Editor's Note: Revised from earlier version due to IMSA post-qualifying technical ruling on the No. 60 GTP car.
Cadillac will start 1-2-3 in the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the quickest GTP car in qualifying was sent to the rear of the field.
Jack Aitken will start from the pole in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R after his best lap of 1 minute, 14.610 seconds was second quickest. But he elevated to the top spot after the Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 of Tom Blomqvist, turning a top lap of 1:14.569, was found in post-qualifying technical inspection to fail to comply within LMDh bodywork tolerances.
SEE: Starting Grid
That car, shared between former INDYCAR SERIES drivers Blomqvist and Colin Braun, will move to the rear of the 12-car GTP field. The six-hour race starts at 11:40 a.m. ET Sunday on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.
It’s the first pole of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season for Cadillac.
“I’m pretty pleased,” Aitken said. “I think all the Cadillacs showed pretty well. We had an OK practice, but it wasn’t entirely smooth. The nature of having so many cars on track here means getting clean laps, which was quite difficult.
“I think we’re in a good place. I’m pleased that we’ve come out today with a strong car and clean qualifying session, and I think a strong car for tomorrow.”
Wayne Taylor Racing, headquartered in nearby Brownsburg, put both of its prototypes in the top three of the starting grid. Louis Deletraz qualified third, now starting second, at 1:14.715 in the No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R, while Ricky Taylor was fourth at 1:14.804 and will start third in the team’s No. 10 Cadillac.
The reigning winners, the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL entry of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, will start seventh in the 12-car GTP field at 1:15.133 with Dries Vanthoor behind the wheel.
Nick Boulle led a sweep of the first two qualifying spots in the LMP2 class by United Autosports USA. He was quickest at 1:17.846 in the team’s No. 2 ORECA LMP2 07, followed by Daniel Goldburg at 1:18.222 in the team’s No. 22 prototype.
Dan Harper took the top qualifying spot in the GTD PRO class for Paul Miller Racing, stopping the clocks at 1:23.259 in the team’s No. 48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
Casper Stevenson won the pole in the GTD class with a best lap of 1:23.088 in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. That time was quicker than the pole for the factory-supported GTD PRO class.
McLaren Goes 1-2 in Michelin Pilot Challenge Race
Michael Cooper took the lead with less than one minute remaining and drove the No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsports McLaren Artura GT4 to overall and Grand Sport class victory in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120, a two-hour race for the Michelin Pilot Challenge series.
It was the second win of the season for Cooper and co-driver Moisey Uretsky. This also was the first 1-2 finish for McLaren in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition.
SEE: Race Results
“I just took any opportunity I was given, whether it was inside, outside, wherever,” Cooper said. “I was willing to try anything to get that win. We got a win at Daytona to open the season and haven’t had a podium since, so I thought it was worth risking for.
“I think everyone was really struggling with braking and grip overall. So, maybe I just managed that a little better early in the stint and had a bit more in the end.”
Jesse Lazare scrambled into second in the last minute to finish second in the No. 21 Motorsports In Action McLaren Artura GT4 that he shared with Alexandra Hainer. Robert Noaker and Cameron McLeod finished third in the No. 60 KOHR MOTORSPORTS Ford Mustang GT4.
Cooper and Lazare passed Noaker for first and second, respectively, with less than a minute to go, and Lazare also got past for second. Cooper completed a stirring drive from 17th to third from just past halfway until a caution bunched the field with 17 minutes to go.
American Cooper passed Canadian Lazare for second in Turn 1 with four minutes to go and then set his sights on Noaker. On the decisive pass, Noaker led down the back straightaway and through Turn 10, but Cooper then edged past in the next right-hand corner.
Spanish manufacturer Cupra earned its first Michelin Pilot Challenge victory in the Touring Car class, as co-drivers Eric Powell and Tyler Gonzalez won by 6.988 seconds in the No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Cupra Leon VZ TCR. This is Cupra’s first season in IMSA competition, and it became the first manufacturer to earn its maiden IMSA win since Alfa Romeo in 2021.
The No. 7 Precision Racing LA Audi RS3 shared by Celso Neto and Ryan Eversley finished second, while Karl Wittmer and LP Montour drove the No. 93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 to third.
Ericsson’s Brother Wins Again in Lamborghini Series
Hampus Ericsson now has one up on his older brother, 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson, as he earned his second victory at IMS in two days by sweeping Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America events this weekend with co-driver Danny Formal.
The duo triumphed in the No. 1 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracan by 11.067 seconds over teammates Trent Hindman and Jackson Lee, son of FOX Sports INDYCAR announcer Kevin Lee, in the No. 69 Huracan. Those WTR cars finished in the same order in Friday’s 50-minute race.
Aaron Jeansonne won the second 40-minute Porsche Carrera Cup North America race of the weekend. He drove the No. 24 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to victory by .981 of a second over the No. 78 Topp Racing Porsche of Ryan Yardley, who earned his second runner-up result of the weekend.
Race 1 winner Zachary Vanier placed third in the No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche.
Visit IMS.com for tickets and more information on the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks.
