The 2026 Battle on the Bricks returns to the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway from September 18 to 20, delivering a compact, high-energy showdown for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Era Motorsport has announced a fresh driver pairing for its No. 18 ORECA LMP2 entry: IndyCar regular Christian Rasmussen rejoins the squad, while French racer Nick Boulle makes his first appearance with the team at this venue.
Era Motorsport’s new driver lineup
Rasmussen’s résumé includes a class-victory at the 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona, where he shared the podium with Ryan Dalziel, Dwight Merriman and Connor Zilisch. After a brief hiatus from prototype racing, he returns eager to pick up where he left off, noting that the iconic brick-laid circuit holds a special place in his memory. Boulle, meanwhile, is stepping back into LMP2 competition for the first time since the 2025 Battle on the Bricks, expressing enthusiasm about collaborating with Team principal Kyle Tilley and the seasoned Era crew. Both drivers stress that the event’s sprint format—just two hours and forty minutes—demands immediate adaptation and relentless pace.
Championship battles across IMSA’s four classes
The Indianapolis sprint serves as the penultimate round before the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. In the top-tier GTP class, Jack Aitken’s Whelen Cadillac leads the standings, but a recent clash at Road America has opened the door for Porsche’s Laurin Heinrich, now back in the No. 6 Penske-backed car alongside Kevin Estre. The LMP2 leaderboard is even tighter: the CrowdStrike-run No. 04 piloted by George Kurtz and Alex Quinn holds a 36-point edge over Inter Europol’s No. 43, driven by Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke, who have captured the last two class wins. GTD PRO sees five manufacturers within a 67-point window, with Paul Miller Racing’s BMW M4 GT3 currently on top, while Lamborghini’s Pfaff Motorsports climbs rapidly after consecutive victories. In GTD the Mercedes-AMG duo of Philip Ellis and Russell Ward leads a tightly-packed field that includes former IndyCar talent such as Robert Wickens and Benjamin Pedersen.
Weekend schedule and support series
Practice commences on Friday at 3:25 p.m. ET, followed by a Saturday pre-qualifying session at 10:45 a.m. The qualifying hour is set for 5:05 p.m., determining the grid for the two-hour-forty-minute sprint that kicks off at 3:10 p.m. on Sunday. The weekend also features the Michelin Pilot Challenge Indianapolis 120, a two-hour race for production-based sports cars that starts at 2:30 p.m., as well as the Porsche Carrera CupLamborghini Trofeo and Mazda MX-5 support events. Notably, former Indy 500 pole-sitter Bruno Junqueira will compete in the TCR class behind the wheel of a Baker Racing Audi RS3 LS, adding another layer of cross-disciplinary intrigue.
With the stakes high and the field stacked, the Battle on the Bricks promises a blend of raw speed, strategic acumen, and the unique challenge of a sprint-style prototype race on a circuit that has rarely hosted such an event. Era Motorsport’s refreshed driver roster, combined with the tightly contested championship battles, ensures that Indianapolis will once again be the focal point of the IMSA calendar before the final showdown at Road Atlanta.
