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When the Battle on the Bricks came down to its final laps, there was still plenty of fight left. Across Indianapolis Motor Speedway, battles for position continued to the checkered flag. None was bigger than the fight for the overall victory, where Sheldon van der Linde chased down Earl Bamber before making the winning move with less than six minutes remaining. For the BMW M Team WRT driver, having consistent performance from his Michelin tires gave him something he could rely on when it mattered most. “The tire deg this weekend was generally low because we were on the hard compound tires, so I didn’t really feel any degradation,” said van der Linde. “Super reliable tire, no issues throughout. We were able to rely on it.” That consistency helped set up a dramatic finish. Van der Linde closed on Bamber’s No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R through GT traffic before taking the lead entering Turn 12. He went on to deliver the Belgian squad its fi...

Photo: Porsche JDC-Miller Motorsports is working to have its second Porsche 963 on the grid in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next year according to team advisor Richard Westbrook, who is hoping to attract up-and-coming talent to make an expanded program a reality. The Minnesota-based team, which became the first privateer to win in the GTP era of the championship, has made significant gains this year with its 2025-spec Porsche and has arguably played a key role in Laurin Heinrich’s title chances. Former driver Westbrook, who looks after the John Church-led squad’s drivers as well as serving in a sporting capacity, said the only way for the team to continue its upward trajectory would be to add a second 963. It already has a second chassis in its possession, having purchased a complete second car in late 2023, initially to have a complete set of spares. “The goal is for us to make another big step, which we feel like we’ve made this year. The n...

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA IMSA is facing a possible capacity grid for Michelin Pilot Challenge according to series president John Doonan, who indicated they may have to put a limit on full season entries for next year. The GT4 and TCR-based championship, which sits on the run below the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, featured a 44-car grid last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With the return of Lime Rock Park as a headline event next September, Doonan indicated that decisions will have to be made based on pit lane and paddock capacity at tracks such as the 1.5-mile Connecticut circuit that could end up being the limiting factor. “We’re seeing it as a place where we may have to be looking at capping entries,” he told Sportscar365. “We’re space limited, for sure on pit lane. [Lime Rock’s] pit lane for sure and then of course the logistics team, I don’t know what the numbers were [at Indianapolis] but at a place like Sebring, I thi...

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA Sheldon van der Linde gave Team WRT a breakthrough first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory following a late-race pass on Earl Bamber in Sunday’s TireRack Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Van der Linde capitalized on traffic to get around the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R of Bamber with less than six minutes to go in the two-hour an 40-minute contest, after briefly passing the Kiwi on at least two occasions in a hard-fought battle. The South African then cruised to a 2.926-second win in the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 that he shared with Dries Vanthoor. It marked the first WeatherTech Championship win for the Belgian squad, in its first season of operating BMW’s factory GTP operation. BMW, meanwhile, hadn’t visited victory lane in the top class since Road America last year, a race that was also won by Vanthoor. Bamber’s runner-up finish was enough for co-driver Jack Aitken to extend his points lead over Laur...

Photo: Jamey Price/Lamborghini Giano Taurno returned to victory lane in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America for the first time in two years, in Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in a contest that saw the Pro class points leader Elias De La Torre retire early in the running. Taurino took his No. 88 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 to a 2.939-second win over the No. 2 RAFA Racing Team entry of Tyler Gonzalez and Kiko Porto, claiming the final series win on U.S. soil for the V10-powered single-make car ahead of the Temerario Super Trofeo’s debut in 2027. While Taurino claimed a flag-to-flag win in the caution-free 50-minute contest, it came in a race to forget for TR3 driver De La Torre, who was due to start on the front row but slowed on the pace lap, before later pitting and retiring from the race. De La Torre provisionally had a 26-point lead entering the race and could have even locked up the Pro title. However, the gap has now been reduced to 16 p...

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI Marco Sorensen is set for a full season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign next year with Car Blanche, with the YRB Racing-owned operation confirming its driver lineup in the GTD Pro class. Sorensen will team up with fellow factory driver Valentin Haase-Clot in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, which was previously confirmed for a full season effort . IMSA formally announced the entry on behalf of the team on Sunday, claiming it as the ‘first official entry’ for the 2027 season. The ex-Van der Steur Racing outfit was purchased by a silent entity, under a Delaware-based LLC company, in June and made its debut in the new colors and branding at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. It scored two podiums in GTD competition while also making several GTD Pro starts and is coming off a fourth place class result in last month’s Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway with Haase-Clot and Sorensen, in the Dane...

Photo: Jessica Johnk/Porsche Tyler Maxson extended his championship lead in Porsche Carrera Cup North America wth his sixth win of the season on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Topp Racing driver claimed a flag-to-flag victory in the caution-free 40-minute contest, finishing 1.301 seconds ahead of the No. 40 ACI Motorsports Porsche 911 Cup of Janne Stiak. Stiak took second at the start of the race from the No. 24 Kellymoss Porsche of Aaron Jeansonne, who slipped to third and was unable to recover, despite making a late-race charge on the young German. Jared Thomas made a late-race pass on Callum Hedge only to spin in Turn 13 on the second-to-last lap, which dropped the JTR Motorsports Engineering driver to eighth at the time. Callum Hedge was handed incident responsibility for making contact with Thomas, and received a drive-through penalty as a result. The late-race chaos promoted Paul Bocuse to fourth, with Lockie Bloxsom, in his series debut, netting a top-five. ...