The SRO have released the provisional entry list for the third annual Indianapolis 8 Hour Race, on Saturday, 8 October at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. 25 cars are scheduled to enter, headlined by 11 Pro Cup cars.
INDY 8H PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST >>
It is both the third round of the 2022 Intercontinental GT Challenge, and the 13th and final race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS series.
This year, the Indy 8 Hours will be scheduled for a noon start time on Saturday, and race into the dark until the chequered flag falls at 8:00 PM, but that’s not the only thing that has changed from the first two iterations of the IGTC’s North American round at the Brickyard: The race is now exclusively for GT3 cars, instead of a GT3 and GT4 multi-class event. The experimental three-hour “race within a race” used last year to determine the final GT World Challenge America standings, has been scrapped.
This means that all 25 cars – made up primarily of GT World Challenge America regulars – will aim to run the full eight hour distance.
Pro
K-PAX Racing enter with their two cars, with the Teams’ and Drivers’ Championships secured in the Pro category. The all-black #1 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 of Michele Beretta and two-time Pro Drivers’ Champion, Andrea Caldarelli, will be joined by Marco Mapelli. Franck Perera will join Misha Goikhberg and Jordan Pepper in the bright green #3 K-PAX Lamborghini.
Three of the four Pro Cup Mercedes-AMG GT3s have been nominated to score Intercontinental GT Challenge points as they look for their fourth consecutive IGTC victory, dating back to the 2022 Kyalami 9 Hours. Current IGTC Drivers’ Championship leader Jules Gounon has been part of the winning lineup for Mercedes’ last three victories in the series, and he has been tapped to drive for Winward Racing alongside regulars Russell Ward and Philip Ellis.
Raffaele Marciello and Daniel Juncadella, who won the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this year alongside Gounon, will drive the Theodore Racing-liveried #77 Craft Bamboo Racing AMG GT3 alongside Canadian driver, Daniel Morad.
US RaceTronics have added Tristan Vautier to their returning #6 AMG GT3, joining forces with Steven Aghakhani and Loris Spinelli.
And, non-IGTC nominated entry DXDT Racing have shuffled the lineup of their #63 Mercedes, putting Bryan Sellers and Dirk Müller together – and adding Patrick Assenheimer to complete their new Pro lineup.
Ferrari’s efforts will be led by a two-car effort from AF Corse-Francorchamps: Pierre Ragues, Davide Rigon, and Miguel Molina aboard the number 51 Ferrari 488 GT3, and Ulysse De Pauw, Antonio Fuoco, and Daniel Serra in the number 71 car.
They will be joined by the #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari of Alessandro Balzan, Cedric, Sbirrazzuoli, and Daniel Mancinelli, which made its debut last round at Sebring.
Completing the Ferrari contingent in Pro Cup is the #218 Andretti Autosport/Vital Speed team featuring Jarett Andretti, Jeff Westphal, and Ryan Briscoe.
Turner Motorsport’s #96 BMW M4 GT3 driven by Michael Dinan, Robby Foley, and John Edwards completes the 11-car Pro field, with every team able to carry as many as two Gold or Platinum rated drivers and one Silver rated driver.
Pro-Am, Silver Cup, and Am
The Indy 8 Hour Race will also see the conclusion of a thrilling battle for the GT World Challenge America Pro-Am championship, where the top three teams are separated by just 15 points in a double-points finale.
Points leaders Wright Motorsport have recruited GT2 European Series standout Elia Erhart to drive their #45 Porsche 911 GT3-R alongside their star duo of Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen.
Likewise, CrowdStrike Racing with Riley Motorsport (ranked second, -14 points) have added super Bronze Ben Keating to the lineup of the #04 Mercedes-AMG GT3 to assist the title bid of Colin Braun and newly-crowned GT America SRO3 Champion, George Kurtz.
And Racers Edge Motorsports (ranked third, -15 points) will have trailblazing two-time IMSA GTD champion Christina Nielsen joining Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher in the #93 Acura NSX GT3.
Also in with a remote, mathematical chance at the Pro-Am title is the #94 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT3 (fourth place, -47 points) driven by Chandler Hull, Bill Auberlen, and third driver Richard Heistand.
Filling out the Pro-Am ranks, 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour Race winners SunEnergy1 Racing are back with their #75 Mercedes driven by Kenny Habul, Martin Konrad, and Dominik Baumann.
Triarsi Competizione will field two Pro-Am entries: Conrad Grunewald returns to the series to join Ryan Dalziel and Justin Wetherill in the red and black #13 Ferrari, and the Am Cup Championship-winning #23 Ferrari is moving up to Pro-Am, with Alessio Rovera joining Onofrio Triarsi Jnr and Charlie Scardina.
Longtime World Challenge mainstays GMG Racing return with their #32 Porsche, driven by owner/driver James Sofronas, Kyle Washington, and Klaus Bachler.
Stepping up to GT3 for the first time after a partial GT4 America campaign, is Cameron Racing – with their #39 Mercedes driven by Chris Cagnazzi, Shane Lewis, and Guy Cosmo.
RealTime Racing aim to be back with their #43 Acura in Pro-Am. A third driver to accompany team regulars Erin Vogel and Michael Cooper will be announced in the days leading up to the race.
TR3 Racing will represent Lamborghini in Pro-Am as their regular drivers, Jeff Burton and Corey Lewis, will by joined by Jon Branam in their #91 car.
Also expected to represent Lamborghini in Pro-Am are Zelus Motorsports, though they are currently listed as “TBD” when it comes to their nominated class as they await the selection of their third driver. Jason Harward will be anchoring the lineup as car owner and primary Bronze driver, and 16-year-old Seth Lucas is making his GT3 racing debut.
There is also one Silver Cup entry – it’s the returning #38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 of Samantha Tan, Nick Wittmer, and Harry Gottsacker; and one Am Cup entry, which is DXDT Racing’s #08 Mercedes now driven by owner/driver David Askew, Scott Smithson, and top European am driver Valentin Pierburg.
Feature image © SRO Motorsports Group America
