McLaughlin takes bronze at Suzuka 1000km

Today’s theme music: “PARADISE (Kill the Silence)” by Coldrain

IndyCar drivers moonlighting in the endurance world is a time-honored tradition, and Scott McLaughlin had the honor of starting the party this past weekend by finishing 3rd overall at Japan’s biggest endurance race, the Suzuka 1000 km.

For his first endurance race since January’s 24 Hours of Daytona, and the first Suzuka 1000 held since 2019, Scotty Mac joined Malaysian team Johor Motorsports, who paired him with IMSA drivers Nicky Catsburg and Alexander Sims to form a Chevy superteam in the Pro class #2 Corvette. They’d need all that talent, as they started 9th on the grid and had to overcome a 44-pound weight penalty added in post-qualifying Balance of Performance adjustments.

Over a grueling six and a half hours, the trio made their way up the field, pouncing on the opportunities in front of them no matter who was in the car. That included McLaughlin’s biggest highlight reel pass of the race, when a fellow Corvette went wide trying to catch a Nissan and allowed the Kiwi to punch through. While all that wasn’t enough to catch the #32 WRT BMW for the win, Catsburg put in an electrifying final stint to fend off multiple challengers and take the bronze, both in class and overall.

This marks McLaughlin’s first trophy from an endurance race since his LMP2 class victory at the 2023 24 Hours of Sebring. Combined with the Milwaukee Mile 250 and Music City Grand Prix, this also gives him three bronze finishes in a four-week span. With how much love he showed Suzuka as a track in the runup to this race, we might even see him return to this event at next year’s running.

While no full-time IndyCar drivers are set to compete at next weekend’s IMSA Battle of the Bricks, a mix of reserve drivers, Indy NXT prospects, and series veterans will be in the mix. Keep an eye on Romain Grosjean, who’s heavily rumored to want back into IndyCar and could use his stints as a showcase for his abilities—assuming, of course, that the ever-jinxed Lamborghini SC63 doesn’t blow up or crash before he can play his part.