A year ago, Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course was new to many of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams and drivers. Porsche Penske Motorsport used that, and a lot of home-track testing, to its advantage and dominated the 2h40m race with a one-two finish for its Porsche 963s. This year the track may be familiar to most everyone, but the twist of the Battle on the Bricks now being a six-hour race will certainly change the fortunes of some.

“The Indianapolis six hours will be a new challenge as it enters the endurance rounds of the championship,” said Pipo Derani, whose Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R showed good pace at Indy last year, but not on a level with the PPM Porsches. “It’s also a very peculiar racetrack, one that can create a lot of marbles off-track. It’s most likely going to create a very interesting endurance event, and I am looking forward to that.