Raffaele Marciello made good on a sensational guarantee, piloting the #77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 to victory alongside co-drivers Daniel Juncadella and Daniel Morad in the 2022 Indianapolis 8 Hour Race on Saturday.
After qualifying 15th due to Marciello being unable to set a lap in the first leg of Qualifying on Friday – and a subsequent attempt to protest in an effort to be added to the Pole Shootout – the Swiss driver took to social media and wrote: “See you tomorrow in the top step of the podium for a nice revenge after an injustice. It’s a promise.”
Eight gruelling hours and 328 laps of racing around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course later, that promise was fulfilled – and sealed with a kiss upon the famous Yard of Bricks.
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To do it, Marciello had to fend off another one of the cars dealt a bad hand in Qualifying, the #71 AF-Corse Francorchamps Ferrari 488 GT3 of Daniel Serra, Ulysse De Pauw, and his fellow, former Ferrari Driver Academy top prospect Antonio Fuoco.
The #71 Ferrari and #77 Mercedes ran 1-2 in some combination for most of the race, and it all culminated in a brilliant showdown between Marciello and Fuoco as the sun began to set over the world-famous Brickyard.
After the race’s second Safety Car restart, Fuoco pounced on Marciello, who was caught behind lapped traffic – allowing the Italian driver to dive up the inside of turn ten and take the overall lead. But Marciello clung to Fuoco’s tail lights and, with 91 minutes left, dived up the inside of turn four to retake the top spot.
The Mercedes would then pull away from the Ferrari for most of the final stint, only for Fuoco to come roaring back in the final fifteen minutes of the race, closing to within eight tenths of a second at the chequered flag.
“It was really exciting at the end,” Marciello said after his sensational battle. “We knew it was us against the Ferrari, but it was a really good fight. I have known Antonio for a long time, so it was quite nice to battle with him. We have known each other for ten years actually. He passed me but then I was able to pass him back and defend. Daniel [Morad] did an amazing job at the start and Dani [Juncadella] was really solid so we cannot complain, for sure.”
Mercedes-AMG clinched the 2022 Intercontinental GT Challenge Manufacturers’ Championship, with their fourth consecutive victory in the series: Kyalami to end the previous season, Bathurst at the start of the current season, the crown jewel 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, and now a maiden Indianapolis win.
It’s the second IGTC win in a row for Marciello and Juncadella individually, and the very first for the Craft-Bamboo Racing team, who were partnering with Lone Star Racing for the second consecutive year. The team – paying tribute to their fellow Hong Kong racing trailblazers Theodore Racing and their Indianapolis 500 heritage with a special livery – came into this event hoping to avenge a painful accident in the last 40 minutes of last year’s event.
“It’s been a very solid week for the team. We prepared well for the event and executed a near perfect race,” said Darryl O’Young, Team Director. “I want to thank the drivers for the excellent performance, and also congratulate all our team members that came together to give CBR our first victory in the Intercontinental GT Challenge. Special thanks to AJ [Petersen] & Lone Star Racing that supported our efforts in the USA and did a fantastic job on car preparation.”
“I hope this is the beginning of more international victories for our team together with Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing. It will be very special when our team sponsor Tarmac Works releases this special tribute livery in the model car, it was amazing to bring the iconic Theodore Racing brand back to Indy.”
On the other side of the battle between Craft-Bamboo Racing and AF Corse-Francorchamps, Fuoco summed up his feelings after coming up just short of the victory. “We tried and we drove our best but it was not enough,” said a resigned Fuoco. “They [Craft-Bamboo Racing] were a bit faster than us today. We’re quite happy with our position, but we wanted a bit more. We tried everything today.”
It was deeply unfortunate that the only blemish they had was a friendly fire incident between De Pauw, and the sister #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Pierre Ragues, just before half-distance. The young Belgian had otherwise been perfect, but a collision in turn one, which sent Ragues spinning around, earned De Pauw a costly drive-through penalty for avoidable contact – and may well have proven to be the difference between a comfortable breeze to victory, and finishing runner-up by less than a second.
