Daniel Perez Santiago put the #554 RedLab Motorsport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R on pole for Saturday's 6 Hours at The Brickyard, Round 9 of the 2025 VSCA SportsCar Championship, with a lap of 1:23.794 and initially held the lead, but his day was complicated by a post-race 30-second penalty for a race start violation. The opening lap brought chaos as Benjamin Fischer spun the #84 Fischer Motorsport Porsche on cold tires, while Marco Silva in the #183 Porsche and Francesco Sala in the #69 McLaren collided after Silva lost control.
Three laps later, Daniel Gruber’s #44 Fischer Motorsport Porsche suffered technical issues that would keep the car out of contention, ultimately finishing P13.
The first round of pit stops reshuffled the front of the field. The #77 Lamborghini of Derek Tirums briefly took the lead, while the #917 PULSAR eSports McLaren, driven by Joao Pedro Teixeira, stretched its first stint to lap 44 before Bruno Carreira climbed aboard. Fuel strategy also kept the #12 Delta Racing BMW in the mix stretching its fuel mileage to lap 45, but because the team's pit stall was before the start/finish line, it prevented the Brazil team from officially leading a lap.
An incident between Tirums’ #77 and the GT AM runners disrupted the flow after 80 minutes, handing the lead to Aedan Campbell in the #67 Kinetic Racing Acura. Campbell looked dominant, building a 27-second gap before the first full-course yellow erased his advantage. The caution period also forced the #71 Sim City Racing Porsche into a pit lane violation that would prove costly.
Kinetic Racing surges in strong race
Campbell returned to the lead after the restart and controlled proceedings until lap 132, when Vincent L’Herbier took over the #67 Acura NSX GT3. Meanwhile, Teixeira and Carreira cycled the #917 PULSAR eSports Team McLaren back to the front as the Portuguese duo leveraged strategy. Travis Linscome-Hatfield also made a brief appearance in the lead in the #68 TwoLemmaTree Racing McLaren before L’Herbier reclaimed the top spot in a fierce duel.
A second full-course yellow at the five-hour mark tightened the order once again. All front-running teams pitted under caution, setting up a high-pressure dash to the finish. Different pit strategies created a mix of tire conditions: the #68 gambled on fuel only, the #67 took two tires, and the #917 opted for a full service and changed drivers for one final time also.
Late restart sets up dramatic finish
The final restart provided fireworks. Accelerating back to race speed through turn 14, Niklas Solle in the #68 TwoLemmaTree Racing McLaren spun, nearly collecting the #67 Kinetic Racing Acura, which dropped back after a grass excursion. The incident opened the door for Matthew Oravecz in the #93 Digital Chicane Acura to grab the lead, but the #71 Sim City Racing Porsche, driven by Peter Spijkman, quickly challenged. Contact between Spijkman and Oravecz resulted in a post-race penalty for the championship-leading Porsche, relegating it from second on track to eighth in classification.
The dramatic exchanges allowed Teixeira to seize the initiative. After passing Oravecz for second, he hunted down Spijkman and, with a decisive move into Turn 7 on lap 223, claimed the lead. The #917 McLaren held firm to the checkered flag, securing a second consecutive win for the Portuguese duo.
Post-Race Reactions
Joao Pedro Teixeira, #917 PULSAR eSports Team McLaren: "I think the key ingredient in the victory was a lot of practice and of course consistency. Nothing of this would be possible without our sponsors of course. Big thanks to all of them."
"We had an incident in the first stint which made us lose 12s ahead. We kept our heads down and kept pushing. We had a bit of a fight with Kinetic Racing after the first FCY and dropped P2 for the milestone."
"We continued working our strategy and the last FCY was the problematic one. We knew we had the pace but we would track position to the others in the pitstop under the FCY."
"We ended up P5 on the race restart with only 38 minutes to fight. Fortunately we made some positions in the first couple of laps, and ended up P3 with only 30 minutes to go."
"We knew that we had to fight Simcity at the end. Was a tough fight but with only 8 minutes to go we managed to get ahead and then it was a matter of trying to keep the pace up without making any mistakes."
"Very difficult when you have a lot on the line but everything worked out for us. I'm very happy with the car performance this weekend. To win here feels amazing!"
"Carrying the momentum from one race to the other is really good. Also, this win is a proof that we are managing to get the car working for us in multiple tracks which is great. Let's keep the momentum for the next race and keep pushing for the win."
Bruno Carreira, #917 PULSAR eSports Team McLaren: "It was definitely a tough race, but I stayed focused and patient the whole time. The key was managing the difficult moments, keeping the pace consistent, and trusting the team’s strategy."
"In the end, everything came together and that made the difference. The main moment was the last FCY which ended up hurting us a lot, as we were the car with the least fuel in the tank when it left, so we knew we would lose positions in the pit."
"We tried to lose as little as possible which left us in the top 5. At the restart we were very lucky as a car in front of us lost control of the car and crashed into us and us into the wall, but fortunately without damage."
