Vulture Motorsports broke through for its first GT AM victory of the 2026 VSCA SportsCar Championship season Saturday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as Lukas Santos and Kyle Potter guided the No. 64 Porsche 911 GT3 R to victory in the Battle at the Brickyard.
The No. 64 Porsche, which started second and led a class-high 45 laps, won by 19.826 seconds over the No. 19 Gowin Racing Ferrari of Pete Mejia and Nicholas Gowin after a race shaped by three full-course yellows, 48 minutes under caution, nine class lead changes and several post-race decisions.
Vulture Motorsports Turns Strategy Into First 2026 Win
On a partly cloudy, 26-degree Celsius afternoon at the 2.44-mile Indianapolis road course, the No. 64 Vulture Motorsports Porsche was rarely far from the front. Santos and Potter did not have a trouble-free race, but the team’s timing proved decisive through the interrupted middle phase.
Potter said the team “was very confident in the car” before the start and felt it had “a good shot” at converting that pace. The key, he explained, was a bold call to pit early and move off sequence before a full-course yellow fell in Vulture’s favor.
Santos described the day as a race with two simple objectives from the outside: maximize strategy and bring the car home. Inside the car, he said, it was about fuel numbers, average lap times and traffic management. “With the full-course yellows and pit cycles, it wasn’t exactly a normal day in the office,” Santos said. “But the No. 64 and its operations felt calm.”
Potter took the final GT AM lead on lap 69 and never gave it back. From there, the Canadian driver’s task was to protect the gap, manage traffic and deliver Vulture Motorsports its fifth class win as an organization, and its first since VIR in April 2025.
It was also Potter’s first career VSCA victory. For Santos, it ended a 15-race winless stretch in VSCA competition and added another Indianapolis result to a résumé that already includes five GT AM wins from 2024 and an LMP2 victory in last year’s 24 Hours of Daytona.
Vaz Takes Pole Before Early Chaos Hits the Field
Danilo Vaz gave Bravo Snow Schatten the ideal start to the Sprint Cup finale, putting the No. 23 Ford Mustang GT3 on pole with a 1:24.280. The Brazilian led the class from the green flag, but the race was barely underway before the first full-course yellow arrived just over one minute after the start.
The caution continued a recent VSCA trend of lap-one interruptions, a point that had been stressed in the drivers meeting before the race. This time, a large pile-up on the back stretch between the chicane and Turn 7 involved at least five cars, including the No. 515 Wolf Motorsport Simracing Mercedes and No. 747 Flight Level Racing Ford in GT AM.
The No. 747 suffered heavily in the opening sequence, losing multiple laps after repairs and receiving race-control instructions related to the caution procedure. It eventually finished 11th, completing 93 laps.
The race restarted just after the 10-minute mark, but Bravo Snow Schatten’s day had already begun to unravel. The No. 23 was assessed a 35-second post-race penalty for a restart violation, with Race Control citing regulation 12.3.2: “Cars are free to pass once the green flag has been thrown, and they pass the final natural point of acceleration of a lap, no sooner.”
Pit Cycles Shuffle the GT AM Lead
The first long green run settled into a strategic rhythm, but not without movement. Gowin Racing’s No. 19 Ferrari briefly slipped back in traffic, while FR13DA Sport’s No. 912 Porsche lost ground after an off-track moment and later became part of a Turn 12 contact review involving the No. 90 Fischer Motorsport Porsche.
Vulture made one of the defining calls just before the 40-minute mark, bringing the No. 64 Porsche in early and briefly dropping it to 13th in class. When the second full-course yellow arrived just before the one-hour mark, that decision began to pay off.
The middle caution was the longest of the day, stretching until just after the one-hour-and-15-minute mark. During that sequence, the GT AM lead cycled from Wolf Motorsport Simracing’s No. 515 Mercedes to the No. 64 Vulture Porsche, then back toward the front-running group as the field sorted itself out under caution and through pit stops.