Not as painful as Callum Ilott being taken out by a wayward GT4 backmarker while leading last year’s race, but for AF Corse’s A-team, this one will sting for a while.
The #71 Ferrari caught a break by pitting just before the Safety Car was deployed for Marco Mapelli’s heavy crash at the final corner. When Serra got back in the car, he was now right behind the #77 Mercedes. Serra was able to go about 15 laps longer than Juncadella until his next routine pit stop. While the overcut attempt didn’t quite work for the #71 Ferrari, the second and final Safety Car (for a tyre bundle being pushed out onto the racing line) erased the gap once more and put the leaders back on the same strategy.
In the first hour of the race, Serra’s charge from 18th on the grid, to second place, and eventually into the lead after the first round of pit stops – was the defining moment of the first hour, in the short term. But just behind him, Craft-Bamboo’s Morad was putting in a strong triple stint, going from 15th to fourth in the first hour, and eventually handing off the car to Juncadella in second.
Morad was proof positive that the obligation of one Silver driver in every Pro lineup for this year’s Indy 8 Hours was not a hindrance to the quality of racing as some had feared. The Canadian driver’s impending upgrade to Gold status is more reflective of his true talents.
“In fact, we didn’t have any major problems over the distance,” recalled Morad, who has found success both as a racing driver and Twitch streaming personality. “Because of our bad luck in qualifying, we had something to fight for, of course, but we got through the field really well and we kept calm. The car was ideal for this race and all drivers called on their best performance. I couldn’t be any happier than with this victory.”
Mercedes-AMG’s accolades didn’t stop with the Manufacturers’ crown. Kenny Habul and Martin Konrad wrapped up the IGTC Pro-Am Challenge Championship, finishing seventh overall alongside their Pro co-driver Dominik Baumann in the #75 SunEnergy1 Racing by Akkodis ASP car.
They finished second among all Pro-Am class teams, taking the chequered flag less than two seconds behind the winning #94 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT3 (Chandler Hull/Richard Heistand/Bill Auberlen) after a fantastic duel between Baumann and Auberlen, which even intersected the Marciello/Fuoco battle in the closing minutes.
But because BMW weren’t registered for IGTC points, SunEnergy1 took the maximum 25 points towards the IGTC Pro-Am standings, enough for Habul and Konrad to clinch the championship – the fourth for Habul, and the second for Konrad, both of whom were part of the overall winning crew of this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour revival.
“Last year, we won here, this year, we missed out by only half a second. Therefore, we are slightly disappointed,” said Habul. “But we have scored valuable points for the IGTC and that is what matters.”
“Even though we lost the lead due to the safety car, it was a good performance,” added Konrad. “We have won the Pro-Am championship that we can now celebrate intensely.”
The Silver Arrows came away with two of the three major IGTC titles over the past weekend, and now one of their factory aces is guaranteed to win the IGTC Drivers’ Championship – either Juncadella, Marciello, Jules Gounon, or Luca Stolz (pending his entry into the upcoming Gulf 12 Hours). But it could have been an even better day still: The #33 Winward Racing Mercedes of Gounon, Russell Ward, and Philip Ellis won the pole, and Ward hung on after a tough first hour to keep his team mates in striking distance.
Unfortunately, they suffered a bad break on the second Safety Car intervention: They pitted behind the Craft-Bamboo team during a Full Course Yellow, before the Safety Car was called. But they exited behind the sky blue Acura NSX Safety Car, which effectively trapped them at the tail end of the lead lap.
“I am really proud of the team but today our race was ruined by a call from race control,” said a dejected Gounon – whose personal three-race IGTC winning streak came to an end.
“What happened to us in the pits before our last stint, I just can’t believe it, it ruined the effort of the team for a week here. We had ten mechanics, engineers and all of the drivers focused believe we could have fought with our competitors for another one-two finish for Mercedes-AMG. It’s so disappointing because Winward really did a fantastic job, my two teammates Russell and Philip also, but sometimes you just feel a bit robbed, and that was the feeling after the race.”
