On a dramatic pass with just over 5 minutes remaining, Sheldon van der Linde delivered a victory for the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 in the Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — the first for Team WRT since taking command of BMW’s Grand Touring Prototype program this season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Co-driving with Dries Vanthoor, van der Linde made his winning move to take the lead in Turn 12 from the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R being driven by Earl Bamber.
As soon as I got into the lead I got goosebumps with three laps to go, which isn’t ideal,” van der Linde told NBC Sports’ Chris Wilner after his second class win in IMSA and first since 2017 in GTD. “We’ve waited so freaking long for this. I even hurt my ribs celebrating getting out of the car. It’s incredible.”
It’s the second overall win at Indy for BMW, which won in 2024 under Team RLL running the GTP program. Team WRT has three wins with the M Hybrid V8 this season, having won in the World Endurance Championship at Spa and Sao Paulo.
Bamber finished second in the No. 31 that he shares with Jack Aitken, who holds a commanding 147-point lead in the GTP standings heading into the Petit Le Mans season finale on Oct. 3.
Laurin Henrich, who is second in the standings, finished third at Indy with co-driver Kevin Estra in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963. The Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillacs finished fourth and fifth.
In the manufacturer standings, Cadillac has a 136-point lead over Porsche and will clinch the title when one of its cars starts at Michelin Road Atlanta.
In other categories:
- LMP2: Era Motorsport earned its sixth win in LMP2 and its first since March 2024 at Sebring with a retooled one-off driver lineup of Nick Boulle and Christian Rasmussen in its No. 18 ORECA LMP2 07. In the championship battle, contenders Inter Europol Competition, CrowdStrike Racing by APR and AO Racing finished off the podium, setting up a title battle for the finale.
- GTD Pro: The No. 64 Ford Racing Mustang GT3 broke a win drought dating to Indianapolis a year ago, getting the win with Dennis Olsen and Ben Barker (who got his first IMSA class victory in his 19th start). Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner finished second in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R and took the lead in the GTD Pro points standings.
- GTD: Turner Motorsport ended a two-year winless streak as Patrick Gallagher and Robby Foley took the No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO to its 26th class victory and first at Indianapolis. The team’s last win was at Road America in August 2024.
Results from the 2026 Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis
Results
Results by class
Fastest laps by driver
Fastest laps by driver after race (over the weekend)
Fastest laps by driver and class after race
Race distance and average speed
Fastest lap sequence
Leader sequence
Lap chart
Race analysis by lap
Stint analysis
Time cards
Pit stop time cards
Best sector times
Flag analysis with race control messages
Weather report
Up next
The 2026 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season will conclude with all four categories racing Oct. 3 in the Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
