Indianapolis Saturday Notebook

Photo: Jordan Lenssen/Porsche

***Acura Meyer Shank Racing initially matched BMW M Team RLL’s four-race IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole streak on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, until the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 was flunked post-qualifying technical inspection after “failing to comply with bodywork tolerances as defined in LMDh technical regulations” that has sent the car to the rear of the GTP starting field. It has handed pole to the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Jack Aitken, marking both the team and manufacturer’s first top qualifying run of the season and a 1-2-3 lockout for Cadillac.

***Cadillac Racing program manager Keely Bosn said: “We couldn’t be more pleased with the 1-2-3 qualifying result today. To take the first pole of the season and have all three Cadillacs qualify in the top three shows the strength and depth of our program this season. The lap times were incredibly tight, and that just shows how competitive we are right now. Our drivers were on it and the entire team has worked tirelessly to make this happen. We’ve got a solid foundation heading into tomorrow’s race, and we’re all focused on fighting for the win. It’s a long race, but we have the pace, strategy, and driver talent to make it happen.”

***The No. 75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, qualified by Mikael Grenier third in class, also has been moved to the rear of the GTD Pro starting grid due to the car falling below the minimum permitted ground clearance.

***While having achieved the same feat in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series competition, United Autosports scored its first-ever 1-2 qualifying lockout in the WeatherTech Championship on Saturday, led by the No. 2 car of Nick Boulle, who outpaced teammate Daniel Goldburg.

***Casper Stevenson, who scored his first career WeatherTech Championship pole in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, became the sixth consecutive different pole-sitter in the class this season. “It’s a great place to get it,” said Stevenson. “I would have liked to have gotten it earlier in the year but hopefully the next one will come a bit easier.”

***A total of four cars: the No. 24 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8, No. 63 Lamborghini SC63, No. 11 TDS Racing Oreca 07 Gibson and No. 8 Tower Motorsport Oreca, all lost their fastest times in qualifying due to being determined by IMSA race control for causing red flags in practice, either on Friday or Saturday morning. Dries Vanthoor lost one position on the grid, dropping from seventh to eighth in GTP, while Steven Thomas was demoted from the front row to fifth in LMP2.

***All cars involved in Saturday morning’s incidents in final practice were repaired and took part in qualifying. The No. 18 Era Motorsport Oreca repaired front suspension and bodywork damage after Tobi Lutke’s accident, with Matt Bell’s No. 13 AWA Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R requiring repairs to the car’s left-rear suspension and bodywork. Both the No. 8 Tower Oreca and the No. 6 Penske Porsche 963 only required cosmetic repairs.

***Dan Knox is absent this weekend and will also miss the WeatherTech Championship season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans as a result of the Lone Star Racing team owner/driver focusing on an intensive certification program required to pilot a super midsize class business jet after he recently acquired a Cessna Citation Longitude. Sportscar365 understands that Knox plans to be back behind the wheel next season and may still compete in another event this year, per a Mercedes-AMG spokesperson.

***Rory van der Steur’s participation for Petit Le Mans is unclear following his mountain biking accident. Van der Steur told IMSA Radio’s Arjuna Kankipati that a decision will likely be made following a pre-event test with the team’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in two weeks’ time. The Silver-rated driver has been replaced by Eduardo Barrichello this weekend.

***Daniil Kvyat will return to the factory Lamborghini SC63 for Petit Le Mans, alongside Romain Groasjean and Eduardo Mortara, a Lamborghini spokesperson confirmed to Sportscar365.

***While Sportscar365 understands that Scott Dixon will be back in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 for the ten-hour enduro at Road Atlanta, newly crowned four-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou’s participation in the race is uncertain.

***Palou drove the MSR’s No. 93 entry at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring but is believed to not yet be confirmed for the race. Kaku Ohta, who is the third driver in the No. 93 this weekend, meanwhile, is unavailable for the season finale due to his Super Formula commitments at Fuji Speedway that weekend.

***Manny Franco will continue in the WeatherTech Championship for a third consecutive season with Conquest Racing, team owner Eric Bachelart confirmed to Sportscar365. Bachelart indicated they are waiting to hear from Ferrari on the identity of his co-driver. Ferrari factory ace Daniel Serra co-drives with Silver-rated Franco this year.

***Bachelart also revealed the Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo may not be ready in time for November’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Raceway and admitted it “doesn’t make sense” for his team to take part in the optional pre-season test with the current 2025-spec Prancing Horse.

***He told Sportscar365: “Manny has three [existing] cars. Right now we’ll buy an Evo kit. The big question is that is it going to be ready for the test in November? Probably not. Now we have to see what we will do. All of this, I’m hoping to get answered this weekend.”

***While the official test, scheduled for Nov. 14-16, is no longer mandatory for new or updated machinery competing in 2026, Sportscar365 understands that BMW’s new-look M Hybrid V8, featuring significant aero updates, will be present for what is expected to be the first public outing for the the German manufacturer’s new IMSA operator, Team WRT.

***Turner Motorsport team owner Will Turner indicated that his squad plans to continue as a single-car BMW M4 GT3 EVO operation in the GTD class, likely with the same lineup of Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher. “If we do something, it will be very similar to this year,” Turner told Sportscar365.

***DXDT Racing program manager Bryan Sellers has ruled out a move to GTD Pro, with the David Askew-owned operation poised for a return to GTD with its Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R that could feature Robert Wickens and Alec Udell for the full season.

***Sellers told Sportscar365: “The plans are, at the moment, to operate at a high GTD level. With Pratt Miller occupying two cars [in GTD Pro], it makes the most sense for them to do their pro racing and for us to go down the path of customer racing, because at the moment, that is where we are striving to thrive and to be. Our main goal is to operate at the highest possible customer level.”

***75 Express team owner/driver Kenny Habul revealed plans for his Munich-based team to take part in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, pending a confirmed entry by IMSA. Habul told Sportscar365 that its driver lineup for the race has yet to be finalized. “That’s the big race for me to win,” he said. “We were second in (GTD in) 2021. That’s the one I’m desperate for.”

***As part of Porsche Penske Motorsport’s involvement with the Austin Hatcher Foundation this weekend, the team has made custom team fire suits for John Allen W. and Lucas F., the two children connected to the team’s pair of GTP entries. Ford Multimatic Motorsports has also made a custom team fire suit for Jackson D., one of the children embedded with the team this weekend as part of their partnership with Camp Boggy Creek. Nolan M., whose name is listed on the No. 65 Mustang GT3, will join the team at Petit Le Mans.

***Ford Racing brought a 1964-and-a-half Ford Mustang festival car to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. The car was part of the promotional fleet accompanying the convertible 1964-and-a-half Mustang, which served as the official pace car at the 1964 edition of the Indianapolis 500. The team staged a photo of the festival car alongside its current No. 64 Mustang GT3 at the IMS Museum, which is competing in this weekend’s Michelin Endurance Cup round.

***Coverage of Sunday’s Battle on the Bricks begins at 11:30 a.m. EST on Peacock, which will carry the entire six-hour race live, with network NBC coverage starting at 3 p.m. to the finish. Brian Till, Dave Burns, Calvin Fish and Townsend Bell will be in the NBC Sports booth, with Matt Yocum, Kevin Lee and Kristen Beat on pit lane.

***IMSA Radio’s coverage will be led by the team of John Hindhaugh, Ryan Myrehn and Kankipati, with their commentary also available on the international video feed on IMSA’s YouTube channel.

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