BMW M Team WRT wins IMSA Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis

Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor secured the first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory for BMW M Team WRT at the Battle on the Bricks held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Driving the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8, van der Linde executed a decisive pass on Earl Bamber’s No. 31 Cadillac Whelen in the final minutes of the two-hour, 40-minute race.

The win is a significant milestone for the Belgian-led WRT team, marking its first victory in its debut season managing BMW’s factory Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) program. Van der Linde utilized traffic to overtake Bamber at Turn 12 with approximately five minutes remaining, ultimately finishing 2.926 seconds ahead of the Cadillac.

The Cadillac of Bamber and Jack Aitken finished second, while the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry, driven by Laurin Heinrich and Kevin Estre, took third. Earlier in the event, qualifying for the GT classes was determined by points standings following weather delays caused by thunderstorms.