"After that it was about pacing and trying to pass the opponents on the track. It feels incredible. Winning one race is already special, but to do it two times in a row shows the hard work of the whole team and the consistency we’ve been aiming for."
"It gives me a lot of confidence and motivation to keep pushing and to fight for even bigger results. Take this opportunity to thank the entire team and sponsors again."
Marco Silva, #183 Blocco Motore Simsport Porsche: "Really happy with the result to be honest, despite not being happy with my own performance. I don't think we had the outright pace today or that we extracted the maximum out of the car."
"This track forced us to make set-up trade-offs to at least get the car dialed-in for 50% of the lap around here. The BoP is what it is, it ebbs and flows for everyone. Seeing the Porsche at the very bottom end was a surprise."
"On the surface I wouldn't put Indianapolis being a bad circuit for us but the new tires seem to have a far bigger impact on the drivability. Nonetheless the difference was negligible compared to other cars in the midfield."
"Two cars have been the class of the field since Canada but it is what it is, we'll give max focus and aim to finish on the podium as we always do."
"Disappointed in myself, I lit up the rears on cold tires at T2 on the start and spun off-track collecting a McLaren. Not my brightest moment I must confess, apologies to the guys in the McLaren there."
"So we went to the back of the grid with a full AM field in front between us and our Pro competitors, so we knew it was going to be a long race from there on out."
"Perhaps the silver lining was that we managed to adapt our strategy planning for any FCY and moved up the field after the first FCY came out. We had another small spin running one of the very high kerbs here but only lost a few seconds. And that was it."
"Perhaps the good takeaway is that we never gave up being at the far back of the field and achieved an unexpected podium finish here at Indy."
Erik van Spijker, #183 Blocco Motore Simsport Porsche: "It was an excellent result we had to work hard for. I would have been ok with some rain, that was not to be. Indianapolis is a very technical and demanding track."
"This road course is not my personal favorite to drive, but the challenge provided by the race made it a fun event. As a team we can really build on results like this moving forwards."
Daniel Perez Santiago, #554 RedLab Motorsports Chevrolet: "Finishing P5 at Indy is tough after the race we had. We started from pole, led over 40 laps, and we worked really hard in the car to stay strong all race long."
"After the restart I had a great battle fighting for third place. We crossed the line in P3, which felt like a big recovery for the team, but, unfortunately, I had picked up a penalty earlier for exceeding the pace speed limit, and that dropped us back to P5 in the final results."
"The restart battle was intense. We were pushing hard and we fought wheel to wheel for P3, which felt like a real highlight."
"The low point was definitely forgetting about the pace speed limit; that mistake cost us big and ultimately dropped us two spots in the final results."
"But the team never gave up, and our strategy and pace kept us in contention until the end. Still, RedLab Motorsport Engineering worked extremely hard to put one of the fastest cars in the GT3 category on track, and my teammates Miguel Ruiz and Fernando Torres did a great job in their stints."
"I’m proud of the fight we showed as a team."
Fernando Torres, #554 #554 RedLab Motorsports Chevrolet: "I would like to thank Daniel for crafting a sharp race plan and dedicating his time to lead RedLab Competizione through a strong showing at Indy 6 hrs."
"His strategy kept us competitive throughout, and even with a P5 finish, the team’s execution and leadership were top-tier."
"That said, it was kind of frustrating to lose two positions due to a time penalty. I think our strategy was executed well. Competition was strong, but we were able to maintain a good position throughout the race."
Final Results and Standings
PULSAR eSports claimed victory with Teixeira and Carreira in the #917 McLaren, finishing 12.408 seconds clear of the #93 Acura of Chris Scarr and Matthew Oravecz. The #183 Blocco Motore Simsport Porsche of Erik van Spijker and Marco Silva recovered from its opening-lap incident to secure third.
The top five was rounded out by the #157 iRacing Today Motorsports Mercedes in fourth and the penalized #554 Corvette of RedLab Motorsport in fifth. Sixth went to the series-newcomer #24 Bravo Snow Schatten Porsche, while the #67 Kinetic Racing Acura, despite leading a race-high 79 laps, fell to seventh. The #71 Porsche of Sim City Racing was classified eighth, ahead of the #84 Fischer Motorsport Porsche in ninth, who never were a factor all day long, and the #69 North Sim Racing McLaren in tenth.
In the GT PRO championship standings, the #71 Sim City Racing Porsche maintained its lead with 2853 points, 362 clear of the #84 Fischer Motorsport Porsche, who continues to struggle for the second race in a row. The #157 iRacing Today Motorsports Mercedes moved into third place overall. In the Endurance Cup, Sim City Racing also held first, though the #917 PULSAR McLaren closed to within four points.
Looking Ahead
The championship now heads to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for the JRT Road America 160 on September 27. With only two rounds remaining, the fight for both the overall SportsCar Championship and the Endurance Cup promises to intensify further after a dramatic day at Indianapolis.
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