Eng and Krohn triumph the Battle on the Bricks

IMSA

Sep 24

The Battle on the Bricks with 56-car on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway was full of twists and turns with four-class field, dramatic changing weather and track conditions, several long full-course yellow enabling contenders to regroup. There were not less than 26 leader changes with #6 Porsche 963, #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 and #01 Cadillac V-Series.R spending respectively 54, 51 and 50 laps in the lead.

Double for BMW M Team RLL

Just a few days after the first podium finish for the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the LMDh car has scored an impressive 1-2 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Philipp Eng and Jesse Krohn in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 triumphing over their teammates Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly in the Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motors Speedway.

Philipp Eng and Jesse Krohn in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 triumphing — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Indianapolis. **Philipp Eng and Jesse Krohn** in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 triumphing The Battle on the Bricks.

The two car crews braved the difficult conditions, especially at the start of the “Battle on the Bricks” with rain and then a drying track, made no mistakes, and made the right strategic decisions. It was the #24 crew that was the first in the top field to switch to slicks, thereby making an important move towards the lead. In the final laps, the two BMW M Hybrid V8s kept their competitors at bay even in dense lapping traffic and decided first place between themselves. Eng and Krohn celebrated not only their first win but also their first podium finish in the top class of the IMSA series.

Philipp Eng and Jesse Krohn in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 triumphing The Battle on the Bricks. — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Indianapolis. **Philipp Eng and Jesse Krohn** in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 triumphing The Battle on the Bricks.

Philipp Eng (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, 1st place): “I am almost speechless. I am extremely happy for everyone at BMW M Motorsport and BMW M Team RLL. Everyone has more than earned this success. For me personally, this win is very emotional because I have experienced hard times here in North America when the hoped-for results just didn't come. Today was our day. Now it's time to celebrate.”

Jesse Krohn (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, 1st place): “This is my eleventh year with BMW M Motorsport, and now I stand here, at one of the most legendary places in motorsport, having won a race in the top class. That is incredible. I am very grateful for the journey I have been allowed to take all this time. I have now won in every race car that BMW M Motorsport has put me in.” Source: BMW Group

The only other win in the GTP category had been claimed by De Phillippi and Yelloly at Watkins Glen in the 2023 season.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Indianapolis. De Phillippi and Yelloly end second the Battle on the Bricks.

Nick Yelloly (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place): “What a fantastic team result! I am incredibly happy for the team, which after a good season in 2023 with a win and five podiums had to go through hard times this year. To be able to reward them with this one-two result is great. I am also happy for Philipp and Jesse, who really deserved their first win.”

Connor De Phillippi (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place): “A phenomenal weekend for the entire team. We all did a great job together, and everyone contributed their part to this success. The first one-two for the BMW M Hybrid V8 is fantastic, even though I would have liked a different order, of course. But as long as one of our cars is at the very front, everything is great!” Source: BMW Group

Mathieu Jaminet, Nick Tandy third with with #6 Porsche 963

Porsche Penske Motorsport again climbed the podium in third place with the #6 Porsche 963. As a result, the works team heads to the final round of the season at Road Atlanta with a substantial lead in the manufacturers’, drivers’ and teams’ rankings.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Indianapolis. The #6 Penske Porsche 963 of Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy.

Nick Tandy (Porsche 963 #6): “The fact that we’ve almost secured the manufacturers’ title is a huge success for the entire team. It serves as a well-deserved reward for everyone who has worked hard and non-stop on this project. I’m proud to be a part of it. I would’ve liked to win today’s race. At times it looked like we had a good chance. But in the end, we’re very happy with third place and a podium finish.” Source: Porsche

JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche Fourth

The #85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche customer team with P. Hanson, R. Westbrook and T. Van der Helm celebrated a top result thanks to its Porsche 963 finishing fourth overall.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Indianapolis. P. Hanson, R. Westbrook and T. Van der Helm with #85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche.