Lukas Henke and debutant Florian Kleiner were among the surprises of the race in the No. 515 Mercedes. Henke said the team had entered the event with “somewhat dampened spirits” after difficult practice sessions, but the car escaped the lap-one accident with only scratches and was able to match the leaders’ pace for stretches.
Bravo Snow Schatten’s Winning Streak Ends
Bravo Snow Schatten had arrived at Indianapolis on a three-race winning streak, having won at CTMP, Watkins Glen and Road America. The raw speed was still there, but the final result was fourth after penalties and race-management issues.
Vaz did not hide from the turning point afterward. He called the Mustang “flying” and said he was proud to earn his first VSCA pole, but admitted the restart-zone mistake “took us out of winning contention.” He apologized to the team and to teammate Henrique Gomes, adding that the No. 23 had the car to keep the streak alive.
Gomes said the race was a reminder of the mental pressure that comes with fighting for wins and podiums. His takeaway was simple: “Stay calm and take it one yellow flag at a time.”
The No. 23 also received a warning for a full-course-yellow pacing violation during the final caution period. Despite the setbacks, Vaz and Gomes still brought the Ford home fourth, keeping Bravo Snow Schatten in the conversation for another strong run at Road Atlanta.
Final Restart Sets Up Vulture’s Winning Run
The third and final full-course yellow came just after the 90-minute mark and bunched the field again before a restart with roughly 45 minutes remaining. Wolf Motorsport Simracing briefly returned to the lead after the restart, but the No. 515 was later assessed a 35-second post-race penalty for a restart violation involving the No. 64 Porsche.
Santos reclaimed the lead on lap 61, before Fischer Motorsport’s No. 90 Porsche cycled to the front on lap 65 and FR13DA Sport’s No. 912 Porsche led on lap 67. Potter then took control on lap 69, after which the No. 64 Porsche settled into its race-winning rhythm.
The No. 90 Fischer Motorsport Porsche showed enough pace to lead late, but its race was undone by a maximum drive-time failure. Benjamin Fischer said the team had been so focused on minimum drive time that it lost track of the maximum limit, with Ryan Steinhoff’s final stint going over the allowed mark after the driver-change stop. “It’s painful to lose a podium like that,” Fischer said.
The No. 912 FR13DA Sport Porsche of Bennett Allen and Diego Rodriguez finished fifth after a 35-second post-race penalty for incident responsibility with car contact in Turn 12. FR13DA Sport was unavailable for comment after the race.
Gowin Racing Takes Over the Championship Lead
Second place was enough for Gowin Racing to move into the GT AM SportsCar Championship lead with 3730 points, 25 ahead of the No. 33 Wastegate Racing Mercedes. It marks the first time all season that Wastegate has lost control of the championship lead.
Mejia, who joined the No. 19 program late in the season, said the emotion of realizing the Ferrari had taken the points lead was “incredible.” He admitted that late in his stint he thought the podium chance had slipped away after losing positions while dealing with faster-class traffic on his in-lap.
“Fortunately, the cautions fell our way, and Nick had incredible pace when it mattered,” Mejia said. “He did a great job getting us back to the front and putting us in position to come away with second.”
Gowin said the Ferrari did not have “amazing pace,” but the team made its result through execution. Staying out longer than most gave the No. 19 a fuel advantage late, which allowed a more aggressive final phase. “All season we’ve been doing the chasing,” Gowin said. “Now, we’re the ones being hunted down.”
Wastegate Racing Defends the Sprint Cup
Wastegate Racing started 13th and finished third with the No. 33 Mercedes-AMG GT3, gaining 10 positions on a day when track position was never straightforward. Neill Forbes and Tamer Elbaga did enough not only to reach the podium, but to secure the 2026 VSCA Sprint Cup title in GT AM.
The championship is a successful title defense for the No. 33 program after also winning the Sprint Cup last season. Will Robertson, Tamer Elbaga and Neill A. Forbes all contributed in Sprint Cup rounds this year.
