Fans of through my lens will know that last year I attended the 2024 IMSA Battle On The Bricks with the BMW CCA – I had a fantastic time.  So much so that I almost immediately began planned on attending the 2025 event after I got home.  It’s been a couple of weeks since the 2025 event so I wanted to share my experience.   Spoiler warning:  2025 was much improved over 2024 thanks to the hard work of the BMW CCA.

if you’re a BMW CCA member and your wanting to learn more about what to expect at the event, I’d strongly encourage you to read my report from last year that does a good job of describing the entire weekend’s activities.  For this year, I’m really going to focus on what was different or improved at the event in 2025.

The first thing I want to talk about is actually getting to the BMW Performance Center building at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  The building is on the side of the track opposite from the pagoda so you cannot get there from the main entrance.  Mark Arnold (current BMW CCA Buckeye Chapter President) will send out emails prior to the event instructing you to enter the track via Gate 10.  I know this because when I couldn’t find the entrance to Gate 10 and called Mark for assistance, he asked “did you read the email I sent?”  Pro tip:  If you’re an Apple Maps user, Gate 10 won’t come up in a destination search in Maps.  Instead, look for “Lot 7 (North 40)” destination once you get close to the track.

Here’s a copy of the itinerary for Saturday and Sunday so you can see just how busy the weekend really is.  Even if sitting around watching a race isn’t your thing, there’s plenty else to keep you busy:

One of the coolest things added this year was the Live Painting by world renowned motorsport artist Roger Warrick.  He worked most of the day on the painting, which was auctioned off later in the afternoon.  Here’s a photo I grabbed of the painting:

The painting was incredible and fetched an impressible four-figure price in the auction.  Attendees were also given the opportunity to purchase a print of the painting which I took advantage of – I look forward to getting it framed and hanging it in my office.  I was completely ignorant to Paul Warrick and his work so I GREATLY appreciated to opportunity learn about him at this event.

One of the biggest improvements this year over last was the increased number of carts that were used to transport guests to the pagoda side of the track:

No one who wanted a ride really had to wait very long at all.  This comes in very handy when it comes time to head out to the garages to do the “Meet And Greet” events with the various BMW Teams.  The opportunity to meet all three of the BMW sponsored IMSA teams and get up close and personal with the cars is such a unique experience:

Another big highlight of the weekend is the Fan Walk on Sunday before the main event race begins.

You have to wade through what seems like thousands of people to get to see your favorite cars and drivers, which really makes you appreciate the privilege of the small group meet and greet sessions that the BMW CCA sets up.

I spent much of Sunday on the roof of the BMW Performance Center building photographing the race, but also went out with the of the other club “shutter bug” types and go photos from different parts of the track.  Another GREATLY appreciated change from 2024 was that the roof top bar was open and had a bar tender handing out drinks, soda, and water.  It was SO nice to be able to take a few minutes and go inside the glass enclosed and air conditioned  roof top bar to cool off for a few minutes.

Ultimately, Team RLL didn’t fair quite as well as they did in 2024 – it was Cadillac’s day.

BMW CCA WILL be back in 2026 at the BMW Performance Center at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 2026 Battle On The Bricks.  Stay tuned for announcements in the Spring when tickets start being offered.  You don’t want to miss this.  Here’s a video I also did on the 2025 IMSA Battle On The Bricks with the BMW CCA: