A wet and wild ride to P4 at the Brickyard

The IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with a new format for the penultimate round of the 2024 calendar. The iconic venue played host to the six-hour ‘Battle on the Bricks’, and Ben Barnicoat was back in the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, climbing the order to eventually finish P4 in challenging conditions.

Ben returned to the ‘Brickyard’ having scored a podium enroute to his GTD Pro title victory in 2023 , with the shorter format race. With a new challenge for the whole paddock, the team worked through their programme in the practice sessions, with qualifying duties handled by Jack, joining a packed session with 35 cars vying for clean air. The session ended with the #14 GTD Pro Lexus in P10.

Under leaden skies, the race timer started ticking on Sunday morning, and rain was just starting to fall as the 56-car field crossed the famous yard of bricks start line for the first time. Holding position for the opening laps, a first Full Course Yellow caution saw strategies start to play out as much of the GTD field opted to pit. It was not wet enough for a change from slick tyres, and the decision was made for Jack to remain on track, opting for track position and moving into the lead. A strong restart then saw the #14 at the head of the field as the rainfall began to intensify. Jack continued to circulate, searching for grip on his slick tyres, before making a first stop as caution periods were called due to further incidents.

Multiple caution periods opened up opportunities with pitstop strategies, and a further stop for Jack under Full Course Caution saw him battling hard on the restart in extremely wet conditions. During this stint, the Vasser Sullivan entry made moves up the field, and Ben took over just before middle-distance, with the fluro-yellow and black RC F GT3 running as high as P2.

With a dry line now forming around the circuit, Ben left the pitlane on slick tyres, and quickly gained positions surrendered during the stop. The slippery conditions claimed several cars, and a quick decision by the team enabled Ben to make a stop just before a further caution when a car became beached in the gravel. This stop maintained Ben’s charge, running well at the front of field, in the wheeltracks of the class lead, and maintaining the pressure as the race neared the final hour.

Pitting with just over 60 minutes remaining, Ben handed the car over in P2 after completing a strong stint. A battle of the pitcrews saw the #14 serviced and back out on track, with Jack now at the wheel, and immediately defending the final podium position on the greasy circuit. This strong defence continued until the dying minutes of the sixth hour, but a late move saw one final change of position. As the chequered flag dropped, the climb up the order was concluded, with the team moving from P10 to a very hard-fought P4.

Concluding the weekend, Ben explained:

The inaugural six-hour ‘Battle on the Bricks’ definitely lived up to the expectation of what we thought it was going to be. What a crazy race! There were a lot of mixed conditions to deal with, including the big downpour of rain and a lot of Full Course Yellows to navigate throughout the day.  

“It was a tough day, with a lot of difficult calls to be made, but I felt we made the right one at every stop and every scenario – we just didn’t quite have a fast enough car today. We got everything we could out of the Lexus, but it just wasn’t quite enough to get a win. Missing out on the podium with two laps to go is tough, but Jack was doing absolutely everything he could to hang on around quick cars, and he put up an incredible fight, as the whole team did. I’m really proud of everyone. We’ve just got to focus forward, and work towards getting another Petit Le Mans win to sign off the season.

The IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship now approaches its final destination in Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, for Motul Petit Le Mans. The 10-hour season finale takes place over the weekend, 9-12 October.