Author: thepitwindow

I'm a retired educator and lifelong racing fan. I hope to return to fostering greyhounds in the near future. Living mainly in Indy and wintering in Florida. I attend about 10 Indycar races a year as well as some sports car events

Penske Porsches Finish Where They Started

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The team started on the front row, and while the finishing order flipped from qualifying, the Penske Porsches finished first and second un the inaugural TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks. Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet were the winning drivers in the number 6. The pole car took the lead on the wild start, and the team cars stayed together virtually the entire race.

Pipo Derani took the lead during a caution when he was the only car to follow IMSA’s direction to pass the GTD cars. With the Porsches closing in, Derani locked the wheels entering turn 1 and the 31 battled for a while before fading to fourth at the end.

The race had just 13 laps of the 113 circuits run, all in the first hour. Sebastien Bourdais spun between turns 1 and 2, causing front end damage and leaving a large piece of debris on the track.

After the first 75 minutes the race settled down. The track was very busy with 48 cars on a track less than three miles long.. Leaders continually fought through traffic.

The Winners

Class winners:

GTP

Nick Tandy/Mathieu Jaminet Penske Porsche

LMP2

Steven Thomas/ Mikkel Jensen Oreca

LMP3

Anthony Mantella/Wayne Boyd Duqueine

GTD Pro

Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon Mercedes AMG

GTD

Russell Ward/Phillip Ellis Mercedes AMG

Thoughts

The race was fun to watch. Traffic was continuous. Drivers have to be very precise to deal with slower cars.

This was my first IMSA sprint race. It had a lot more energy and sense of urgency than an endurance race. The tension was palpable.

I liked that the scoring pylon had the class color underneath the number. It made it easy to find a particular car’s overall standing and its class position.

This morning’s autograph session had drivers signing outside their individual garages. It made for shorter lines and fans could get the drivers they wanted. Indycar used to do this. I wish they would go back to this system.

One thing I noticed was a lack of local television stations at the track this weekend. I looked on a couple of station’s websites and found just one story on each site. I guess it’s more important to cover Indianapolis’ mediocre football team than an historic race at IMS.

Attendance was decent. I’m guessing it was around 30,000, which is good for an IMSA stand alone event.

Thanks for following along this weekend. This was my first time covering an IMSA event. It is quite different from an Indy race weekend.

I will have some more photos up this week.

IMSA Race Day

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Today’s Schedule:

7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.: Public gates open

8-8:20 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Warm-up

9:40-10:20 a.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 2 (40 minutes)

10:40-11:30 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Race 2 (50 minutes)

Noon-12:50 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Pre-Race, Open Grid, Fan Walk

1:10-3:50 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks Race (2 hours, 40 minutes) NBC, Peacock

Toay begins a new era for IMS as sports cars begin what should be a longer run than the three years of Grand AM had in the early 2010s. The series has been fun to watch on track the last two days.

As I watched practice yesterday morning, I thought how proper it looked to have sports on the road course. These machines just looked like they belonged here.

Last night’s Michelin Pilot Challenge turned out to be a heck of a race. The last hour featured fierce battles for the lead in both classes. There was a lot of contact between the leaders, but it was mostly hard racing. Daniel Morad won the GS class. Mikey Taylor won the TCR trophy. Robert Wickens lost the lead with just three laps to go, and finished second, less than a second behind Taylor. It was great to see Wickens racing at IMS again.

The track looks great at night. like that the entire track isn’t lit. I felt there was the correct mix of lighted and dark areas.

Notes

Following the warmup, there will be a special demonstration run with the last Ferrari to win Le Mans prior to this year, and a 1966 Ford GT.

I thought the grid walk before the race yesterday afternoon seemed less crowded than usual. I discovered the reason. Virtually everyone had crowded around the car of Robert Wickens. Several Indycar drivers were there, including Alexander Rossi, Marus Ericsson, Felix Rosenqvist, Jack Harvey, and Conor Daly.

I will try to have a quick pre race post and then a post after the race. Enjoy the race.

Front Row Sweep for Porsche

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Matt Campbell was fast yesterday and even faster today. He led a Penske Porsche sweep of the front row for tomorrow’s TireRack,com Battle on the Bricks. (The event name needs some work, by the way)

Campbell was the first car to turn a lap in the 1:13s and he had a best lap of 1:13.672. Teammate Mathieu Jaminet, Acura driver Tom Blomqvist, and Cadillac driver Sebastien Bourdais also ran laps in the 1:13 bracket.

