10 of the 12 GTPs still in the run for IMSA titles

IMSA

Sep 17

Penultimate round of the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup the Battle on the Bricks will see 12 Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) cars battling among 41 other cars (split in 3 other classes) during six hours on the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Porsche leads the manufacturers’ standings, while Porsche Penske Motorsport and the driver crews of the #6 and #7 Porsche 963 entries rank first in the team and drivers’ championships.

WeatherTech Sportscar Championships for drivers and teams

11 teams are still mathematically in the play for the WeatherTech Sportscar Championships for drivers and teams. There are still 760 points to win for the last two races at Indianapolis and Petit Le Mans.

Campbell -Jaminet and #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport lead with 2.314 points ahead of sister team Nasr-Tandy (#7) with 2.239 points.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona. #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 (left); sister #7 (right)

Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6): “The IMSA season wraps up with two major endurance races. We have consistently performed well in Indianapolis since 2023, and the track suits us perfectly. I hope we can finish the race without issues. Our focus is on defending the championship lead and ideally extending our advantage before we head to the season finale at Road Atlanta. We’re looking at the bigger picture and will avoid taking any unnecessary risks.”
Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): “I’m looking forward to being back in the Porsche 963 for the ‘Battle on the Bricks’. Indianapolis is such a unique track and always guarantees plenty of action throughout the field. The most important thing is to have a solid week with the #7 crew and keep our championship fight alive. We’ve had two tough results, which we’re putting behind us, and we’re eager to get back on top.” Source: Porsche

BMW, Acura and Cadillac Racing have each one team above the 2.000 points mark: #24 BMW Team RLL with Eng - Vanthoor (2.133 pts), #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian driven by van der Zande - Yelloly (2.101 pts) and #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Albuquerque - Taylor aboard (2.003 pts).

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring. #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06

Piloting the #93 Acura ARX-06 will be Nick Yelloly, Renger van der Zande and Honda Racing Corporation development driver Kaku Ohta.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona. #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R

Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing) : “It is late in the season; we do not have much to lose in the points. It is our home race, so everyone is really motivated to get a good result and have some momentum at the end of the year. It has been a hard year, but we have been improving and finding some gains. I think, after having a good test in Road Atlanta, having a great race at Indy to take some momentum into Petit is the approach. This is our last Indy six-hour since it is changing next year. A six hour is a hard balance in between a sprint race and an endurance race. It is not one you can take it easy but there is still a lot of opportunity to get behind and make a mistake. It is a hard balance between how much you push and how much you save. Indy is really hard to set the car up for. The track is very unique. It is not really like any other place we go. You could say it is a roval but it is nothing like Daytona. It is smooth but nothing like Watkins Glen or the other smooth tracks we go to. It is quite on its own, so in regard to car setup, it is unique and one of the few places we have not tested with the Cadillac, so it is a little bit of the unknown. Action Express has experience at Indy with the Cadillac, so we will lean on our teammates before going.”

Filipe Albuquerque (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing) : “Obviously, the expectation is to win. We are closing the gap, narrowing it down and increasing the performance of the Cadillac. We are getting more and more comfortable. We tested as well at Road Atlanta to unlock more knowledge about the Cadillac. We are looking forward to Indianapolis as we are looking forward to any time in the car because it makes us faster. We were pretty competitive in Road America and before that with two podiums. We are definitely looking for podiums at Indy and, obviously, you need to be a little bit lucky as well with the race strategy situation as well since you never know when a yellow comes. So, we look for a podium and a win.” Source: Cadillac Racing

Factory driver Nico Müller builds further experience in the Porsche 963

Tijmen van der Helm and #85 JDC Miller Motorsports are theoretically still in the run with 1.680 points. Porsche factory driver Nico Müller returns to the cockpit of the #85 JDC Miller Motorsports Porsche 963 in place of Gianmaria Bruni. Müller, who raced in Formula E for Porsche’s partner team Andretti last season, has already gathered experience in the 963 this year: he contested the WEC round at Spa-Francorchamps with Porsche Penske Motorsport, and made his IMSA GTP debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring with JDC-Miller MotorSports. He also served as reserve driver for the factory team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona. #85 JDC Miller Motorsports Porsche 963

Nico Müller (Porsche 963 #85): “During my stint with JDC-Miller MotorSports at Sebring, we delivered strong performances throughout parts of the race. I now aim to build on that momentum. Hopefully, together we can make further progress and achieve strong results at Indianapolis this weekend and in October at Road Atlanta. I’m really looking forward to both upcoming endurance races.” Source: Porsche

WeatherTech Sportscar Championships for manufacturers

With victories and pole at Detroit and Watkins Glen, Acura is now second and closed the gap in the manufacturer standings to just 45 points behind Porsche, with BMW and Cadillac Racing respectively 148 and 192 points adrift.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona. Three Porsche 963

Schedule (local time = CEST -6 hours)

Friday, 19 September: 11:15 – 12:45 hrs: Free practice 1
Saturday, 20 September
08:55 – 10:25 hrs: Free practice 2
15:15 – 15:30 hrs: Qualifying GTD
15:40 – 15:55 hrs: Qualifying GTD-Pro
16:30 – 16:45 hrs: Qualifying GTP
Sunday, 21 September: 11:40 – 17:40 hrs: Race