Indianapolis Friday Notebook

Photo: Jordan Lensson/Porsche

***The 75 Express team is making repairs to the steering rack of its GTD Pro class Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo after team owner/driver Kenny Habul got “run into” by a prototype in the closing moments of Friday’s single IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice session for Sunday’s Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Habul reported that the unidentified prototype crossed the front of his car at speed before a heavy impact.

***The cause of Nicky Catsburg’s stoppage in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R was determined to have been a leak in the oil line, per a Corvette Racing spokesperson, who confirms the team will not need to change the engine.

***A sensor issue prevented the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG from setting a time in practice, the only car not to do so in the 90-minute session. The GTD entry features FIA World Endurance Championship Iron Lynx driver Lin Hodenius, who is making his series debut.

***Habul, meanwhile, explained how he first connected with Broc Feeney, who is making his U.S. racing debut this weekend in Habul’s No. 75 Mercedes-AMG. “I actually got the tip from Jack Doohan, who is in Formula 1 with Alpine,” Habul told Sportscar365. “Jack, I guess, knows Broc pretty well; they grew up racing and he said he’s a real talent. I said, well I’ve seen that in the Bathurst [12 Hour] so we might as well give him a go.”

***Winward Racing is running a special black and pink livery on its GTD championship-leading No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo this weekend to recognize the Heaven’s 27 Fund, which has been set up to honor the 27 girls that lost their lives in the Texas floods at Camp Mystic in July. Winward’s IMSA shop is based 300 miles west in Houston.

***Action Express Racing driver Jack Aitken admitted the team is already focused on 2026, amid a challenging season that has yet to see the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R score a podium finish. Aitken currently sits eighth in the GTP standings, uneven on points to co-driver Earl Bamber due to the Kiwi missing the round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca due to his FIA World Endurance Championship commitments with Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA.

***The Gary Nelson and Chris Mitchum-led AXR squad is again utilizing a three-driver lineup this weekend, with Frederik Vesti joining Bamber and Aitken. It is one of only two GTP lineups with a driving trio for the six-hour contest, the other being the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 of Renger van der Zande, Nick Yelloly and Kaku Ohta.

***Aitken told Sportscar365: “I think there’s pros and cons to this. It’s always been a bit of a split decision up and down the field with more favoring two than three. Our view is that three gives you a bit of an insurance policy in that if any of the drivers have an issue on the weekend, then you’ve got the third who’s ready and can take up the slack. I think there are benefits as well when it’s a more physically demanding race.”

***Bamber, meanwhile, spent Thursday in Dallara’s simulator at its facility in Speedway, Ind. preparing for next weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji WEC race.

***While Ford Racing recently announced plans to develop an Evo kit for its Mustang GT3 for next year, the Corvette Racing program manager Jess Dane confirmed to Sportscar365 that Chevrolet has ruled out producing an Evo for its Corvette Z06 GT3.R in 2026. “It’s definitely always something that we’re working and always evaluating the performance of the car and where we make those gains,” said Dane. “We’re not ready to confirm if we’re doing an Evo or what that kit would look like at this stage. But of course it’s always on the radar.”

***JDC-Miller Motorsports is debuting its second Porsche 963 chassis this weekend, which replaces its original chassis that has been in service since the team’s GTP debut in 2023. Team principal John Church told Sportscar365 that it recently ran in a test at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, where they evaluated a “great young kid” that will join them as its third driver for next month’s Motul Petit Le Mans.

***It marked JDC-Miller’s first GTP test session since February’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Sebring International Raceway. “We ran a new driver that was quick,” Church told Sportscar365. “It was a good test. We finally got a chance to run through some of the new bits for this year properly.”

***Church, who indicated that Tijmen van der Helm will be back as one of the drivers next year, hasn’t given up hopes of running a two-car Porsche GTP operation, which would be “ideal” but stressed the challenges budget-wise. “Budgets are so high it’s hard to do it. It’s hard to see a scenario right now. It’s just difficult. It would help share some costs and help with testing but it’s just a challenge to put it all together budget-wise.”

***While Gradient Racing has shifted back to its enduro lineup this weekend, leaving Jenson Altzman to focus entirely on his Michelin Pilot Challenge duties in McCumbee McAleer Racing’s Ford Mustang GT4, the Ford Racing Junior Team driver has targeted a return to WeatherTech Championship competition next year, with an Endurance Cup a priority.

***Altzman told Sportscar365: “At minimum, [I’m targeting] the endurance races. Having the season split was nice for me, especially this year still trying to tackle a full season and [GS] championship run with MMR, it was nice to have an easier segue into doing the GT3 stuff.  I’d say an endurance season for sure is something I will be making happen, one way or another, kind of mentality. But if I can figure out how to do the full season, then that’s absolutely where I’d like to see myself.”

***CoForce, the video and digital media production agency behind most of IMSA’s YouTube and social media content, hosted its first CoForce Collective event at its Gearbox Studio space in Indianapolis on Wednesday evening. The event featured panel discussions with prominent members of the WeatherTech Championship and the NTT IndyCar Series discussing the current state of digital media in motorsports and have to grow their followings using digital marketing, media, and strategy.

***Panels at the event were hosted by Marshall Pruett and featured panel discussions with prominent members of both the IMSA and IndyCar paddocks, including IMSA President John Doonan, IMSA’s senior director of brand and consumer marketing Doug O’Donnell, Honda and Acura Motorsports manager Chuck Skifsky, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles, IndyCar’s chief marketing officer Alex Damron, and current communications leaders, content creators, and CoForce team members.

***CoForce will also be hosting students this weekend from Italy-based Motorsports Technical School (MTS), which recently opened a campus in Indianapolis. Famed former Audi Sport engineer and Audi Sport customer racing North America manager Brad Kettler and fellow engineer Rosella Manfrinato, formerly of Michelotto, are among the instructors at the new campus.

***The WeatherTech Championship has one final practice session on tap Saturday morning, followed by qualifying at 3:15 p.m. EST, which will be streamed live on Peacock, as well as IMSA’s YouTube channel for international viewers.

Jonathan Grace contributed to this report

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John