The grid for today’s third annual running of the Indianapolis 8 Hour Race is set, along with the drivers who will start the race at 12:00 PM (noon) EDT.
Russell Ward of Texas will have the honour of starting the race from pole position aboard his #33 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, after co-driver Jules Gounon qualified the car on pole during yesterday’s Pole Shootout. He’ll share the front row with Alessandro Balzan who qualified the #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 in second.
Steven Aghakhani will be able to start his #6 US Racetronics Mercedes-AMG GT3 from 21st on the grid, after co-driver Tristan Vautier was involved in a crash during the first leg of Qualifying with TR3 Racing’s Jeff Burton.
Both the #91 TR3 Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 and the #94 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT3 have been given pit lane start penalties for causing collisions during Qualifying.
Neither team has officially nominated a starting driver, but speaking with BimmerWorld’s Bill Auberlen, who took a penalty for colliding with AF Corse-Francorchamps’ Miguel Molina during the third leg of Qualifying, he told DSC that he plans to start today’s race on behalf of his team.
The Starting Lineup
1st: #33 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Russell Ward ℹ
2nd: #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 (2020) – Alessandro Balzan ℹ
3rd: #23 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 (2020) – Charlie Scardina
4th: #3 K-PAX Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 – Misha Goikhberg ℹ
5th: #1 K-PAX Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 – Marco Mapelli ℹ
6th: #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 – Michael Dinan
7th: #93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 – Mario Farnbacher
8th: #13 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 (2020) – Conrad Grunewald ℹ
9th: #218 Andretti Autosport x Vital Speed Ferrari 488 GT3 (2018) – Jeff Westphal
10th: #38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 – Nick Wittmer
11th: #45 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3-R – Charlie Luck ℹ
12th: #04 CrowdStrike Racing with Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 – George Kurtz
13th: #08 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Valentin Pierburg
14th: #88 Zelus Motorsports Lamborghini Huracán GT3 – Jason Harward ℹ
15th: #77 Team Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Daniel Morad ℹ
16th: #75 SunEnergy1 Racing by Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Kenny Habul ℹ
17th: #51 AF Corse-Francorchamps Ferrari 488 GT3 (2020) – Pierre Ragues ℹ
18th: #71 AF Corse-Francorchamps Ferrari 488 GT3 (2020) – Daniel Serra ℹ
19th: #43 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 – Michael Cooper (five-place grid penalty carried over from Sebring Race 1)
20th: #39 Stephen Cameron Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Shane Lewis
21st: #6 US Racetronics Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Steven Aghakhani ℹ
22nd: #32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R – James Sofronas ℹ
23rd: #63 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Dirk Müller (no time set in qualifying)
Pit Lane Start: #91 TR3 Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 – TBD ℹ (penalty for causing a collision in Qualifying Driver 1)
Pit Lane Start: #94 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT3 – TBD (penalty for causing a collision in Qualifying Driver 3)
ℹ – denotes Intercontinental GT Challenge Competitor
Images © Brian Cleary / SRO Motorsports Group America; Chris Jones / Penske Entertainment Group
