First IMSA win for BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8
BMW M Team WRT celebrated its first victory in North America with the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 at the penultimate race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at Indianapolis.
📷 © BMW. van der Linde takes over the #24 BMW from Vanthoor.
Fourth podium this season for BMW M Team WRT
For the fourth time in its debut season in the GTP class of the IMSA Series, BMW M Team WRT made it onto the podium – and for the first time, they claimed the top step. Vanthoor secured a strong starting position with third on the grid in qualifying, whilst van der Linde took the lead with a determined overtaking manoeuvre just a few minutes before the end and safely drove home to claim his first IMSA victory. Vanthoor had already won in 2025 with BMW M Team RLL alongside Philipp Eng at Road America.
📷 © BMW. #24 BMW M Hybrid V8
📷 © BMW. Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde celebrating on the Bricks
Dries Vanthoor (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team WRT, winner): “I still can’t quite believe it. It’s a huge relief for Sheldon and me. We’ve been right up there so often this season, but we’ve never quite got it right together. This time it finally worked out. I’m incredibly proud of everyone!”
Sheldon van der Linde (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team WRT, winner): “My first IMSA win – amazing! I had goosebumps when I overtook Earl Bamber a few laps from the end. I really had to make sure I stayed focused. I had a bit of bad luck with traffic during my stint at first, but I knew my time would come. The car and our strategy were perfect today. I’m absolutely delighted for the team, who more than deserve this victory. People often forget that WRT are competing in their first season in the IMSA Series. What they’re achieving here and in the FIA WEC with their victories this year is fantastic. I’m proud to be part of this team.” Source: BMW
#31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R dominated but secured championships points lead
Cadillac Racing dominated the TireRack.com Battle at the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but Earl Bamber, driver of the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R along with teammate Jack Aitken, was passed with five minutes left in turn 12 and finished in the runner-up spot.
The #31 led 78 of the 112 laps in the two hour 40-minute race, but the winning car of the #24 BMW M Team WRT made the late pass to secure the victory.
📷 © IMSA. #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R
Jack Aitken: “I think, like I said before the race, we're just trying to approach every race as if it’s a normal day. We’ve had a really good year coming off the win here last year, and we talked about by sticking to what we know of good processes. We've been doing a good job, so why would we change it? So, I've not changed too much. I had a lot of fun. I think Earl was in much harder position at the end, though, with the BMW flying up to him, and he's as much part of this championship as I am, but I know he has a lot of responsibility as well. So it's a tough place for me, but we've had a really good day in the office and yep, we're looking forward to it.”
Earl Bamber: “Yeah, I mean, that's a tough one. We work really hard and goal number one was to try and clinch the manufacturers championship for Cadillac, and we are close to that. And then the team's championship. So overall, it's a good day. We just need to start in Peitie. And you know it was a dicey battle, the 24 was definitely really, really great today. BMW. So, you know, if you can't finish first, you finish second. And extend that points lead for Jack and the whole team.” Source: Cadillac Racing
Porsche Penske Motorsport claims a podium finish
The 2-hour-and-40-minute race in Indianapolis got off to a dramatic start. During an unfortunate incident in the first turn, all three Porsche 963 were involved in collisions. Car #7 was hit the hardest, sustaining significant damage. Its sister car, #6, however, emerged virtually unscathed. French driver Kévin Estre and former Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich from Germany brought the hybrid prototype from Weissach across the finish line in third place with strong lap times.
📷 © IMSA. #6 Porsche Penske Porsche 963
Laurin Heinrich (Porsche 963 #6): “That was a great comeback. It was fantastic to be able to drive the #6 car. We made the best of our situation. This was my first time sharing a car with Kévin Estre and we immediately ended up on the podium. Given our current capabilities, that’s a dream result. I still have a chance to win the championship. That was the goal for this weekend. We achieved it.” Source: Porsche
#40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R, finished fourth
Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor, drivers of the #40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R, finished fourth
📷 © IMSA. #40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Louis Deletraz: “Good race today. We started up front and it was quite aggressive start from everybody, but we survived and remained in fourth. We seem to be a little slower the first 20 laps of the stint, and the last 20, the car was awesome on tire degradation just came back on the, on everyone else. At the end, a good strategy from the team at the last yellow to jump some people in the pits, and we were fighting for the podium. So, unfortunately, we were just below it with P4, but we can be proud of a race and a big thank you to Wayne Taylor Racing and Jordan and obviously Cadillac.”
Jordan Taylor: “I think all in all, not a bad day, points wise. Yeah, I made a mistake on my first out lap, kind of battling a 60 and had a spin, but I think the yellow kind of reset it, and the guys made a great call to do two tires and, you know, get us some track position back. So we gained track position, but I had to kind of manage it a little bit, but I think that was the only way we could get a kind of better result kind of after where we were after that first hour. So, yeah, coming away with fourth we are a little disappointed, but all in all, we should be pretty happy with the points heading to Petit.” Source: Cadillac Racing
Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian #60 ARX-06 finished fifth
The Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian #60 ARX-06 finished fifth in the penultimate round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Tom Blomqvist took the green flag from pole position, maintaining the lead as the opening full-course caution emerged. However, following the team's pit stop and driver change, teammate Colin Braun was cycled to fourth in the running order as other entries opted for a short-fill strategy. The duo went on to take the checkered flag in fifth.
📷 © IMSA. #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06
Tom Blomqvist: (#60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Finished fifth: "Tough, tough race. We just really struggled for race pace and we just got eaten up. It was really difficult to drive the car and we struggled a lot to keep up. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before people would get by us. We lost positions in the first stint, and it ended up kind of being the same thing over the course of the rest of the race. We just didn't have the pace to do anything better today."
Colin Braun (#60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Finished fifth: "It's tough when you start on the pole, you don't want to fall back and not finish first. We struggled a little bit in the longer runs, then a couple of cars short-filled on the pit stop, like they tend to do, and jumped us. We then tried taking two tires on the last stop to just try and make something happen. It was fun being up in the mix for a bit, but then we only had the two new tires and continued to struggle. I think P5 is a decent finish for us, especially because we've had our fair share of struggles on our side." Source: Honda Racing
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