Aitken Extends IMSA Lead to 147 Points After Indianapolis Runner-Up Finish

Victory was denied late for the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, as Earl Bamber surrendered the lead with just over five minutes remaining in the Battle on the Bricks. Despite the frustration of falling short on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course, second place significantly strengthened Jack Aitken’s position in the championship standings.

For much of the two-hour and 40-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sprint, the #31 Cadillac controlled proceedings. Aitken started from second on the grid and spent the opening 40 minutes chasing pole-sitter Tom Blomqvist in the #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06. With the race reaching the two-hour mark, Aitken made a decisive outside pass through Turn 7 to take the lead. Following a clean pit stop, he handed the car to Bamber, who inherited control and moved into a strong position to secure victory.

But the final phase of the race turned against Bamber as Sheldon van der Linde mounted an aggressive charge in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 for BMW M Team WRT, cutting through the field and closing rapidly on the Cadillac.

With five minutes and 30 seconds remaining, van der Linde found a narrow opening into Turn 12. He slipped through slower traffic and took the inside line, stripping Bamber of the lead in a decisive overtake. Unable to match the BMW’s closing pace, Bamber finished 2.926 seconds behind van der Linde.

#31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R: Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images

Bamber’s late loss proved costly, but the result still helped Aitken’s title ambitions. His closest rival, Laurin Heinrich, finished third for Porsche Penske Motorsport in the #6 Porsche 963. Had Bamber held off van der Linde, Aitken would likely have secured the GTP drivers’ championship. Even with second place, Aitken enters the season finale with a commanding 147-point advantage over Heinrich, heading to Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in two weeks.

Aitken praised Bamber for managing the intense pressure of the closing laps while keeping the championship campaign in perspective.

“I think we’re just trying to approach every race as if it’s a normal day,” Aitken said. “We’ve had a really good year coming off the win here last year, and we talked about by sticking to what we know of good processes. We’ve been doing a good job, so why would we change it? So, I’ve not changed too much. I had a lot of fun. I think Earl was in much harder position at the end, though, with the BMW flying up to him, and he’s as much part of this championship as I am, but I know he has a lot of responsibility as well. So it’s a tough place for me, but we’ve had a really good day in the office and yep, we’re looking forward to it.”

For Bamber, weighing the desire to fight for victory against the need to secure crucial championship points made his final stint particularly difficult:

“Yeah, I mean, that’s a tough one,” Bamber said. “We work really hard and goal number one was to try and clinch the manufacturers championship for Cadillac, and we are close to that. And then the team’s championship. So overall, it’s a good day. We just need to start in Petit. And you know it was a dicey battle, the 24 was definitely really, really great today. BMW. So, you know, if you can’t finish first, you finish second. And extend that points lead for Jack and the whole team.”

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