The SRO has finalised the entry list for this weekend’s DESDER Indianapolis 8 Hour, the seventh and final running of the Intercontinental GT Challenge’s annual visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
28 cars appear on the entry list, headlined by a six-car Pro category, and featuring overlapping contests for both the Intercontinental GT Challenge and GT World Challenge America championships. Not included is DragonSpeed, which has withdrawn its #81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R from the field after being on a provisional entry list released on 15 September.
Instead, it will feature one of Wright Motorsports’ two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs competing in the Pro class. Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver Programme graduate Therese Lahlouh has been forced to sit out the final race of the GT World America season due to an acute illness and allergic reaction. The #242 Porsche 911 GT3 R built around Lahlouh has now been renumbered to #120 and moves up to the Pro class, as Thomas Merrill and Porsche works driver Kévin Estre will now be joined by Morris Schuring, another Porsche factory-contracted driver.
They will join the other five cars that will likely battle for the overall victory: Two Mercedes-AMG factory-supported entries from Lone Star Racing and GT World America championship leaders JMF Motorsports, Turner Motorsport’s BMW, AF Corse USA’s Ferrari, and McCann Racing’s Porsche.
Lone Star Racing will have the reigning five-time IndyCar Series champion Álex Palou back in its #80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, alongside designated Silver driver Lin Hodenius, and Luca Stolz, who is one of four drivers eligible to win the IGTC Drivers’ Championship – but only three are present at Indianapolis, with Maro Engel sitting out the final two IGTC rounds due to DTM commitments. Even still, Engel has a seven-point lead over Stolz and can win two championships on two continents, without ever having to leave the Hockenheimring!
Stolz is just one point ahead of fellow Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver Maxime Martin, who drives the #34 JMF Mercedes-AMG with GT World America Pro championship leaders Michai Stephens and Mikaël Grenier this weekend.
Stephens and Grenier lead the GT World America standings by nine points over Matías Pérez Companc, who anchors the #12 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo alongside co-drivers Frederik Schandorff and 2021 24 Hours of Spa overall winner Nicklas Nielsen, and although the ‘Turner Triple’ is no more, Turner Motorsport’s #29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO still has a chance at the Pro title; Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley are joined by Connor De Phillippi, who won the inaugural Indy 8 Hour in 2020.
Finally, Suzuka 1000km winner Alessio Picariello will support Michael McCann Jnr and Zachary Vanier in the #8 McCann Racing Porsche. Porsche needs to score six points from any two of its 11 entries in Pro or Pro-Am to clinch the IGTC Manufacturers’ Championship over Mercedes-AMG.
Three teams are competing for the GT World America Pro-Am championship, led by GMG Racing and its Bronze driver Kyle Washington. He has a new supporting cast with Tom Sargent unavailable due to European Le Mans Series commitments: Ayhancan Güven and Riccardo Pera will share the #32 Porsche with Washington this time.
Wright Motorsports’ second entry, the #31 Porsche of Dave Musial Jnr and Ryan Yardley, welcomes 2023 Indy 8H polesitter Laurin Heinrich back to the team as its third driver. Heinrich, the star of the 50th Suzuka 1000km for AO by Absolute Racing, is also the fourth driver eligible to win the IGTC Drivers’ Championship – but he’ll need no less than a second successive overall victory to make that happen, no easy task in a Pro-Am car.
RS1 is also in the hunt for the Pro-Am teams’ championship, even if Pro driver Jan Heylen is out of the running for the Drivers’ title without a full-season Am driver. A pair of Dans will join Heylen in the #28 Porsche: Danny Dyszelski, who continues as the (derogated) Bronze driver, and Daan Arrow (Pijl).
Elsewhere in the Porsche customer stable, Kellymoss has brought in reinforcements to its three-car line-up in the form of Kay van Berlo (#13), Lars Kern (#017), and Aaron Jeansonne (#88). Li Kerong has already secured the IGTC Independent Cup championship for High Class Racing, and will finish out the season along with fellow Independent Cup regulars Herberth Motorsport and Tsunami RT.
Dollahite Racing, returns after missing the previous GT World America round at Barber Motorsports Park – now in Pro-Am with Scott Dollahite back behind the wheel, and Ford Racing factory GT driver Christopher Mies joining Dollahite and Alex Sedgwick in the #6 Ford Mustang GT3 Evo.
Marcus Ericsson is the second previous Indianapolis 500 winner in the Indy 8 Hour field, teaming up with his brother Hampus and Derek DeBoer in the #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW. Riley Technologies’ #14 BMW gains the added support of recent BMW works alumni Jesse Krohn.
For Mercedes-AMG, TR3 Racing has the second of two former overall Indy 8 Hour winners in the field, Daniel Morad, in its #9 car – he’s joined by Indy Dontje and Brayton Williams. JMF Motorsports’ #27 car welcomes Wyatt Brichacek, and GetSpeed Team PCX Racing will make its first venture to the IGTC’s North American round.
Chevrolet is unlikely to feature in the Indy 8 Hour with Chouest Povoledo Racing expected to pull out after practice, but no matter – three non-IGTC makes feature compelling Pro-Am entries.
This includes Archangel Motorsports, whose #69 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO is coming off a maiden win in GT World America, and has just added the rapid youngster Tom Fleming to the line-up. Rebel Rock Racing is in with its #71 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo – and Chicago Performance & Tuning could represent the last entry from a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 in an Intercontinental GT Challenge race. Loris Spinelli returns to join CPT regulars Nicholai Elghanayan and Mads Siljehaug in its #64 car.
Finally, the Am class is up to three All-Bronze cars: AF Corse USA’s champion-elect #163 Ferrari, a second Ferrari from Scuderia Corsa, and the #11 Mad Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG, expected to make waves with Ben Keating and Peter Dempsey at the wheel.
Images © SRO Motorsports America
