Romain Grosjean was elated to lead the IMSA SportsCar’s Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis in his #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 LMDh car.
For the first time in the Lamborghini LMDh programme, they fought to the front and led during a competitive race outing.
It was specifically during the six-hour Brickyard event, the 10th and penultimate round of the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Heavy rain began to hit the circuit during the opening racing hour, and after track officials swept much of the standing water, Lamborghini thrived.
“I think there are a lot of positives in this weekend,” said Grosjean.
“We looked good in Free Practice 2, where we finished P3, but although qualifying was a little more difficult, we were improving step by step.
“On the wet, we were flying, and the car was really amazing. I managed to take the lead and pull away which was fantastic.
“Operationally in IMSA, there are things that we can improve a bit but generally, it was a positive weekend.
“It was a shame that we had to retire.
“We will analyse and make it stronger and come back for Petit Le Mans, which is going to be another tough battle.”
Lamborghini’s charge into the lead
Technically speaking, the #63 Lamborghini first led the race with Grosjean at the wheel during the first caution period, having initially stayed out as others pitted.
Into the second hour, track officials swept away much of the standing water during the third caution period.
After the restart, Grosjean asserted a memorable charge into the lead and he turned strong pace, as he got into third position.
At the time, #6 Porsche Penske 963 driver Mathieu Jaminet drove commandingly and closed down an 8.6-second gap on Sebastien Bourdais’ #01 Cadillac V-Series.R.
Soon enough, Jaminet caught Bourdais as did Grosjean for second position before the French-Swiss driver duelled with Jaminet for the lead.
Grosjean made a skillful move on Jaminet in between Turns 13-14, as Jaminet caught a brief snap of oversteer in his #6 Porsche.
Ultimately, there were two key moments which put the #63 Lamborghini not only out of winning contention, but the race altogether.
Firstly, a pit stop – during which Grosjean handed driving duties over to Matteo Cairoli – infringement incurred a drive-through penalty.
This was due to having too many pit mechanics over the wall working on the car, in race control’s viewpoint.
Their race ended when Caldarelli endured rear-right suspension damage after making contact with #55 Proton Competition Ford Mustang driver Ben Barker at T14, prompting no further action by the stewards.
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