Reigning three-time IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou will make his first start at the Indianapolis 8 Hour race on 5 October, driving the #4 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 alongside Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz.
Palou’s is one of two Pro entries which will represent Mercedes-AMG at the Brickyard, opposite the GruppeM Racing entry driven by Maro Engel, Mikaël Grenier, and Jules Gounon; SunEnergy1 Racing, Regulator Racing, Triple Eight JMR and Chouest Povoledo Racing will complete the Silver Arrows’ contingent.
The Spaniard picked up two wins, three pole positions, and 13 top-five finishes on the way to his third IndyCar Series title in four years since joining Chip Ganassi Racing. While Palou has yet to win the Indianapolis 500, he did qualify on the pole for the 2023 Indy 500, and has won twice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course that will be used at the Indy 8 Hour.
In addition, Palou has driven Chip Ganassi Racing’s Cadillac V-Series.R prototypes at the Daytona 24 Hours and Le Mans 24 Hours, finishing seventh overall at Le Mans in his first start in the Grand Prix d’Endurance.
He’ll join a Lone Star Racing team which previously prepared the Indy 8 Hour entries for Craft-Bamboo Racing in recent years. This includes the 2022 race-winning car driven by Raffaele Marciello, Daniel Juncadella, and Daniel Morad – when Palou was in the house to cheer on his countryman Juncadella.
“I went to cheer [fellow Spaniard] Dani Juncadella two years ago when he raced in Indianapolis, and I wanted to do the race if there was a chance,” Palou said. “I received this excellent opportunity through AMG with a chance to win the race.
“While I will have to learn the characteristics of the car, Indianapolis is a track that I know very well, and I also have some previous experience racing in the GT3 cars. The obvious difference from IndyCar is that the GT3 cars are closed cockpit. The overall grip will be less than what I am normally used to but at the same time, it’s very tough to be on the limit because of the GT3 cars’ weight. I am really looking forward to having fun and fighting for the win at the Indy 8 Hour. It would be amazing to close out the season on a high with another trophy.”
Before arriving in IndyCar in 2020, Palou raced in the 2019 SUPER GT Series GT300 class for McLaren Customer Racing Japan in the then-new 720S GT3. He finished a season-best second place at Autopolis alongside co-driver Seiji Ara, and won the pole for the final championship race at Mobility Resort Motegi.
Mercedes-AMG’s line-up at the Indianapolis 8 Hour features Kenny Habul, Jayden Ojeda, and Lucas Auer driving for SunEnergy1 Racing, just two weeks after Habul and SunEnergy1 took part in the IMSA Battle on the Bricks six-hour race.
Triple Eight JMR arrives off the back of a strong season in GT World Challenge Asia, featuring Prince Jefri Ibrahim, Jordan Love, and Arjun Maini in the #888 Mercedes-AMG.
Regulator Racing, a top contender in the Pro-Am class of GT World Challenge America, will welcome Elias Seppänen alongside its regular drivers Jeff Burton and Philip Ellis.
Images © Penske Entertainment Group, Mercedes-AMG
