53-car IMSA WeatherTech field for Indy 6-hour

IMSA has published the provisional entry list for next week’s TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 53 cars are entered for next Sunday’s six-hour endurance race, the penultimate round of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

There are 12 cars are entered in the GTP class, which does not include the No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche 963. The Mustang Sampling-sponsored car suffered damage in an accident during the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen, did not return for Road America, and will not return for Indianapolis.

RACER expects that the No. 5 Proton Porsche will not return for the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, which would bring the team’s 2025 campaign to a close.

Frederik Vesti and Kakunoshin Ohta will reprise their Michelin Endurance Cup roles in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R and No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06. Indy will be Ohta’s last appearance of the season, while Vesti is expected to return for Road Atlanta.

As announced yesterday, Nico Müller will replace Gianmaria Bruni at JDC-Miller MotorSports in the No. 85 Porsche for the final two races of the season. And in the penultimate race for the No. 63 Lamborghini Squadra Corse SC63, Romain Grosjean will be joined by Edoardo Mortara.

All other GTP line-ups remain unchanged.

The 12 full-time LMP2 teams feature some returns and changes, headlined by Tom Dillmann getting back behind the wheel of the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA 07-Gibson. The reigning LMP2 class champion missed Road America due to a back injury sustained at CTMP, but returned to racing action at the European Le Mans Series round in Spa-Francorchamps.

LMP2 will also feature the racing return of former Formula 1 driver Logan Sargent, making his IMSA LMP2 debut with PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports.

2022 IMSA top class champion Oliver Jarvis returns to Era Motorsport for the first time since the 2023 Rolex 24 At Daytona. 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Nicklas Nielsen (AF Corse) and Indy NXT driver James Roe (Pratt Miller Motorsports) are back in their respective cars for the first time since Sebring.

GTD PRO grows by one entry with Kenny Habul’s 75 Express team joining for another cameo appearance. Habul will drive his No. 75 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO with Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver Mikaël Grenier, and current Repco Supercars Championship leader Broc Feeney, who makes his IMSA debut.

Other changes for this weekend include Davide Rigon replacing Giacomo Altoè in the championship-contending No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3, and Connor De Phillippi jumping back in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO with Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen.

And in GTD, there are 18 provisional entries, which does not include Iron Dames’ No. 83 Porsche 911 GT3 R. The car was scratched from Watkins Glen after Sarah Bovy suffered a foot injury during Le Mans testing.

In addition, Gradient Racing has brought in Bryan Herta Autosport TCR driver Mason Filippi for the final two rounds of the season. Filippi, a three-time Michelin Pilot Challenge championship runner-up and Nürburgring 24 Hours class winner, replaces Tatiana Calderón. This means that AF Corse’s Lilou Wadoux will be the only woman in the field for Sunday’s race as it stands.

Elsewhere, Triarsi Competizione is tentatively set to enter its two Ferraris. GTD title contender Kenton Koch, Onofrio Triarsi and WEC Hypercar points leader James Calado will drive the No. 023 Ferrari, though no drivers have been announced yet for the sister No. 021 car.

Nicola Lacorte, whose frustrating first FIA Formula 3 season has finished, will be in the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari alongside Antonio Fuoco and Lorenzo Patrese, making his first IMSA start since Daytona.

Rory van der Steur’s usual place in the No. 19 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin is currently listed as TBD, while Forte Racing also has just two listed drivers in its No. 78 Lamborghini at the moment (IMSA’s Sporting Regulations require three drivers for all endurance races in the ostensibly Pro-Am GT category).