Inception Racing secure maiden IMSA win
Yep, that’s right, our first win over in the States in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship! The Inception Racing crew crossed the line first in class to secure the GTD victory after six hours of racing at the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks.
As per the teams typical qualifying format, Brendan took to the wheel for Saturday’s 15-minute session, setting up the #70 Ferrari 296 GT3 fifteenth on the gird for when lights when out Sunday.
What was expected to be a wet race, was quite the opposite as teams lined up on the grid in warm conditions with clear blue skies. Iribe was at the wheel for the start, climbing two places on the opening laps during his initial stint before the first of many Full Course Yellow periods neutralised the action just 3 minutes into the race due to debris on track.
No sooner had the race resumed, a stranded LMP2 caused yet another FCY. Many of the GTD field opted to box for a ‘splash and dash’ of fuel, but Iribe stayed out on track in the #70 Ferrari 296 GT3 to sit P3 at the restart as the first hour ticked away.
Having climbed towards the sharp end of the class, the team’s progress was hindered after serving a drive-through penalty. The first official stop for #70 came 75 minutes into the race, with Brendan staying in the car whilst the pit crew cycled through their usual tyre change and fuelling routines.
Yet another stranded car, this time a fellow GT, was stranded out on track causing more pauses to the action. Brendan boxed to hand over to Ollie as just over 90 minutes of the race passed by. With just over four hours of the Battle on the Bricks remaining, Ollie was at the wheel for the restart.
In another stint that was filled with FCY’s, Ollie made his way through the pack, a mix of decisive driving and bold strategy calls saw the team sit just outside of the top-10 once the race hit the halfway mark to secure to secure two points towards the Michelin Endurance Cup title.
One of Millroy’s most important overtakes was on Lars Kern in AWA’s Corvette to take the lead in Bronze Cup and seventh in GTD. With just over two hours left on the clock Ollie returned to the pits and hands over to Fred.
A clear run at the start of his stint saw Fred climb to fifth (GTD) with 90 minutes remaining before another FCY saw the racing action pause and all cars reduced their speed whilst debris was cleared from the track. Wayne Taylor Racing’s DEX Lamborghini also stopped on track during the Full Course Yellow Period, which saw Fred box with just over an hour to go. A quick repair on a hood which had popped off, a full tank of fuel and with fresh tyres on, the #70 Fred had rejoined the race and thanks to the teams quick and efficient stop, was ahead of class rivals and second on the road.
60 minutes of the six hour remained and the class (and GTD championship) leading #57 Winward Mercedes-AMG was handed a drive-through penalty due to a pit speed infringement, moving Fred up into the lead of GTD. Schandorff had a sizeable eight-second lead over the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche, but with an incident on track at the final corner within the last 10 minutes, all cars were bunched for a two-lap sprint once the race had resumed.
The Porsche was no match for the Ferrari, and Fred brought Inception’s #70 296 GT3 home to secure the team’s first IMSA win, once year on since debuting with the Prancing Horse at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Claiming maximum points at the chequered flag, the trio now lead the GTD Michelin Endurance Cup standings and are level at the top for the Bob Akin Award - an hour which grants and invitational entry to next summer’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Next month’s Motul Petit Le Mans (October 11) decides it all.
Yep, that’s right, our first win over in the States in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship! The Inception Racing crew crossed the line first in class to secure the GTD victory after six hours of racing at the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks.
As per the teams typical qualifying format, Brendan took to the wheel for Saturday’s 15-minute session, setting up the #70 Ferrari 296 GT3 fifteenth on the gird for when lights when out Sunday.
What was expected to be a wet race, was quite the opposite as teams lined up on the grid in warm conditions with clear blue skies. Iribe was at the wheel for the start, climbing two places on the opening laps during his initial stint before the first of many Full Course Yellow periods neutralised the action just 3 minutes into the race due to debris on track.
No sooner had the race resumed, a stranded LMP2 caused yet another FCY. Many of the GTD field opted to box for a ‘splash and dash’ of fuel, but Iribe stayed out on track in the #70 Ferrari 296 GT3 to sit P3 at the restart as the first hour ticked away.
Having climbed towards the sharp end of the class, the team’s progress was hindered after serving a drive-through penalty. The first official stop for #70 came 75 minutes into the race, with Brendan staying in the car whilst the pit crew cycled through their usual tyre change and fuelling routines.
Yet another stranded car, this time a fellow GT, was stranded out on track causing more pauses to the action. Brendan boxed to hand over to Ollie as just over 90 minutes of the race passed by. With just over four hours of the Battle on the Bricks remaining, Ollie was at the wheel for the restart.
In another stint that was filled with FCY’s, Ollie made his way through the pack, a mix of decisive driving and bold strategy calls saw the team sit just outside of the top-10 once the race hit the halfway mark to secure to secure two points towards the Michelin Endurance Cup title.
One of Millroy’s most important overtakes was on Lars Kern in AWA’s Corvette to take the lead in Bronze Cup and seventh in GTD. With just over two hours left on the clock Ollie returned to the pits and hands over to Fred.
A clear run at the start of his stint saw Fred climb to fifth (GTD) with 90 minutes remaining before another FCY saw the racing action pause and all cars reduced their speed whilst debris was cleared from the track. Wayne Taylor Racing’s DEX Lamborghini also stopped on track during the Full Course Yellow Period, which saw Fred box with just over an hour to go. A quick repair on a hood which had popped off, a full tank of fuel and with fresh tyres on, the #70 Fred had rejoined the race and thanks to the teams quick and efficient stop, was ahead of class rivals and second on the road.
60 minutes of the six hour remained and the class (and GTD championship) leading #57 Winward Mercedes-AMG was handed a drive-through penalty due to a pit speed infringement, moving Fred up into the lead of GTD. Schandorff had a sizeable eight-second lead over the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche, but with an incident on track at the final corner within the last 10 minutes, all cars were bunched for a two-lap sprint once the race had resumed.
The Porsche was no match for the Ferrari, and Fred brought Inception’s #70 296 GT3 home to secure the team’s first IMSA win, once year on since debuting with the Prancing Horse at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Claiming maximum points at the chequered flag, the trio now lead the GTD Michelin Endurance Cup standings and are level at the top for the Bob Akin Award - an hour which grants and invitational entry to next summer’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Next month’s Motul Petit Le Mans (October 11) decides it all.
Latest news
Newsletter
BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT OUr LATEST NEWS