Ironically, they were one of the beneficiaries of the race’s first Safety Car, caused by Mapelli’s crash in the #1 K-PAX Lamborghini Huracán GT3. Typically, under a non-emergency situation, Race Control would not wave any cars around before the ensuing restart.
But Mapelli’s stranded car and strewn debris on the frontstretch forced the activation of emergency protocol, allowing for a wave by to the overall leader to take place as the on-track recovery would allow. This permitted Ellis to take the restart just seven seconds behind the leader Juncadella, and brought them back into contention for the victory – until their fortunes inverted.
Gounon, who had a chance to clinch the IGTC Drivers’ Championship in Indianapolis, now heads into the Gulf 12 Hours three points behind new leader Juncadella – with Marciello 18 points out of first place.
For Lamborghini and K-PAX Racing, the Indianapolis 8 Hour went down as another painful near-miss on the IGTC trail. Two years ago at the Brickyard, Jordan Pepper was driving in a class of his own in the wet, before his Bentley tripped up into an accident with a GT4 car. At this year’s Spa 24 Hours, a post-qualifying penalty put their Lamborghini on the back foot, and a puncture cost them a chance to go from last to first.
The all-black #1 K-PAX Lamborghini of Mapelli, Michele Beretta, and two-time GT World Challenge America Pro Drivers’ Champion Andrea Caldarelli, was their top challenger for victory. But two left-rear tyre issues, and Mapelli’s broadside hit into the SAFER barrier coming back onto the front stretch, brought on another painful retirement in a race that they had a chance to win.
“Obviously, it hurts to end a weekend like this – after all the effort from K-PAX Racing and Lamborghini to give us a strong car,” said Caldarelli. “But it is racing, and we move forward. Obviously, I wanted to finish the championship in a different way today, but I am proud to have given the team a title for the second year in a row.”
As he reflected on a successful season in America, Caldarelli added: “For some, it looked like we had a smooth season, but it wasn’t, and so to give the team this title means a lot. I would like to thank a lot of the team and [Lamborghini] Squadra Corse for the endless support. I am really happy to have clinched my sixth SRO series title.”
Pepper, who clawed back to finish 11th overall alongside Franck Perera and Misha Goikhberg in the green #3 K-PAX Lamborghini, said: “It was a tough ending to the Indianapolis 8 Hour. It’s a race that has haunted me and K-PAX Racing. I wanted to win it so badly for the team. It just means we have to come back and do it. But on the positive side, I got second in the championship at the end. It’s not the way I wanted to beat Mike [Beretta] and the #1. It was an unfortunate incident that took him out of the round.”
“We had a strong showing but not strong at the end, which is frustrating because sometimes motorsports is all about the last event. I’ve been with a great group of guys, and it’s been a privilege to drive with them for the last two seasons and hopefully many more to come.”
What’s on the horizon for K-PAX Racing? Well, beyond GT World Challenge America, it’s not quite certain. DSC spoke with Programme Manager, Darren Law, over the weekend to weigh in on the prospect of competing full time in Intercontinental GT Challenge next season.
“Honestly, that is still very hard to say,” said Law. “We’re working through the regulations, the logistics, the timing. It’s known now, Kyalami falls on the first round at NOLA, so there’s a lot of things we have to sort out. We’re considering it, but we don’t have anything guaranteed.”
Whatever future plans the team has, Law says that, for the moment at least, will not involve Lamborghini’s upcoming LMDh programme. “We’ve discussed it, but really, it’s not on the radar right now. Our focus is GT racing.”
“Lamborghini is not going to race [in LMDh] until ’24, so our priority right now is our ’23 programme, and is GT3.”
More to come tomorrow…
Feature image © Mercedes-AMG
Additional images © Regis Lefebure, Brian Cleary, Fabian Lagunas / SRO Motorsports Group America
