Porsche Penske Motorsport won the Battle on the Bricks, setting up a battle royale for the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The No. 6 Porsche 963 of Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet beat No. 7 teammates Felipe Nasr and Matt Campbell by more than 17 seconds at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the track owned by Roger Penske.
The 1-2 finish for Porsche Penske Motorsport was a reverse of its performance in qualifying on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course, where Campbell started on the pole position ahead of Jaminet.
“It’s amazing to see all the fans here this weekend,” Penske told NBC Sports’ Kevin Lee. “Terrific drive by our guys in both cars. We’re trying to still get that championship so we needed to have a great finish. Excellent execution in the pits, the strategy was great.
“A lot of people here, let’s bring them all back next year. It’s hard to believe that here we are on a beautiful day here and having a sports car race at Indianapolis.”
Heading into the Oct. 14 season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, there are five points separating the top three teams in the Grand Touring Prototype category.
The No. 31 Action Express Cadillac of Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims leads the premier hybrid prototype division by three points over the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06 of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor. The No. 6 Porsche is five points out of the championship lead.
“It’s mega,” Jaminet told the IMSA Wire Service. “That was the target this morning. We had a great qualifying. We had a great weekend. I have no words. It’s really a mega day for Porsche Penske Motorsport as well.
“It’s been great with Roger here. It feels like a home race. I’m really happy to bring this one home. This puts us right back in the championship, so It’s going to be a fight back in Atlanta.”
It’s the 35th career victory in IMSA for Penske and the team’s third win this season. It also marked Penske’s first 1-2 finish since 2020 at Laguna Seca.
Other class winners:
LMP2: The No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 of Steven Thomas and Mikkel Jenson earned its second victory this season. The team will carry a 20-point lead into the season finale.
LMP3: The No. 17 AWA Duqueine D08 of Wayne Boyd and Anthony Mantella earned its second victory this season and first since the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The No. 74 Riley Ligier’s four-race winning streak ended with a second place, but the team brings a comfortable championship lead into the finale.
GTD Pro: Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella scored their third victory this season in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. With a third in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat will clinch the team and driver titles by starting the season finale.
GTD: The No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 co-driven by Russell Ward and Phillip Ellis earned its first victory of the season. By finishing third, Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow clinched their second consecutive championship in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3.