The 10 GTP cars were separated by 0.96 seconds.

Ben Keating won the pole in LMP2. The LMP 2 /LMP3 session was interrupted with seven minutes left when Bijo Garg ran head on into the tire barrier in turn six. Tine ran out on the session, but race officials allowed one more timed lap. Keating improved his time to seal the pole. Garg was leading LMP3 at the time of his crash. His time stood up.

Ben Keating on his way to the LMP2 pole.

Madison Snow won the pole in GTD and led the combined GTD and GTD Pro session in a Paul Miller owned BMW.

Klaus Bachler put the Pfaff motorsports Porsche on the GTD Pro pole.

Next uo today is the four hour Michelin Pilot Challenge which begins in an hour. Robert Wickens will start second. The race will be shown live on Peacock.

Robert Wickens will start on the front row.

Saturday at IMS: IMSA Qualifies; Michelin Pilot Races into the Night

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Today’s Schedule All times Eastern

7:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.: Public gates open

8-8:15 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Qualifying 1

8:20-8:35 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Qualifying 2

8:55-10:25 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Practice 2 (GTD/LMP3/LMP2)

9:10-10:40 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Practice 2 (GTD PRO/GTP)

11-11:15 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge Qualifying (TCR)

11:20-11:35 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge Qualifying (GS)

11:50 a.m.-12:40 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Race 1 (50 minutes)

1-1:15 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Qualifying (GTD/GTD PRO)

1:25-1:40 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Qualifying (LMP2/LMP3)

1:50-2:10 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Qualifying (GTP)

2:30-3:10 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 1 (40 minutes)

3:30-4:10 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge Pre-Race (Open Grid/Fan Walk)

4:30-8:30 p.m.: Indianapolis Motor Speedway 240 for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (Four hours)

Fans at IMS get their first look at IMSA qualifying today. The five classes split into three groups-the two GTD classes, LMP2 and LMP 3, and GTP. The first two groups have 15 minutes each, and the GTP has 20 minutes. That is it. No knockout qualifying, just the fastest time .

I plan to explore the IMS merchandise shop today. I had just a brief look yesterday. IMSA also has a merchandise tent in the infield. I am having technical difficulties posting photos to my blog. I may just have to a separate post with just photos.

The day ends with a four hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race. The series qualifies this morning, each class getting 15 minutes on track. The Michelin Pilot Challenge also runs a four hour race at Daytona the day before the Rolex 24 hours.

I’ll be back after qualifying.

Here are a couple photos from yesterday.

Porsche Leads Practice 1

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Matt Campbell and Porsche picked up where he left off in summer testing at IMS, driving the number 7 Team Penske Porsche to the top speed in in IMSA Weather Tech’s first practice session. His fast lap was 1:14.184. Porsche was very strong in the test at IMS.

Felipe Nasr, co driver of Porsche numberb7

Jack Hawksworth led the GTD Pro class in a Vasser Sullivan Lexus with a lap of 1:23.636. Hawksworth has driven this course when he competed in the Indycar series.

Jack Hawksworth

The other class leaders:

LMP2-Mikkel Jensen TDS Racing Oreca 1:17.231

LMP3-Garrett Grist JrIII Racing Ligier 1:20.737

GTD Patrick Gallagher Turner Motorsport BMW 1:24.019

The serioes has one more practice beginning at 8:55 tomorrow morning before qualifying starts at 1 pm.

Notes

Attendance was decent for a Friday in September. I have not heard any word on ticket sales, but I think the weekend will see a good crowd. The weather was just perfect for racing today and it is expected to continue the rest of the weekend.

The pit configuration is similar to Formula 1. The temporary grandstands behind the pits are not in place. IMSA teams have a lot of equipment. The walkway behind the pits is very tight.

Shortly after my last post in which I said I did not see anyone I knew, I did something about it. I went back to Pagoda Plaza and found two people I recognized from Twitter, @Indynathan and @GasolineAly. We talked for awhile and visited the Toronto Motorsports trailer. problem solved.

By the way Toronto Motorsports has an amazing diecast inventory of classic sports cars. If you come to IMS this weekend, check them out.

This will do it for me for today. Michelin Pilot Challenge has a practice at 7:15 this evening. I’m excited to see how this track performs at night. No lights have been added to the track.

