By Austin Lawton, Staff Writer
The TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway switched from a six-hour endurance race to a two-hour, 40-minute contest for the 2026 edition. Unlike the change in race distance, it was a repeat winner that graced the top step of the podium on Sunday evening.
With five minutes-to-go, Sheldon van der Linde was able to make the final pass on the No.31 Whelen Cadillac driven by Earl Bamber. Van der Linde was able to then take his BMW M Hybrid V8 Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) to another win at IMS.
“I was pretty frustrated after the restart to not get past him [Bamber] earlier,” Van der Linde said. “Had two opportunities into Turn 7 where I got stuck behind GT’s and he got away again. It was back and forth. I knew I had to wait because on pace, they were just too fast today. I was willing to risk everything for the win today.
“It’s an incredible day for us. Been waiting a long time for this one. Been knocking on the door of this win for the last year. Came close in Laguna, Detroit, Road America. Three different events we came close and never really got to stand on the top step and we didn’t even get on the podium those races. It’s nice to give a reward back to the team for all of the work they’ve put in.
BMW graced victory lane in IMSA’s top class in 2024, then backed by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Their 2026 triumph was backed by Team WRT, who took over the factory program at the beginning of the 2026 season and now they celebrate their first victory in IMSA.
Van der Linde, who last won in IMSA competition in came in 2017 at Road Atlanta, shares the win with co-driver Dries Vanthoor, who last won at Road America in 2025.
“Doing the whole season, we’ve alway’s been a bit in the mix, fighting for victories, been leading and just never really been able to put it together,” Vanthoor said. “ Today we did. I think it’s a great relief for me and Sheldon [van der Linde], but also for the team, for WRT. Everybody is working so hard, pushing so hard this season. To have that relief gone, I think we can be super happy and super proud of it.”
The No.31 Cadillac would settle for second and carries the lead of the drivers championship into Road Atlanta with Aitken leading Porsche Penske driver Lauren Heinrich by 147 points.
Heinrich would guide his No.6 Porsche to a third place finish in GTP, saving his championship chances. Originally scheduled to drive the No.5 JDC-Miller Porsche, Heinrich was drafted to the No. 6, replacing Laurens Vanthoor.
Era Motorsport took the crown in LeMans Prototype 2 (LMP2) with the driving duo of Nick Boulle and IndyCar’s Christian Rasmussen. A brand new lineup for Indianapolis, both drivers were told they would be in the No.18 just 14 days before the race. Rasmussen was able to fuel save on his stint to bring home the win, something he hasn’t done at IMS since USF Pro 2000 in 2021.
“I just drove the car and followed the numbers they gave me,” Rasmussen said regarding the fuel saving stint. “ I just kept saving more-and-more-and-more until I was literally lifting. I was past the yard of bricks but not by much. We also committed to that early, which helped us. With Nick extending his first stint at the beginning of the race, gave us a fuel advantage over the other guys.”
In GTD Pro, Ford would claim their second consecutive victory at IMS with the No.64 for Ford Racing. Dennis Olsen would pass Nicky Catsburg in the No.4 Pratt Miller Corvette on the final lap. In another battle between Ford and Chevrolet, the two cars would make contact and without review, Olsen and co-driver Ben Barker would take victory.
“I really tried everything,” Olsen said on his last-lap battle. “We have a strong Ford Mustang GT3 Evo that held up togther. Nicky [Catsburg] is a good attacker and I knew what he was trying to do. At the same time, I had a GTP on my inside, making the apex of the corner tight. It feels amazing to pull off the win because we’ve been chasing it for a long time.
In Grand Touring Daytona [GTD], a win drought of two years was broken by the No.96 BMW of Turner Motorsport. The win keeps the Turner crew in the hunt for the championship going into Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta in a few weeks.
