frankie Montecalvo.
It is raining at the Indianapolis airport hard, five miles from the speedway. Porsche and both Cadillac's are in. Whoops! Era Motorsports car #18 spins with Dwight Merriman at the wheel of it. Wet tires it appears for Action Express, Ganassi, and Penske. Heart of Racing Aston Martin, Mustang, Corvette etc. #31 beats #7 and #01 out of the pit lane. Both WTR Andretti Acura's are in the lane, #10 and #40 both. The team usually asks what tires the driver wants. The driver has no idea and asks the team and they say, "no, mate. We need to know what you want!" Almost the entire 56 car field was in the lane.
Dirk Mueller tells us that this incident he had with the Lambo is not what he wanted. He had an apology from Maxi Paul. Mueller says "he was losing the train, doesn't have the speed, and he apologized. But there is nothing I could have done. This isn't a passing area. Stay close to me so I can tell what you are doing." Big damage to the Ford Mustang #65 and they will have to treat the race as a test session. The damage is all in the suspension on all four corners. Apologies are all the other driver has but sometimes, apologies just cannot be accepted.
Rain tires for the #31 Whelen Cadillac of Jack Aitken. We are half an hour into the race with a long way to go. The #45 Lamborghini is in and we don't see Frankie Montecalvo returning to the lane for tires. It will be hero or zero for him. He could be in the pound seats if the track dries. #45 is the Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 of Kyle Marcelli, Danny Formal, and Graham Doyle. There was a close car with a tire for the #23 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin and they have two GTD Pro ranked Aston Martin's today, the #23 and the #027.
ABS and traction control on the GTD cars of GT3 spec. Every brand has different approaches, but they all have a rain setting for the antilock brakes and the traction control, testing constantly but you cannot plan for wet weather at all. Wind the brake bias t the rear so you don't lock the brakes up. With the fly by wire rear brakes and mechanical brakes on the GTP cars, they have a lot of tools. The crew chief reminds drivers, "go to your rain settings." Peter Baron calling strategy for Action Express. I think they might have missed something, but they will get back in the fight. They have a logbook of past trends and driver strategies.
It is just like baseball. You have a logbook of pitchers, batters, their performances in games for the bullpen and for the starting players. The humidity is bonkers. The ambient temperatures are hot. Make sure there's airflow in the cockpit so the windscreens don't mist up. Green flag and we are racing again and now Felipe Nasr has Sebastien Bourdais to his inside taking the lead away. Hard to get the car to turn in the wet. Bourdais up on the wheel and another spin now for Goldburg in the #22 car! Jeepers creepers! Nasr not letting Bourdais get away. Bruni, Jaminet, van der Helm, more Porsche's coming. Nasr to the inside and passes Bourdais and here comes Matty Jaminet and Gianmaria Bruni in the gray and gold #5 Proton Competition Mustang Sampling Porsche 963.
Porsche is coming off a win in WEC at Fuji last weekend. We will talk about that race in the near future. There should be time, soon. The normally aspirated V8 in the Cadillac brings more power for off corner acceleration than the turbo Porsche's. Some of the drivers are running the traditional rain line outside the racing line to look for water in the aggregate and across the bricks. Rain tires also have a sofeter compound as the LMP2 battle sees Nick Boulle passing Ben Keating as there is a drive through penalty for the #99 AO Racing Oreca, "Spike" for hitting pit lane equipment. Frankie Montecalvo is going back forwards in the GT Daytona class.
If it stays drizzly, stick to a lap time and have better longevity on the slick Michelin tires. Lexus #12 is flying and so is in GTD Pro the sister #14 of Jack Hawksworth sharing with Ben Barnicoat. Now, Devlin DeFrancesco in the Forte Racing #78 Lamborghini is running well. The Lambo is very balanced as a GT3 car across all the racetracks. DeFrancesco sharing with Loris Spinelli and Misha Goikhberg as we see a spin for Sheena Monk in the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3. John Farano spins the #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca LMP2 and he has damage. We could see another yellow and now, a abttle for the lead again between Bourdais and Nasr! Nasr takes the lead! Bourdais has a head of steam and he wants it back!
Ganassi vs. Penske at Indianapolis. How many times have we seen that at the Indianapolis 500? A lot! The traffic is bananas and now, Gianmaria Bruni is in third! The #5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 and now we have another yellow on the circuit. Full Course Yellow for the stranded #66 Acura NSX GT3. Who will come to the pit lane. Sheena Monk says she cannot power cycle the car to restart it. They have a battery, but they need assistance from the AMR safety workers. The truck is there providing assistance. Gradient Racing had a podium at Road America and they will change to the Ford Mustang GT3 next year.
The drizzle is getting worse. If it stays light, it will be rough staying on wet tires for the factory Porsche boys. The wet is conservative on speed and it is safer because slicks in the rain are going to be a bear. It is raining harder as we soon will end hour one and get into hour two. We saw John Farano in the #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca LMP2 get tipped into a spin from the #4 Corvette of Nicky Catsburg. We have a good number of Indianapolis 500 starters in this race. Sebastien Bourdais, Gabby Chaves, Romain Grosjean, Devlin DeFrancesco, Tom Blomqvist, and Matt Brabham.
Gren flag. The rooster tails are appearing now. This is a deluge. You can't see anythigng. Nasr out pf cpntrol swerving to avoid the apex and locks up! He saved himself there! Release the brake and find the front end. Two LMP2 cars are bailing out as well. Bourdais is flying and now, here comes the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus for wets as we go back to Full Course Yellow. Mechanical braking and electric braking combo in the GTP cars and the sister Lexus has spun off the road and spun in a straight line and is against the wall on the frontstretch of the oval!
Blimey O'Reilly! Turn 14 is diabolical in the rain and there's debris and a big tire mark on the concrete barrier. There is a penalty on the #4 Corvette for incident responsibility. The rain in Spain falls mainly on the racetrack as Nasr went straight off the road into the grass but he did the right thing because he could have crashed, easily! We talk about this being a championship clincher. We have six hours of racing today and ten hours at Petit Le Mans, the finale in October. Frankie Montecalvo spun 360 degrees and clattered into the wall like driving on black ice.
It is like someone pulling the rug out from underneath you. The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Russell Ward has a big points lead. They won at Laguna Seca in the sprint race but have won in endurance races with the strategy and a third driver. Russell Ward sharing with Phillip Ellis and Indy Dontje. Indy Dontje is named after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and comes from a family of racers. So, yes. There's your answer to that question if you were absolutely wondering and wanted to know.
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