AO Racing’s Rexy Porsche 911 GT3 R completed a remarkable last-to-first victory in the GTD Pro category during the IMSA Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
Drivers Michael Christensen and Laurin Heinrich led the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 of Mike Rockenfeller and Harry Tincknell by 12s after a chaotic six-hour enduro.
The first half of the race saw chaotic wet conditions transition to damp/dry running.
A mountain to climb was set in front of the Rexy Porsche, starting at the back of the grid after being stripped of pole position with a qualifying disqualification.
That same affliction plagued the GTD #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus, although further poor luck would mean that particular RC F GT3 wouldn’t enjoy a good result.
Early on, Maximilian Paul was overly ambitious in his #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan, clashing with Dirk Mueller’s #65 Ford Multimatic Mustang at Turn 10.
The #65 retreated to the pitlane and behind the wall for repairs as a result, as did the #19 before they became the first official retirement.
Sheena Monk had some trouble in the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX, coming to a brief stoppage at the Turn 1 run-off.
#12 driver Frankie Montecalvo endured more trouble for the Vasser Sullivan crew, coming to a halt on the start/finish straight.
As the first hour came to a close, Corvette held a 1-2 in GTD Pro, with Alexander Sims (#3 Corvette) ahead of Nicky Catsburg (#4 Corvette).
In GTD, Patrick Gallagher was in the lead for Turner Motorsport’s #96 BMW M4, followed by class pole-sitter Mikael Grenier (#32 Mercedes-AMG).
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Last to first for Rexy Porsche
In the GTD Pro category, Neil Verhagen held the lead at halfway distance but his strategy was out of sequence in the Paul Miller Racing’s #1 BMW M4.
Remarkably, Michael Christensen in the #77 AO Racing ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 had ascended from the back of the field to second at the three-hour mark.
Elliott Skeer’s #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche led Frederik Schandorff’s #70 Ferrari 296 and Corey Lewis’ #55 Proton Ford Mustang after three hours in GTD.
The advantage was handed to the Rexy Porsche when the #1 BMW had to serve a 10-second penalty for an improper emergency service.
The #77 Porsche wouldn’t relinquish its class lead once it ascended to top spot in GTD Pro by the end of the fifth hour, completing an incredible turnaround race.
The battle behind played out between the #64 Mustang, the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus, the #3 Corvette and the Heart of Racing Aston Martin duo.
That enabled Heinrich to open up a victory margin of 12 and a half seconds with Rockenfeller ensuring the #64 Mustang scored its second successive runners-up finish.
Antonio Garcia made a move on Jack Hawksworth in the closing minutes to put the #3 Corvette in third place, resigning the #14 Lexus of Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat to fourth.
Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas rounded out the top five in GTD Pro at the wheel of the #23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO.
Wright Motorsports victorious in GTD
Wright Motorsports were victorious in the GTD category, with the #120 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Skeer, Jan Heylen and Adam Adelson winning by a slender 2.465s margin.
Best of the rest honours in GTD went to the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 crew of Jake Walker, Patrick Gallagher and Robby Foley.
Three different manufacturers were represented on the GTD podium, thanks to Korthoff/Preston Motorsports taking third in class with its #32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 and drivers Mike Skeen, Mikael Grenier and Kenton Koch.
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