Elbaga said the recovery drive came down to patience. “You know there’s a lot of time on the clock, so you just have to get your head down and run as clean a race as possible,” he said.
The emotion was mixed, however. Wastegate leaves Indianapolis with the Sprint Cup trophy, but also 25 points behind Gowin Racing in the overall SportsCar Championship standings. Team manager Kyle Birnie called the Sprint Cup success “an amazing accomplishment,” while stressing that the team’s consistency-first approach will not change for Petit Le Mans.
Top Ten Finishers at Indianapolis
Behind Vulture Motorsports, Gowin Racing and Wastegate Racing, Bravo Snow Schatten finished fourth with the pole-sitting No. 23 Ford. FR13DA Sport took fifth in the No. 912 Porsche, while Wolf Motorsport Simracing continued its late-season improvement with sixth.
That result gave Wolf its fourth consecutive top-ten finish and moved the No. 515 Mercedes up two spots in the SportsCar Championship standings. The team also climbed to third in the final Sprint Cup standings, despite earlier Sprint Cup results of 13th at VIR and 15th at Homestead-Miami limiting its title chances.
Off in the Esses Racing finished seventh with the No. 83 BMW, one lap down. SWF Motorsports was eighth in the No. 94 Porsche, Gamma Sim Racing finished ninth with the No. 238 Ferrari in Martin Taylor’s VSCA debut, and SRN Motorsports completed the top ten with the No. 74 Mercedes.
Blocco Motore Simsport brought the No. 283 Aston Martin home 12th in Mason Vincent’s debut, while 499RACING finished 13th with the No. 499 Lamborghini. Fischer Motorsport was classified 14th after the drive-time failure despite completing 95 laps.
Post-Race Reactions
Lukas Henke, #515 Wolf Motorsport Simracing Mercedes: “We were surprised ourselves to be running so far up front. Practice had been difficult, so we came into the race with our spirits a little dampened. The race itself went very well. We escaped the accident with only scratches and were able to match the leaders’ pace.”
Henke added that two small mistakes, one on strategy and one penalty, kept Wolf from finishing higher, but said the program’s progress reflects work across the whole team.
Tamer Elbaga, #33 Wastegate Racing Mercedes: “It’s exciting to hold the Sprint Cup trophy, but we have more work to do. The strategy is the same as always: drive clean, stay out of trouble and see where it all shakes out.”
Elbaga thanked his teammates, team manager Kyle Birnie and the families supporting the program, saying it was “awesome when the hard work pays off.”
Benjamin Fischer, #90 Fischer Motorsport Porsche: “This is very disappointing for the entire Intercomp Porsche team. We had been so focused on minimum drive time that we lost track of the fact there is also maximum drive time. It’s been a theme all year that we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot.”
Fischer said the team will go to Road Atlanta trying to end the season positively before analyzing a challenging first year in GT AM over the winter.
Ryan Steinhoff, #90 Fischer Motorsport Porsche: “I’m still really proud of the team and how the race overall went. We were able to improve from our starting position, which was a big thing we wanted to focus on. Now we have to put our focus on the back end. Petit is our last chance to put everything together.”
Petit Le Mans Championship Decider Awaits
The GT AM championship will be decided at Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, on September 19. Gowin Racing now leads the SportsCar Championship by 25 points over Wastegate Racing, with SRN Motorsports third, 475 points off the lead.
Before then, teams are attenting the official VSCA Test Day at Road Atlanta September 12, ahead of the 2026 season finale Petit Le Mans one week later. The test will give Gowin and other teams an extensive chance to prepare and go on to attack in the season finale, while Wastegate will go to Petit Le mans with a Sprint Cup title secured but the overall championship still to reclaim.
Vulture Motorsports heads to Georgia with its first win of the season finally banked, Bravo Snow Schatten will look to restart its winning form, and Wolf Motorsport Simracing has become one of the late-season programs to watch after another top-ten finish at Indianapolis.
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