Sebastien Bourdais secured his eighth IMSA pole position with a blistering lap in the Cadillac during the 6-hour endurance race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, known as the ‘Battle on the Bricks.’ The French driver set the fastest time of 1:14.592, outpacing his competitors and securing the top spot for Cadillac.
Bourdais edged out Louis Deletraz in the #40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 by 0.225 seconds, while Mathieu Jaminet in the #6 Porsche 963 finished third, just 0.031 seconds behind Deletraz. The session saw intense competition, with the two BMW M Hybrid V8s setting the early pace before times started dropping in the latter half of the 15-minute session.
Initially, Philipp Eng and Connor de Phillippi in the #24 and #25 BMWs led the field, with Eng posting a 1:15.228 before de Phillippi improved to a 1:15.200. Jaminet almost broke the 75-second barrier with a 1:15.003, but Deletraz managed to dip under the mark shortly after, setting the stage for Bourdais’ unbeatable pole lap.
Cadillac’s Jack Aitken was the next best-placed driver in fourth, marking the first repeat manufacturer in the top three. De Phillippi took fifth for BMW, with Ricky Taylor securing sixth in the sister #10 Acura for WTRAndretti. Eng ended the session in eighth with the #24 BMW.
Boulle Dominates LMP2 Class to Claim First IMSA Pole
In the LMP2 class, Nick Boulle stunned the field with a stellar performance, securing his first IMSA pole for Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen with a time of 1:17.618. The session initially saw Ben Keating and Steven Thomas setting the pace in their respective Orecas, but Boulle quickly established dominance by being the only driver to dip into the 1:17s.
Keating, in the #2 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson, and Thomas in the #11 TDS Racing Oreca, exchanged fast laps, with Daniel Goldburg joining them in the 1:18s in the #22 United Autosports car. However, Boulle shattered the competition with a 1:17.860, which he later improved by more than two-tenths, setting an unbeatable 1:17.618.
Thomas managed to secure second, trailing Boulle by 0.461 seconds, while Keating took third, just 0.012 seconds behind Thomas. PJ Hyett finished fourth in the #99 AO Racing Oreca, narrowly off Keating’s pace, while Goldburg rounded out the top five, 0.562 seconds adrift of Boulle.
With three manufacturers locking out the top spots and a fierce battle in the LMP2 category, the stage is set for a thrilling showdown at Indianapolis, where every second on the clock and every decision on track could make or break the race.