Phil Hanson (Porsche 963 #85): “Things were looking great for us in the early stages of the race, but then we dropped back, initially due to a penalty. What a rollercoaster of a race. A lucky yellow got us back to the front. Fourth place is a solid result. Our pace was strong. However, we repeatedly had to solve some tricky issues throughout the six-hour race. I imagine it was the same for every team.” Source: Porsche

Both WTR by Andretti Acura end fifth and sixth

Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor contended for victory at the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks until a late-race penalty for contact results in a fifth-place finish. Their teammates Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque piloted their #10 Acura to sixth.

Prior to the call to drive through pit lane, Deletraz and Taylor had their #40 Acura ARX-06 at or near the front of the field throughout the closing hours of the six-hour endurance contest.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Indianapolis. Deletraz and Taylor with their #40 WTR by Andretti Acura ARX-06

Jordan Taylor (#40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06): “Not a good day. There were moments when a win was definitely in the cards. We didn’t have a very good car in the wet, but once conditions dried out we had a really good car, especially in clean air. We were able to make some passes when we needed to, but a tough way to end the day.”

Louis Deletraz (#40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06): “The positive today is that we had strong pace, we came from the back to the front a few times. As for the penalty, I think that is discussable with IMSA because I feel like I did nothing wrong and the GTD car ran into me. But overall, positive pace but a sad result. Let’s go to Petit Le Mans and try to win.” Source: Acura

The sister #10 Acura ARX-06 of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor also was very quick at times, with Albuquerque setting fastest race lap, but lost speed in the closing hours to finish sixth.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Indianapolis. **#10 Acura ARX-06** of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor.

Filipe Albuquerque (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06): “It’s just the way this year has gone for us. We looked good at one point, I took off and had the race’s fastest lap, so the car was good. Definitely the pace was there. But then at the end Ricky [Taylor] had an issue with the car that kept us from pushing for P4. And that’s how it was for us. It was a long day.” Source: Acura.

Proton Competition seventh

Proton Competition impressively demonstrated the huge potential of the hybrid car. The Italian works driver Gianmaria Bruni turned the fastest lap of the entire race at the wheel of the #5 car in 1:16.229 minutes. The squad finished the 6-hour race in Indianapolis in seventh place.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Indianapolis. #5 Proton Competition Mustang Sampling Porsche 963

Alessio Picariello (Porsche 963 #5): “That was an intense race day for me. I only put in a few laps in the practice sessions. My last outing in the Porsche 963 was about six months ago, so I had to relearn a lot of things during the race. We set a great pace but struck a bit of misfortune with our strategy. That hampered us from achieving a better result.” Source: Porsche

Cadillac Racing #01 eighth

Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande did hold the lead during 50 laps with the #01 Cadillac V-Series.R gaining maximum points at the halfway mark in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup standings.

With 1 hour, 27 minutes left and running second, van der Zande rolled onto pit lane for regular service and a switch to Bourdais for the close. A lap later, however, the right-rear tire on the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R went flat, and Bourdais had to make a full tour of the course before limping into the pit. An extended stop, which included untangled tire chord from the driveshaft, cost the team three laps.

Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande with the #01 Cadillac — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Indianapolis. **Sebastien Bourdais** and **Renger van der Zande** with the **#01 Cadillac**

Sebastien Bourdais: “I think pace-wise we were OK, but the competition was stronger again. … Unfortunately, we probably didn’t have what we needed to fight. But it turned into a very weird race at the end with the BMW winning. I jumped in the car. I did the out lap. I didn’t hit anyone, but something cut the right rear tire. Debris, or someone when they got by when I was crawling around on cold tires, I have no idea. I didn’t feel anything at all. Just another really disappointing race because it definitely feels like we did everything we could to give ourselves a chance, then we get nothing at the end.”

Renger van der Zande: "I’m very disappointed with where we ended up because we had good speed in the car, we worked really hard on the setup and to get it done. The team did a fantastic job. I think we extracted everything we could out of the car. Seb did a good job; I did a good job. At the end, a blown tire ended our fight today. I’m not happy, but we’ll move forward from here, and we’ll see what we can do at Petit Le Mans and hopefully win that race.” Source: Cadillac.