The Battle on the Bricks may have reverted to its 2h40 format this year, but there was no shortage of action at Indianapolis. And the final classification doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story.
Some left the Brickyard with silverware, others with a valuable advantage in the championship. For a few title contenders, however, Indianapolis proved far more costly.
Winner – BMW M Team WRT
It had been coming. Three podiums in its first IMSA season had shown that BMW M Team WRT had the pace, but the Belgian squad had yet to put everything together.
Third on the grid, Dries Vanthoor kept the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 in contention before Sheldon van der Linde took over and hunted down Earl Bamber in the closing stages. His move on the #31 Cadillac with five and a half minutes remaining sealed WRT’s first IMSA victory and its fourth podium of the season.
“My first IMSA win – amazing!” said van der Linde. “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.”
“It was right here in Indianapolis that we had our first discussions about an IMSA GTP programme,” team principal Vincent Vosse added. “To be celebrating this victory here now is incredible.”
Loser – Porsche Penske Motorsport
A podium for the #6 Porsche 963 might suggest a decent afternoon for Porsche Penske Motorsport. In reality, Indianapolis left its hopes of retaining the IMSA titles hanging by a thread.
The #7 lost more than 20 laps after Julien Andlauer was caught in the opening-lap accident. The #6 fared much better, with Laurin Heinrich climbing from sixth to third during the final stint, but Jack Aitken’s second place means the German now trails him by 147 points with only Petit Le Mans remaining.
Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport, made no attempt to hide the situation: “Unfortunately, despite this result, our hopes of winning the championship again are now purely theoretical.”
A striking admission for a team that began the season by winning Daytona and Sebring.
Winner – Cadillac Action Express Racing
Action Express Racing would undoubtedly have preferred to repeat last year’s Indianapolis victory. But second place for the #31 Cadillac was still an excellent result with the championship in mind.
Earl Bamber resisted Sheldon van der Linde for as long as he could, without taking unnecessary risks against a BMW that had much less to lose.
“Goal number one was to try and clinch the manufacturers championship for Cadillac, and we are close to that,” explained Bamber after the race. “And then the team’s championship. So overall, it’s a good day. We just need to start in Petit. And you know it was a dicey battle, the 24 was definitely really, really great today. So, you know, if you can’t finish first, you finish second.”
The #31 has now finished on the podium in seven of the eight races held this season. Even if Laurin Heinrich takes pole position and wins Petit Le Mans, Jack Aitken only needs to finish ninth to secure the GTP title.
Loser – LMP2 title contenders
Few of the main LMP2 title contenders will look back on Indianapolis with much satisfaction.
CrowdStrike Racing by APR and AO Racing were caught in the Turn 1 accident, along with the #2 United Autosports Oreca. Inter Europol Competition avoided the opening-lap chaos, but the championship leader failed to capitalise despite starting from pole.
The #43 was handed a drive-through penalty and its strategy ultimately required a late splash for fuel, dropping Jeremy Clarke and Tom Dillmann to sixth.
CrowdStrike nevertheless recovered to ninth and leaves Indianapolis just four points behind Inter Europol. With one race remaining, the championship could hardly be tighter.
Winner – Era Motorsport
While the championship contenders ran into trouble, Era Motorsport took full advantage.
Nick Boulle, making his first LMP2 start of the season and his debut with Era, avoided the Turn 1 chaos and kept the #18 Oreca in contention before handing over to Christian Rasmussen. The Dane then faced a rather different challenge: making his final tank last for almost 50 minutes.
“We just committed to the fuel save super early,” explained Rasmussen, who described it as the most fuel saving he had ever had to do in a race car.
He hit the required numbers without surrendering the lead and eventually crossed the line 15 seconds clear. It was Era Motorsport’s first LMP2 victory of the season.
Loser – Acura Meyer Shank Racing
Tom Blomqvist’s pole position on Saturday suggested Acura Meyer Shank Racing would be among the teams to beat. The #60 ARX-06 duly led the opening stages, but its challenge gradually faded as the race developed.
Blomqvist eventually finished fifth, while the sister #93 had its race compromised almost immediately when Nick Yelloly was hit and spun on the opening lap. It recovered to seventh.
“We just really struggled for race pace and we just got eaten up,” admitted Blomqvist afterwards.
After starting from pole, fifth and seventh was inevitably a disappointing return. Only one race remains for the ARX-06 before it is consigned to the museum, bringing to an end a season that will be disappointing regardless of what happens at Petit Le Mans, with third place in the Manufacturers’ Championship not even secured yet.
Winner – Ford Racing
A year after winning at Indianapolis, the Ford Mustang GT3 did it again.
Dennis Olsen and Ben Barker put the #64 in contention throughout the race, but victory was far from secure when Olsen began the final lap with Nicky Catsburg’s Corvette right behind him. The two went wheel-to-wheel, made contact and crossed the line separated by less than a second.
The stewards reviewed their battle and decided no further action was necessary. Catsburg was equally accepting of the outcome, while Olsen stressed afterwards that there was no animosity between the pair.
“I have a lot of respect for Nicky,” said the Norwegian.
It was Ford Racing’s first GTD Pro victory of 2026 and ended a winless run stretching back to Indianapolis last year.
Loser – Paul Miller Racing
The #1 BMW started from pole after GT qualifying was cancelled and spent much of the race in contention for another strong result. Then came a particularly bruising closing phase.
Several contacts dropped Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen to sixth, costing Paul Miller Racing the GTD Pro championship lead it had brought to Indianapolis.
“I really don’t know what to say,” admitted Verhagen. “We actually had a clean race and were in the leading group. Then, in the closing stages, our rivals started using us as a punching bag. One after the other, the other cars crashed into us.”
Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner, meanwhile, finished second in the #4 Corvette and will arrive at Petit Le Mans at the head of the standings. Paul Miller Racing remains firmly in the title fight, but Indianapolis has made its task considerably more difficult.