AWA Wins the Battle On The Bricks At Indianapolis

Indianapolis (Indiana, USA), September 17, 2023 – AWA won the Battle On The Bricks at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past Sunday. The Ontario-based outfit triumphed thanks to a stellar strategy and near-perfect drives from Anthony Mantella and Wayne Boyd. The duo clinched one of the most prestigious wins of the season after 2 hours and 40 minutes of intense battle on the Speedway’s road course.

This long overdue win marks AWA’s second of the season by the #17 Agritainer crew, who claimed the most prestigious victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona and now got to kiss the most famous bricks in the history of motorsports.

The race was not an easy win for Matella and Boyd, as they took the green flag from 5th place. Saturday’s qualifying session was plagued by a lengthy red flag that saw all LMP3 cars trying to squeeze in a decent time in only one lap. However, right from the start of the race, Toronto-native Anthony Mantella put his head down and focused on the task ahead, and made his way towards the pointier end of the field. He managed to gain two positions in the opening laps.

Mantella made his way down pit road with about 1 hour and 50 minutes remaining in the race, handing the #17 Agritainer machine to Wayne Boyd. The British driver had an early setback, spinning in Turn 8. However, this mishap played in the team’s favour, as the strategy ended up working out perfectly. Boyd took over the lead on lap 67, never looking back until the checkered flag some 40 laps later.

This win gives the #17 car enough points to move up into second place in the championship, 244 points behind first place.

Orey Fidani and Matt Bell were off to a promising start, taking the green flag from second place. However, Fidani was forced to come to a near stop to avoid the GTP crash in front, which set back the #13 car and knocked them further down the running order. Despite these challenges Fidani pushed hard to keep in the hunt. He then handed the Orlando Corporation LMP3 to Matt Bell, who following the final pit stop and a stellar pass on the #30 JRIII Ligier, held the virtual lead of the race. While pushing hard on lap 2 of the final stint as the tires were still increasing to target pressure, the plank bottomed on the apex curbing causing a spin that left Bell fighting back to the front, but ultimately ending in 5th place after contact with a lap down P3.

#17 Agritainer Duqueine D08

Anthony Mantella, driver of the #17 Duqueine D08: “Winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a childhood dream of mine, and it feels surreal that it has just come true. Every driver who comes to Indianapolis has the goal in mind of being able to cross the finish line and kiss the bricks, and we did exactly that today! The team and Wayne did a phenomenal job, made the right strategy calls, and this is truly everything we could have hoped for.”

Wayne Boyd, driver of the #17 Duqueine D08: “I am absolutely delighted with the result today. We knew we had a fast car, but it takes a lot more than that to be able to win a race. You need everything to go your way, and we put in the work required to make that happen for us. The team did such a fantastic job as well, and I give full credit to them. They made the perfect strategy calls and gave us a rapid car that we were confident could secure a strong result. Anthony did a fantastic stint at the start and he put us in an excellent position once it was my turn to take over. We’re back in Championship contention, with all to play for at Petit Le Mans.”

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Picture credit: Sam Cobb