The ninth round of the 2025 VSCA SportsCar Championship, doubling as the fourth of five races in the Endurance Cup, brought teams to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On a 2.44-mile, 14-turn layout, the 6 Hours at The Brickyard delivered a tense, incident-filled contest with 11 lead changes in the LMP2 class before the checkered flag.
In qualifying, Lucas Moncla placed the #23 Twin Turn Simracing Dallara P217 on pole with a 1:19.600 lap, his second pole of the season. Carrying a 38-point championship lead into the event, Moncla and teammate Viktor Sönnergren were under pressure to capitalize on their strong starting position.
Early Incidents and First Lead Battles
The race began with drama in Turn 1 when Michael Adamczyk’s #158 iRacing Today Motorsports car touched the #89 Keystone Simsport machine of Lukas Santos. Both cars escaped unscathed, and soon after the #23 and #89 pulled away from the field. Björn Klaassens in the #531 Pandemonium eSports entry made an aggressive inside move at Turn 7 to take fourth, while series newcomer Josh Howard in the #100 Rookie Sports car suffered a penalty after contact with a GT AM entry on lap 28.
At the front, Moncla appeared to be in control until a mistake on lap 58 handed the lead to debutant Ricardo Mekking in the #531. Strategy soon played its part, with Moncla retaking control before handing driving duties to Sönnergren. Their sister car, the #22, even led briefly, marking René Thalassinos’ first laps at the front since Daytona.
Full-Course Yellows Shift the Picture
The first Full-Course Yellow arrived at the two-hour mark. Under caution, the #96 Albrecht Motorsports car stayed out but later retired with electrical problems. Twin Turn’s pit strategy—changing only left-side tires—helped Moncla in the #23 car regain the lead over Klaassens in the #531 and Santos in the #89 car. On the restart, Santos elevated the #89 to second, and Bruno Oliveira in the #14 Grow Racing Team Dallara had a lucky escape after sliding through the Turn 5–6 chicane.
More contact followed. Adamczyk in the #158 iRacing Today Motorsports Dallara endured a difficult race, colliding multiple times with rivals, while a multi-car incident at Turn 7 further disrupted the field. Despite the chaos, Klaassens and Mekking kept the #531 firmly in contention, pressuring the #23 Twin Turn Simracing Dallara throughout the middle hours.
Final Two Hours Deliver High Drama
The defining moments came late. Ricardo Mekking in the #531 Pandemonium Dallara led approaching the five-hour mark but tangled with traffic, causing the #23 Twin Turn Simracing car with to spin. A second Full-Course Yellow neutralized the race, bunching the field with just over one hour remaining in the race. On the restart, the Twin Turn #22 Dallara ran wide, allowing Moncla in the #23 and Santos in the #89 car back into podium contention.
However, contact between the #23 and #89 soon followed, penalizing Keystone and dropping them out of the fight. This allowed Seth Neufeld, another debutant in the #3 Tri-State Racing entry, to climb to second. For a brief spell, the 17-year-old Canadian even led before spinning in Turn 4 while negotiating GT traffic, handing the advantage back to Moncla.
Moncla Seals Victory for #23 Twin Turn Simracing Dallara
The final ten minutes were no less chaotic. Mekking’s promising run ended after contact with the #64 Ford Mustang GT3, while Neufeld slipped to fourth after his earlier mistake. Moncla kept the #23 Dallara steady over the final stint, completing 238 laps in six hours, one minute, and 18 seconds. Twin Turn’s first-ever SportsCar Championship win came by a margin of 10.557 seconds.
The #11 Vision 1 Motorsports entry impressed by climbing from ninth on the grid to second, while the #3 Tri-State Racing Dallara completed the podium in third. The #22 Twin Turn car finished fourth, ahead of Keystone Simsport in fifth. The #531 Pandemonium eSports car crossed the line sixth after a day of highs and lows. Rounding out the top ten were Grow Racing Team (#14), Rookie Esports (#100), iRacing Today Motorsports (#158), and Albrecht Motorsports (#96).
