Tom Blomqvist leapt onto the front row for the Battle on the Bricks series at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, clocking a 1m14.674s lap in the #60 Acura ARX‑06 to secure his seventh career pole.
GTP qualifying dominated by sudden weather shifts
The session began under a mix of sun and cloud, and as rain threatened, teams had to adjust pace mid‑line‑up. For one hour and ten minutes, drivers pushed the 2.439‑mile, 14‑turn circuit before the temperature and track grip fluctuated.
Julien Andlauer (Porsche Penske Motorsport) opened the day with a 1m15.235s lap in the #7 Porsche 963, leaving the early crowd outside the Bahamas. Later, championship leader Jack Aitken (Whelen Cadillac) managed 1m15.262s in the #31 Cadillac V‑Series R, but Blomqvist’s 1m14.674s on his final run stood clear by the time the blue flag waved.
The delay from a sudden rain spike meant the track was “tricky to drive,” said Blomqvist, who co‑drove with Colin Braun. With limited running, he had to trust the car’s newfound confidence to deliver a sub‑1m15 lap that broke the weekend’s record.
Jack Aitken’s last‑minute effort was close enough to consider, but the banner at the start‑line still fell on the Swedish‑Finnish duo.
LMP2 battle in a hot‑spot of retaliation
Competitors in the LMP2 class waited nearly half the session for tires to warm. Around the 8‑minute mark, PJ Hyett (AO Racing) posted the first viable time of 1m17.796s in the #42 car. A 45‑meter misjudgement by Jon Farano (Tower Motorsports) before he clipped curbing and drifted slightly into the barrier on Turn 6 added to the uncertainty.
United Autosports USA’s Daniel Goldburg fought back with a 1m17.713s lap, but Jeremy Clarke (Inter Europol Competition) edged him out with a best 1m17.555s. Goldburg’s later 1m17.600s was withheld due to a prior practice infraction, leaving Clarke’s twelfth‑hour effort to lock the pole.
PJ Hyett’s third‑place rush faltered as traffic hampered his final margin, ending the session locked in third with 1m17.770s.
GTD Pro and GTD classes miss qualifying but restore legacy grids
Lightning strikes forced the cancellation of the GTD Pro and GTD qualifying sessions, so regulations set the starting order according to team points. Paul Miller Racing’s #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO – piloted by Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi – inherited the pole position in GTD Pro, followed by the #4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Corvette Racing (Pratt Miller Motorsports) for second.
In the GTD category, the #57 Mercedes‑AMG GT3 of Philip Ellis and Russell Ward (Winward Racing) started on pole, with Heart of Racing’s #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo (Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello and Tom Gamble) falling in the second slot.
Weather, strategy and the pursuit of a championship lead
The championship leader, Jack Aitken, perched close to the front, harnessing a late surge to clear the track with 1m14.975s in the #31, but he remained on the second row for the day. Blomqvist’s performance, combined with a steady altitude of tire performance under changing grip, will set a tone as the series approaches its final rounds.
"