Blocco Motore Simsport did not finish its Sprint Cup campaign the way it started it, but ninth place at Indianapolis was enough for the No. 183 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO to secure the 2026 VSCA Sprint Cup championship.
Ian Laurence Brown, Lennart Blok and Tyler Redden delivered Blocco Motore its first VSCA title with a campaign built around one victory, three podium finishes and five consecutive finishes. Even an untidy afternoon at the Brickyard could not undo the advantage accumulated over the previous four GT PRO races.
A Difficult Finale at Indianapolis
The No. 183 started fourth in class for Saturday's Battle at the Brickyard but quickly found itself in trouble. An early incident involving the No. 88 disrupted its race, while Brown later explained that an ABS malfunction had unexpectedly disabled the system. The incident and a subsequent post-race penalty contributed to a slide down the order.
Blocco Motore eventually crossed the finish ninth in class and 37th overall, 49.543 seconds behind the class winner. Its fifth-fastest race lap also made Indianapolis the first Sprint Cup event of the year in which the Aston Martin had not ranked among the four quickest cars on fastest lap.
For Brown, the first concern after the finish was simply whether the result had been enough. “We were really glad that ninth was enough to take home the Sprint Cup,” he said. “The crash with the No. 88 was really unfortunate because our ABS system had a malfunction and turned off for some reason.”
Redden shared the sense of relief after a closing stretch that had become less tidy than Blocco Motore wanted. “It felt great. We definitely weren't putting our best foot forward towards the end and started making more mistakes, so it's definitely a weight off our shoulders.”
Long Beach Put Blocco Motore in Front
The foundation of the championship had been laid almost seven months earlier at Long Beach. Brown and Redden started third in class and delivered the No. 183's only Sprint Cup victory of the season, finishing ninth overall and setting the fastest GT PRO lap of the race.
That result immediately placed Blocco Motore at the top of the Sprint Cup standings, a position it would never surrender.
Laguna Seca brought Lennart Blok into the lineup alongside Brown and Redden. The Aston Martin qualified on pole and again recorded the fastest lap, although it fell to third in class and 25th overall at the finish, 19.163 seconds behind the winner. Another podium nevertheless preserved the championship lead.
VIR and Homestead Kept the Points Coming
At VIR, the No. 183 faced its least favorable starting position of the opening three Sprint Cup races, lining up fifth. Brown and Redden moved forward to finish fourth in class and ninth overall, 23.269 seconds from the class lead. For the third consecutive Sprint Cup event, Blocco Motore also produced the fastest lap.
The most significant recovery of the campaign came at Homestead-Miami. Starting only 11th in class, the Aston Martin climbed nine positions to finish second and 12th overall, just 8.186 seconds behind the winner. Its fourth-fastest lap suggested the raw pace was not as dominant as at the beginning of the season, but the result was Blocco Motore's third podium in four races.
Brown said the team's ability to keep extracting results from different situations became one of its defining strengths. “The most important part for us at Blocco Motore is staying positive. No matter whether a race goes left or right, we always try to make the best of it, and I think that helped a lot with the consistency.”
Redden pointed instead to the preparation behind those results. After a previous season that had not met the team's expectations, he said Blocco Motore approached 2026 with “absolute ferocity” and had been fully committed from the opening green flag of the year.
Five Races, Five Finishes and the Championship Lead Throughout
Although the Sprint Cup calendar contained six rounds, GT PRO did not compete at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Blocco Motore therefore contested five Sprint Cup races: Long Beach, Laguna Seca, VIR, Homestead-Miami and Indianapolis.
Across those five starts, the No. 183 recorded one win, three podiums, four top-five finishes and five top-ten finishes. It had no retirements and no disqualifications. Its average class starting position was 4.8, while its average class finishing position was 3.8.
The Aston Martin also earned one pole position and set the fastest class lap in each of the opening three Sprint Cup races. Most importantly, Blocco Motore left every one of its five Sprint Cup appearances leading the championship standings.
The individual results tell the same story: first from third on the grid at Long Beach, third from pole at Laguna Seca, fourth from fifth at VIR, second from 11th at Homestead-Miami and ninth from fourth at Indianapolis. The corresponding overall finishes were ninth, 25th, ninth, 12th and 37th.
Blocco Motore Secures Its First VSCA Title
With the Indianapolis results official, Blocco Motore finished the Sprint Cup with 2,185 points and a 195-point advantage over the No. 18 Gowin Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, which moved into second in the final standings. The No. 68 TwoLemmaTree Racing McLaren 720S GT3 EVO dropped to third, 230 points behind the champion.
The championship makes Blocco Motore Simsport the successor to 2025 Sprint Cup champion Sim City Racing and gives the organization its first VSCA title.
Brown credited the wider team for creating the opportunity. “It feels great, and I can only thank the team for giving me the opportunity and trusting me with this seat for the season,” he said. He also singled out Redden for setting a demanding pace throughout the year and Erik for his strategy work. “Tyler always had insane pace, and I really had to fight to achieve the same lap times. That wasn't easy at all. Erik didn't really drive in the Sprint Cup, but the strategy calls were always on point.”
Redden was equally quick to spread the credit. “It feels great to be able to come out every other weekend and compete in something that's close,” he said. “My pace hasn't been the greatest all season, but my team has had my back every step of the way.”
Road Atlanta Now Offers a Second Target
The Sprint Cup trophy is secured, but Blocco Motore's season is not finished. The No. 183 also heads toward the SportsCar Championship finale at Road Atlanta with a 185-point lead over the No. 18 and a 215-point advantage over the No. 71.
Brown has no intention of treating that margin as a reason to back off. “Road Atlanta is personally one of my favorite tracks, so hopefully our pace as a team will be strong and we can fight for the win. After all, that's always the goal, and we will not be afraid to defend.”
Redden expects traffic to be one of the biggest variables in the multi-class finale. He described Road Atlanta as one of his favorite circuits but acknowledged how quickly available track space disappears when the prototypes begin working through the GT field. His hope is straightforward: execute a clean race and stay clear of trouble.
Brown was already looking toward the finale as the Indianapolis celebrations began. “I can't wait for the season finale,” he said. “Hopefully we speak again with an even bigger trophy in our hands.”
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