IMSA GTP battle comes down to the wire at IMS; Christian Rasmussen wins as late call-up

INDIANAPOLIS – The joust for the win in the GTP class of IMSA's Battle on the Bricks came down to the last 10 minutes of the two-hour, 40-minute race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

>With just five and a half minutes until the checkered flag, Sheldon van der Linde snuck the No. 24 BMW M Team WRT on the inside of the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen – driven by Earl Bamber – to complete an overtake in Turn 12 of the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course for the lead and win the race. Sharing the car with Dries Vanthoor, van der Linde clinched BMW M Team WRT's first win in IMSA's GTP class.

>"I got a very good run and kind of went all the way to the inside," van der Linde said. "So he wasn't able to see me in his mirrors, and I was willing to risk everything for the win today. I know how important it is for these guys to get it."

>With the race on the line, van der Linde knew he could drive "elbows out" while Bamber couldn't. Bamber had to play it safe to protect a result for the other driver of the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen car, Jack Aitken.

>Aitken and Bamber finished second to extend Aitken's GTP championship lead over Laurin Heinrich – who has raced for two different teams and three cars this year and shared the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport car with Kevin Estre this weekend. After the No. 6 finished third, Aitken leads Heinrich by a comfortable 147 points heading into the season finale, the 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta (Oct. 3).

>"I don't envy Earl for trying to hold them off for as long as he did at the end, but it's a fantastic result," Aitken said. "It takes us to Petit in a very strong position."

>The Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class was won by the No. 18 Era Motorsport car (Christian Rasmussen and Nick Boulle); the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD Pro) class was won by the No. 64 Ford Mustang (Ben Barker and Dennis Olsen); and the GTD class was won by the No. 96 Turner Motorsport car (Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher).

>Rasmussen drives for Ed Carpenter Racing in IndyCar and didn't know he'd drive in Sunday's race until about a week and a half before it happened. With Rasmussen in the car for the final stint, he fuel-saved to seal the victory.

>"I definitely heavy fuel-saved, but we also committed to it early, which I think helped us," Rasmussen said. "I think a lot of the other guys were kind of pushing a little bit further into this than we were. ... So overall, just called the right strategy from start to finish."

>IMS hosted 54,000 fans over three days for the weekend, which is the most since IMSA returned in 2023. Next year's Battle on the Bricks will take place on Sept. 19, 2027.

>Zion Brown is IndyStar's motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar's motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IMSA GTP battle comes down to the wire at IMS; Christian Rasmussen wins as late call-up