Brickyard braces for ‘Battle’ as IMSA endurance race more than doubles in length
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Long gone are the days when Indianapolis Motor Speedway locked up the doors and turned off the lights after the last IndyCar race of the season. Instead, a solid stretch of speed sports starts soon, with the return of the Tirerack.com Battle on the Bricks.
“This is the beginning of three weekends in a row of racing at the speedway,” IMS President Doug Boles told viewers of WISH-TV’s Daybreak. “So not only are we not done, we’re not even close!”
The Battle on the Bricks features endurance racing by IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) teams. Unlike the nearly-matching chassis and engines at the top levels of IndyCar and NASCAR, IMSA cars are wildly different from each other visually and mechanically. Adding to the intrigue, several classifications race on the road course at the same time, making for frequent high-speed passes.
“All the different classes, cars that look like cars you see on the street and those exotic GTP (Gran Touring Prototype) cars all running together at the same time at different speeds,” Boles said. He explained what the race is like from a driver’s perspective.
“It’s crazy! You go to look in your mirror and ahead, you know -right there- you’re looking at some of those GTP cars which are super fast! And then there’s a GTD (production-based Gran Touring Daytona) car.”
The main event of the Battle on the Bricks is longer this year. The race debuted last year as a shorter ‘sprint’ of 2 hours, 40 minutes. This year, it’s slated to run a full 6 hours.
Some familiar names at the track will take the wheel for the Battle, including current and former IndyCar stars Romain Grosjean, Sebastien Bourdais, Gabby Chaves, Matt Brabham, and Jack Hawksworth.
Thursday, September 19
Street Festival
Main Street Speedway
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Free
Friday, September 20
Practice & Qualifying
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
$20 General Admission
Saturday, September 21
Practice, Qualifying, Support Races
7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
$50 General Admission
Sunday, September 22
IMSA Tirerack.com Battle on the Bricks
8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
6-hour race starts at 11:40
$60 General Admission
After the Battle on the Bricks is over, the focus turns to dirt for the Sept. 26-28 Driven2SaveLives BC29, then back to the road course for the Indianapolis 8 Hour Intercontinental GT Challenge Oct. 4-6.