Post-Race Reactions
Lucas Moncla, #23 Twin Turn Simracing Dallara:
"It feels so good to finally clinch a victory after several unlucky moments this season that kept us off the top step of the podium. Big thanks to our team managers Dom and Seb for trusting Viktor and me to bring home a result in the #23. It was a fantastic team effort and I’m just happy we were able to hold onto it in the end. The competition was fierce out there today. I’d also like to thank our new sponsor RaceData AI for helping the whole team prepare for the race. On paper it may have looked easy, but it was far from that."
"Starting from pole definitely helped, and I was pleased to secure my second pole of the season after missing out by less than a tenth at Watkins. Our teammate Rene in the #22 provided a great setup with low downforce that gave us speed on the straights and better fuel saving while still keeping strong pace. Viktor’s middle stints were flawless and kept us in a strong position."
"The two safety cars made the race more difficult but also more exciting, leading to some great battles with Pandemonium, Keystone, and Tri-State. Our fuel advantage, consistent pace, clean race, and a few mistakes from others ultimately carried us to victory lane."
"There were a few key moments. First was the clean start from pole where we managed to build a gap while saving fuel and tires. The first safety car wiped out that advantage, and Pandemonium were very quick in the middle stage but took too many risks and picked up incident points. The second safety car and restart were also crucial. We knew Pandemonium couldn’t make it on fuel, but our advantage was gone again. On cold tires I locked up trying to pass our sister car into turn one, which left us vulnerable. Keystone tried a move into turn four and we made contact. Thankfully, the damage was minimal. I don’t blame them at all — it was just hard racing for the win."
"After that restart I was sweating every lap, knowing how close we were to our first win of the season. Big thanks to VSCA and the organizers for another great race. I’m looking forward to Road America and hopefully another strong result for Twin Turn, maybe even a double podium this time."
Damien Behnke, #11 Vision 1 Motorsports Dallara:
"I feel very good, especially considering we were at risk of not finishing well or even being disqualified due to last-minute driver issues. As a team we were focused on simply getting the car to the finish. Second place was a huge bonus."
"Rico’s fuel saving in the final stint was key to our P2. My first two stints kept us in contention, and a perfectly timed caution helped with the pit cycle, handing the car over in P2. Kyle stepping in mid-race to replace Mario gave Rico a break from what would have been a four-hour stint. Then Rico managed fuel again to bring us home in second. A great team effort all around."
Seth Neufeld, #3 Tri-State Racing Dallara:
"The best way to describe it is bittersweet. We spent most of the race in fifth or sixth, but the late full-course yellow put us in contention for the win. At one point we were even leading, but I made a mistake that cost us. Looking at the big picture, third is a strong result for points, but knowing it could have been a win hurts."
"Two moments stand out. The first was the late caution, which brought us back into the fight after running mid-pack. The second was my mistake. We were leading by about one and a half seconds when I carried too much speed into turn four, locked the rears, and spun. That cost us the win."
"It’s gutting because a debut win would have been special for me and the team. But I’ll learn from it and move forward. Overall it was a lot of fun and something completely new for me, being my first organized championship race. The biggest challenge was learning the FCY rules, but I had the chance to see one play out before managing one myself, and I made no mistakes there."
"It was a great experience and I really enjoyed the hard but fair racing. I want to thank Tri-State for the opportunity. Apart from the mistake, I think I drove well, and I hope to be back soon."
Championship Picture With Two Races To Go
With the victory, the #23 Twin Turn Simracing Dallara strengthened its hold on the SportsCar Championship standings, extending its gap over the #11 Vision 1 entry to 105 points. Tri-State’s #3 car moved into third place overall. In the Endurance Cup standings, Keystone Simsport retained the lead, tied on points with Vision 1, while Twin Turn climbed to within two points of the top spot.
The next stop for the SportsCar Championship is Road America on September 27, where the penultimate round of the season promises more twists before the finale.
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