International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2023.[1] It was the second consecutive year the IMSA SCC hosted a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the third time a race was held here since the series' inception in 2014. The 2024 IMSA Battle on the Bricks was the tenth of eleven scheduled sports car races of 2024 by IMSA.[2] The race was held at the fourteen-turn 2.439 mi (3.925 km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on September 22, 2024.[2]
Balance of performance
Ahead of the event, IMSA published a bulletin regarding the latest balance of performance (BoP) changes in the GTP, GTD Pro, and GTD classes.[3] In the GTP class, the Porsche received a 3 kilogram weight increase, whilst also receiving an increase of 6 kilowatts in power. The BMW was up 2 kilograms from Road America, with a power increase of 7 kilowatts. The Acura received 1 kilogram of additional ballast, whilst remaining at the highest possible power level of 520 kilowatts. The Cadillac only saw a power increase of 5 kilowatts. Finally, the Lamborghini, which returned for the first time since Watkins Glen, had the minimum weight of 1030 kilograms, with an power output of 518 kilowatts.[3] In the GTD Pro and GTD classes, the BMW received a 6.7 horsepower reduction, whilst the Ford lost 8.8 horsepower with a 1 millimeter smaller air restrictor. Furthermore, the Acura received a loss in power of 11.4 horsepower. Finally, the Mercedes saw a power boost of 6.7 horsepower, whilst the air restrictor will be opened up by 0.5 millimeters.[3]
The entry list was revealed on September 11, 2024, and featured 56 entries: 11 entries in GTP, 10 in LMP2, 12 in GTD Pro, and 23 entries in GTD.[5] On September 18, 2024, Heart of Racing Team announced that they would move the No. 27 entry up to GTD Pro to assist Ross Gunn in the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship battle.[6]
There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, one on Friday morning and one on Saturday morning. Both the session on Friday morning and on Saturday morning lasted 90 minutes.[10]
In the first session, Jaminet set the fastest time in the No. 6 PPM Porsche at 1 minute, 16.138 seconds, 0.039 seconds faster than van der Zande's No. 01 CGR car. De Phillippi and his teammate Krohn were third and fourth for BMW. Jordan Taylor put the No. 40 WTR Acura fifth overall.[11]Mikkel Jensen led LMP2 in TDS Racing's No. 11 car with a 1 minute, 17.368 second lap, faster than Dillmann's No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca.[11][12] Kirchhöfer's 1:24.030 lap led the GTD Pro class in Pfaff's car, 0.075 seconds faster than Sellers' Paul Miller BMW; Roman De Angelis's No. 027 Heart Aston Martin was third. Riccardo Agostini's No. 023 Triarsi Ferrari recorded the fastest lap amongst all GTD cars: 1:23.855, followed by Spinelli's No. 78 Forte vehicle.[12]
Louis Delétraz led the final session in the No. 40 WTR car with a lap of 1 minute, 15.422 seconds. Nasr's No. 7 PPM Porsche was second-fastest. Grosjean was third in the No. 63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini and Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 WTR Acura was fourth.[13] Hanley led LMP2 with a 1:17.560 lap in United Autosports No. 2 Oreca, 0.172 seconds ahead of Dillmann's Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports car.[14] Heinrich led GTD Pro in AO Racing's No. 77 car with a 1:23.494 lap, 0.092 seconds faster than Riberas' No. 23 Heart Aston Martin. Fjordbach's No. 86 MDK car paced GTD, followed by Ward's No. 57 Windward Mercedes-AMG.[14] One red flag was shown during the session: Giammarco Levorato spun the No. 55 Proton Ford at turn 3 and stopped on track mid-session.[13]
Qualifying
Saturday's afternoon qualifying session was broken into three sessions, with one session for the GTP, LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD classes, which lasted 15 minutes each. The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am LMP2 class requiring a Bronze rated driver to qualify the car.[10] The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put GTPs ahead of the LMP2, GTD Pro, and GTD cars.[15]
Qualifying results
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and with ‡.
1 The No. 77 AO Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD class after failing post-qualifying technical inspection, and lost pole position in GTD Pro.[18]
2 The No. 12 Vasser Sullivan entry was moved to the back of the GTD class after failing post-qualifying technical inspection.[18]
3 The No. 80 Lone Star Racing entry had all its lap times deleted after working on the car during qualifying.
4 The No. 56 DragonSpeed entry had all its lap times deleted after working on the car during qualifying.
Race
Post-race
The final results of GTP meant Cameron and Nasr extended their advantage the Drivers' Championship to 124 points over Jaminet and Tandy.[19] Boulle and Dillmann's second-place finish allowed them to extend their advantage over Fraga and Robinson in the LMP2 Drivers' Championship.[19] Heinrich's victory in GTD Pro allowed him to increase his lead in the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship to 99 points over Gunn.[19] Ellis and Ward's fifth-place finish allowed them to keep their advantage over Foley and Gallagher in the GTD Drivers' Championship.[19] Porsche and Mercedes-AMG continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Porsche Penske Motorsport, Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports, AO Racing, and Winward Racing kept their respective advantages in their of Teams' Championships with one round remaining.[19]
1 The No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry was moved to the back of the GTP class after a modification of the homologated wiring harness.[21]
2 The No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti entry was moved to the back of the GTP class after a modification of the homologated brake ducting system.[22]
^"03_Results_Race_Official.PDF"(PDF). imsa.results.alkamelcloud.com. Alkamel Systems. September 30, 2024. Archived(PDF) from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
^"TP 24-35.pdf"(PDF). imsa.results.alkamelcloud.com. Alkamel Systems. September 26, 2024. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
^"TP 24-36.pdf"(PDF). imsa.results.alkamelcloud.com. Alkamel Systems. September 26, 2024. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
