Era Motorsport used an aggressive fuel-saving strategy to earn its first LMP2 victory of the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Sunday, winning the Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Co-drivers Christian Rasmussen and Nick Boulle took the LMP2 class win in the #18 Oreca 07 Gibson on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course. Rasmussen finished 15.004s ahead of Harry Tincknell (Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen) after coasting through the final stint to conserve fuel.
Fuel saving was central to Era’s plan from the start of the two-hour, 40-minute race. Boulle, making his Era Motorsport debut and first LMP2 start of the 2026 season, rolled off seventh following a minor setback in qualifying. At the green flag, he avoided a multi-car crash in Turn 1 and immediately settled into managing fuel targets while working through traffic. He led the class during his stint before handing the car over to Rasmussen in third place.
Rasmussen, who drives primarily for ECR in the IndyCar Series, set fast laps early in his stint before a full-course yellow and pit stop prompted Era to stretch its final tank of fuel. With nearly 50 minutes remaining, the 26-year-old Dane shifted to extreme fuel saving, adjusting to increasingly strict targets from the timing while maintaining the class lead to the finish line.
“Well, first of all, Nick did a great job in his first stint there,” Rasmussen said. “You know, he just kept it clean, drove around people, and put us in a good spot. “So, whenever we boxed there, we knew it was going to be tight, but man, we just committed to the fuel save super early. And, thhey kept giving me a fuel target, and then the next lap, ‘Oh, we need more fuel save than that.’ Next lap, ‘Need more fuel save than that.’
“But, no, we got it done. Man, so fun to be back in the P2 car. Won Daytona 24 hours with this group a couple of years ago (in 2024), so it feels good to be back with the Era boys, and been a pleasure working with Nick all this weekend. “So, yeah, good way to go into the off-season.”
The victory marked a successful debut weekend for Boulle, who previously earned pole positions at Indianapolis but had not won at the Speedway.
“The Era crew did an amazing job, and Christian did an awesome job as well,” Boulle said. “And I have to say, it was a surprise for me to be here up until about two weeks ago, and then Kyle (Tilley, team owner) and I put something together, so I couldn’t be happier.
“We talked about it at the start of the race, and fuel targets, and strategy. That was a huge part of our strategy to begin with. We had an issue in qualifying, but made up for it, and Christian delivered, to say the least.”
The win was also Era Motorsport’s first IMSA victory at its home circuit.
“We know we have an incredible team and that we’ve had a really fast car all year, so to finally be able to showcase that at our home event was a dream come true,” said Tilley. “Nick was faultless, and Christian’s fuel saving was incredible. I can’t thank everyone enough. It’s hard to put into words both how much this one means and how much we needed it.”
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