Jack Aitken extends IMSA lead to 147 points after Indy runner-up

Victory slipped away late for the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R team on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as Earl Bamber lost the late lead with just over five minutes remaining in the Battle on the Bricks. Yet despite the sting of a near-miss on Indy’s 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course layout, the second-place finish still significantly strengthened Aitken’s championship position.

For most of the two-hour, 40-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sprint round, the #31 Cadillac controlled the race. Aitken launched from second on the grid and spent the opening 40 minutes running behind pole-sitter Tom Blomqvist in the #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06. Right as the clock hit the two-hour mark, Aitken struck with a tough outside pass in Turn 7 to grab the lead. After a flawless pit stop, he handed the wheel over to Bamber, leaving his co-driver in command of the race and in prime position to seal the triumph.

However, the closing stages turned against Bamber. Behind him, Sheldon van der Linde was putting on a late-race attack in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 for BMW M Team WRT, relentlessly slashing through traffic and into the Cadillac’s advantage. 

With five minutes and 30 seconds left on the clock, van der Linde seized a split-second gap entering Turn 12. Splitting slower traffic, the South African dove to the inside, forcing Bamber out of the lead in a decisive overtake. Unable to counter the BMW’s pace, Bamber brought the Cadillac across the line in second place, 2.926 seconds behind van der Linde.

While the late-race slip was a bitter pill to swallow for Bamber, the result helped Aitken’s title aspirations as nearest championship rival Laurin Heinrich brought the #6 Porsche 963 home in third place for Porsche Penske Motorsport. Had Bamber held off van der Linde for the victory, Aitken would have all but officially locked up the GTP driver’s championship on the spot. Even with the runner-up finish, Aitken leaves Indianapolis with a commanding 147-point cushion over Heinrich heading into the season finale – Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – in two weeks.

Reflecting on the race, Aitken praised his co-driver for managing the extreme pressure of the final laps while keeping the bigger picture in mind.

“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, balancing the impulse to fight for the win against the critical task of securing championship points for Aitken and Cadillac made for a challenging final stint:

“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.”

We want your opinion!

– The Motorsport.com Team

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com