That said, the frantic finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway proved that endurance racing does not need six hours to deliver pure chaos. Sunday's IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship TireRack.com Battle On The Bricks was shortened to two hours and forty minutes, but the closing moments still brought drama across all four classes.
Sheldon van der Linde seized the win in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class with just five and a half minutes left on the clock. Driving the No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, he sent the machine down the inside of Earl Bamber's No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R and the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 into Turn 12. Bamber chose to stay outside to protect track position and support Jack Aitken's championship fight, leaving the door open. Van der Linde shared the winning car with Dries Vanthoor, marking a milestone as the first IMSA victory for the WRT operation since taking over the BMW IMSA GTP program for 2026. The BMW M Hybrid V8 previously won at Indianapolis two years ago at the six-hour distance with the then-BMW M Team RLL and drivers Philipp Eng and Jesse Krohn.
At the chequered flag, the No. 31 Cadillac of Bamber and Aitken finished second, trailing by 2.926 seconds. Behind them, the revised lineup of Laurin Heinrich and Kevin Estre took third in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, putting that team back on the podium for the first time since April at Long Beach. In the standings, Aitken unofficially holds a 147-point lead over Heinrich.
Over in LMP2, Era Motorsport rolled out a fresh lineup featuring 2024 IMSA Le Mans Prototype 2 champion Nick Boulle alongside past Rolex 24 At Daytona class-winning driver and IndyCar Series race winner Christian Rasmussen. Piloting the No. 18 ORECA LMP2 07, they grabbed the class win through a heavy fuel save strategy while championship contenders Inter Europol Competition, CrowdStrike Racing by APR, and AO Racing all suffered difficult outings. Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen's No. 52 car and United Autosports USA's No. 22 car rounded out the podium. Unofficially, Inter Europol's pair holds a fractional points lead over CrowdStrike by APR.
Meanwhile, GTD PRO featured a fierce battle between Ford and Chevrolet. Dennis Olsen came out on top to bring the No. 64 Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 back to victory lane for the first time since this very event last year, when the team was known as Ford Multimatic Motorsports and won with Mike Rockenfeller and Seb Priaulx. Today, Olsen shared the driving duties with Ben Barker, beating out Catsburg and Tommy Milner in their No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Olsen and Catsburg banged wheels on the final lap, prompting a post-race review for incidental contact that ultimately resulted in no action taken. Pfaff Motorsports took third with the No. 9 Lamborghini Temerario GT3, while Catsburg and Milner unofficially lead the GTD PRO standings.
In Grand Touring Daytona (GTD), Turner Motorsport claimed its first win in over two years with Patrick Gallagher and Robby Foley in the No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Winward Racing's No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT4 of points leaders Philip Ellis and Russell Ward were meant to start on pole, but a pre-race infraction penalty dropped them to the back of the grid. They put on a stunning last-to-first charge before finishing second, just 0.501 of a second behind the winners. The 13 Autosport No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R driven by Matt Bell and Orey Fidani rounded out the podium in third.
Now, the WeatherTech Championship season prepares for its grand finale. The campaign concludes with the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Saturday, October 3.