Stranger in a Familiar Land

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WE are about two hours from the first IMSA Weather Tech practice. Michelin Pilot Challenge just concluded their first practice session. Porsche Carrera Cup is getting set for their second round on track.

As I walked through the plaza and through the garage area, something felt odd. I realized I had not seen anyone that I knew. So far it is a new group of fans here. I’m sure Indycar fans will be here the rest of the weekend, but what a strange feeling to walk around the place I’ve been coming to multiple times for more than 50 years and not see one person that I recognized.

From earlier:

IMSA-Sports Cars Return to IMS

IMSA- Sports Cars Return to IMS

In the just completed Michelin Pilot Challenge practice round, Robert Wickens finished third in class, 0.14 seconds off the leader.

Robert Wickens spoke to fans this morning before practice

Here is a photo of the coolest looking car in the field.

I will be back after IMSA Weather Tech Practice.

IMSA- Sports Cars Return to IMS

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Today’s Schedule

Gates open at 9:30

Entry list

Click to access 2023_IWSC_Indy_PreEvent_EntryList.pdf

Good morning from IMS. Today sports cars return to the Speedway after a nine year absence. The cars running tis weekend are very different from the Grand Am cars that raced here from 2012-2014. 48 cars across five classes are entered in the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks. If you’re not familiar with the IMSA Weather Tech series, there are several former Indycar and Indy Lights drivers who are now racing this weekend. Several teams are run by Indycar owners as well. This weekend we will see some racing after dark in the Michelin Pilot Series Saturday night. It is a prlude to next year’s IMSA race which is rumored to be a six hour race which will end after dark.

Drivers

Former Indianapolis 500 drivers include Sebastien Bourdais, Jack Hawksworth, Katherine Legge, Gabby Chaves, and Ben Hanley. Former Indy Lights drivers Aaron Telitz and Garrett Grist also drive in the series. I have heard that Devlin DeFrancesco may drive an LMP2 car, but that has not been confirmed.

Sebastien Bourdais at the test this summer.

Wickens Returns

Robert Wickens makes his racing return to IMS in the Michelin Pilot Series. Wickens, paralyzed in a 2018 accident at Pocono, drives a Hyundai Elantra (number 33). The series has a four hour race tomorrow afternoon.

Owners

Team Penske (Porsche), Chip Ganassi Racing (Cadillac), Rahal Letterman lLaniugan Racing (BMW), and Meyer Shank Racing (Acura) run in the GTP class. Andretti Global partners with Wayne Taylor Racing (Acura).

Penske Porsche

Vasser Sullivan has a Lexus in each of the GTD and GTD Pro categories.

Vasser Sullivan Racing

The Porsche Carrera Cup and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series are also running at IMS. I wish Mazda MX-5 were here as well.

I will be mainly covering the IMSA series this weekend, but if something noteworthy comes up in another series I will post it. I will also be watching Robert Wicknes’ progress.

IMSA Features Unique, Class-Based Challenge of ‘Race within a Race’ 

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From IMS. This is a better explanation than I could give. I will have my preview later today.

 INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023) – Sports car racing returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on Sept. 15-17, with the unique, “race within a race” format of class racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge series.
Just one type of race car competes either on the 2.5-mile oval or the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course at the Racing Capital of the World during NTT INDYCAR SERIES and NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series competition. The length of those series’ races also is measured by laps.
IMSA is different. Five different classes of cars will race simultaneously when the featured WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race starts at 1:10 p.m. ET Sunday on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.
And the race is not measured by laps; it’s measured by time – two hours and 40 minutes, in this case. Drivers from all over the world compete for overall victory but also for first place within their respective class. That unique format always keeps the racing interesting, and the varying speeds of the five classes of machines creates intense racing within classes and plenty of traffic for the fastest classes to navigate for most of the race.
The five classes of cars in the series are comprised of two styles of cars – prototype, which showcases the latest automotive technology and are designed uniquely for the racetrack; and GT, based on road-going production models.
So, let’s take a look at the five classes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship:
Grand Touring Prototype (GTP): The newest and most technologically advanced Prototype race car debuted in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this season, featuring a common hybrid powertrain for all entries that takes kinetic energy gained in braking and stores it in batteries for later use when needed. Four global automotive manufacturers – Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche – are entered in the class. Each manufacturer developed its unique internal combustion engine and bodywork styling.
Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2): The Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) is a closed-cockpit car developed by four approved constructors. In addition to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, LMP2 cars are eligible to compete in other global series such as the FIA World Endurance Championship, which includes the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3): The Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) is an entry-level closed-cockpit car developed by four approved constructors. In addition to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, LMP3 cars are also eligible to compete in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge – one of IMSA’s driver development series – as well as other international series such as the European Le Mans Series (ELMS).
GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO): GTD PRO, which debuted in 2022, includes race cars built to FIA GT3 technical regulations and offers the opportunity for factory teams and driver lineups to compete in the class. Manufacturers competing in this class in 2023 include Aston Martin, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche.
GT Daytona (GTD): The GT Daytona cars are enhanced – not defined by – technology and use the global FIA GT3 specification. The GTD class consists of cars from leading manufacturers such as Acura, Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche.
The Michelin Pilot Challenge also is racing this weekend at IMS. That series also features a “race within a race,” but with just two classes of production-based sports cars and touring cars.
There will be two unique aspects of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 240 race Saturday at IMS.
First, it’s the longest race of the weekend – four hours. Second, since the race starts at 4:30 p.m. ET, it will finish at 8:30 p.m. under the cloak of darkness with the cars’ headlights illuminating the track. That doesn’t happen with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES or NASCAR.
A look at the two classes
:Grand Sport (GS): The Grand Sport class consists of SRO GT4-homologated cars with engines tuned to produce between 400 and 450 horsepower. Competition is equalized by adjustments to fuel-tank capacities, ride height, power and weight. Eligible cars include the Aston Martin Vantage GT4, Audi R8 GT4, BMW M4 GT4, Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R, Ford Mustang GT4, McLaren 570S GT4, Mercedes-AMG GT GT4, Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport and Toyota Supra GT4.
Touring Car (TCR): The Touring Car class consists of WSC TCR-homologated cars with engines tuned to produce between 300 and 350 horsepower. Competition is equalized by adjustments to fuel-tank capacities, ride height, power and weight. Eligible cars include the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR, Audi RS3 LMS DSG, Audi RS3 LMS SEQ, Honda Civic FK7 TCR, Hyundai Elantra N TCR and Hyundai Veloster N TCR.
This exciting event weekend also will feature two single-make series in which competitors race the same brand of car, placing the skill of the driver in the spotlight.
The Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America features a 50-minute race at 11:50 a.m. Saturday and another 50-minute event at 10:40 a.m. Sunday. Drivers compete in machines from the exotic Italian marque.
Porsche enthusiasts also can see the evocative German machines compete in identical 911 GT3 Cup race cars in two Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America races this weekend. Both races are 40 minutes each. Race 1 is at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, with Race 2 at 9:40 a.m. Sunday.Tickets and information for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks are available at IMS.com.
TIRERACK.COM BATTLE ON THE BRICKS SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 151
0-10:30 a.m.: Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Practice
110:45-11:30 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Practice 1
11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Michelin Pilot Challenge Practice 1
1:45-2:25 p.m.: Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Practice 2
2:40-4:10 p.m. WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Practice 1 (all classes)
4:30-5:15 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Practice 2
5:30-6 p.m.: Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Qualifying
7:15-8:30 p.m. Michelin Pilot Challenge Practice 2
Saturday, Sept. 16
8-8:15 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Qualifying 18:20-8:35 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Qualifying 28:55-10:25 a.m. WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Practice 1 (GTD, LMP2, LMP3)
9:10-10:40 a.m. WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Practice 1 (GTP, GTD PRO)
11-11:15 a.m. Michelin Pilot Challenge Qualifying (TCR)
11:20-11:35 a.m. Michelin Pilot Challenge Qualifying (GS)
11:50 a.m.-12:40 p.m. Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Race 11-1:15 p.m. WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Qualifying (GTD PRO, GTD)
1:25-1:40 p.m. WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Qualifying (LMP2, LMP3)
1:50-2:10 p.m. WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Qualifying (GTP)
2:30-3:10 p.m. Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Race 1
4:30-8:30 p.m. Indianapolis Motor Speedway 240 Michelin Pilot Challenge Race
Sunday, Sept. 17
9:40-10:20 a.m. Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Race 2
10:40-11:30 a.m. Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Race 2
1:10-3:50 p.m. TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Race