Competitive GTLM Class Debuts at Indianapolis

jjomalley

Featuring the best GT racing on the planet, the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class of the TUDOR United SportsCar Challenge will race for the first time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Friday’s Brickyard Grand Prix.

It’s shaping up as a wide-open battle among factory teams from Corvette, Viper, BMW, Porsche and Ferrari.

Corvette Racing is currently enjoying the upper hand in GTLM, with Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen riding a four-race winning streak into the Brickyard. The pair scored the first victory for the new Chevrolet Corvette C.7.R at Long Beach, and backed it up by winning in the bright yellow No. 3 ‘Vette at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen International and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan is looking to make it five in a row at Indy, although he wouldn’t mind seeing the No. 4 Corvette of Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin reach the top of the podium.

“There aren’t many race circuits in the world with a history as deep as Indianapolis,” Fehan said. “For more than 100 years, it has been a focal point of the American racing landscape. Having the opportunity to bring the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R – in its first season – to race in front of such knowledgeable and passionate fans and Corvette owners is a tremendous opportunity. Chevrolet has a prodigious history at IMS. We are excited to write a new chapter in Indianapolis and Corvette Racing history.”

Bobby Rahal also knows about winning at the Speedway – he drove to victory in the 1986 Indy 500 while fielding the winning car for Buddy Rice in 2004. This weekend, BMW Team RLL has a pair of BMW Z4 GTEs, the No. 55 for Bill Auberlen and Andy Priaulx and the No. 56 for John Edwards and Dirk Muller.

“I think Indianapolis Motor Speedway has done a fantastic job with the new road racing circuit,” Rahal said. “The IndyCar race was great and I feel that the IMSA race will be equally as good. It’s going to be tough for us because it’s a fast circuit with a long, long straightaway, but we’ll keep pushing and see what we get.”

SRT Motorsports has momentum on its side, coming off a pair of podium finishes at CTMP. Jonathan Bomarito and Kuno Wittmer finished second in the No. 93 Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R, followed by Marc Goossens and Dominik Farnbacher in the No. 91 IT Automotive Viper.

Porsche fans get the opportunity to cheer for three cars fielded by two different teams.

Porsche North America has a pair of 911 RSRs, the No. 911 for Rolex 24 At Daytona winners Nick Tandy and Richard Lietz, and the No. 912 for Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida winners Patrick Long and Michael Christensen.

Team Falken Tire has a pair of former Indianapolis-winning drivers in the No. 17 Porsche 911 RSR. Wolf Henzler won three Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup rounds supporting Formula One events in 2003 and 2004. Bryan Sellers won last year’s Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race for Fall-Line Motorsports.

“This weekend will be the first time we race at Indianapolis with a works Porsche 911,” said Jens Walther, president and CEO of Porsche Motorsport North America. “The knowledge and enthusiasm of the fans here at Indianapolis, like at Le Mans, places a high level of importance on the event and adds to the reward if you can be successful here."

Ferrari is represented by the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia of Giancarlo Fisichella and Pierre Kaffer. Fisichella – coming off a GTE Pro class victory for Ferrari in the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans – was an eight-time Formula One competitor at Indianapolis, placing third in 2006 among seven top-10 finishes in the U.S. Grand Prix.

GTLM offers close, competitive racing, with the top 10 cars typically separated by less than one second. It’s anyone’s guess who will kiss the bricks and secure bragging rights for the first visit of the competitive class to the famed Speedway.