Top-5 finish as Indianapolis delivers eventful Battle on the Bricks

Ben Barnicoat was back in action Stateside with Vasser Sullivan, as the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship headed to the penultimate round of the season. With weather playing its part in qualifying, and action from the very start, the Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway saw Ben and his #14 Lexus teammate Jack Hawksworth secure a top-five finish.

Severe weather conditions on Saturday afternoon initially delayed proceedings, before qualifying was ultimately cancelled. With no running able to take place, the starting grid was then set by the current championship standfings, putting Ben in P6 as he took the opening stint of the 2 hour 40 minute race. However, the field was brought back under control almost immediately, as an incident in the GTP and LMP2 classes rbought out a full course caution before the GTD field had reached turn 1.

Once racing had resumed, Ben held position and continued to look for a way to progress as the race settled into a rhythm. Early pitstops from the leading GTD Pro field shook up the order, while Ben remained on track, running longer into the opening stint. He ran inside the top-6 for the majority of his time behind the wheel, climbing as high as P4 before bringing the #14 Lexus RC F into pitroad to hand over to his teammate. Jack rejoined the track still inside the top-10, and worked his way back up the order over the following laps to P5, before contact pushed him off track. Losing ground to the chasing pack, he set about recovery during the final 20 minutes, and fought back to his previous position of P5 as the chequered flag dropped to round out an eventful weekend at the Brickyard.

Commenting after the race, Ben explained:

“An eventful end to a hard race. Firstly, I’m feeling a little upset that if we hadn’t been hit off the track by the Aston Martin, it would’ve been a podium position which would’ve been an incredible achievement for us today considering we were lacking some pace.

“We put ourselves in a good position through excellent teamwork from the whole Vasser Sullivan crew. We had great pit stops, good driving from myself and Jack, and we were in a position to capitalise on some other’s bad fortune, but sadly we had that chance taken away from us. P5 is still a pretty solid day, and it could’ve been a lot worse considering everything that happened in the race. I’m really proud of everyone and it’s a shame we don’t have a trophy to reward everyone for a great day’s work.”

Attention now turns to the final round of the IMSA Weathertech Sportcar Championship, the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta,30 September-3 October.