The legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway will host the season finale for the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Teams in four racing series from 2 to 5 October. The Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC), the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS, the GT America Powered by AWS and the Pirelli GT4 America will enter their final round of the season as part of the fifth edition of the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS.
GT World Challenge America: At the world-famous Brickyard, Mercedes-AMG will be targeting its second overall victory in the Indianapolis 8 Hour after 2022. Last year, the Customer Racing cars from Affalterbach achieved a double podium by finishing in second and third place. This year's line-up includes seven teams, each of which will compete in the PRO or PRO-AM classes with a Mercedes-AMG GT3. Among them are two Performance Teams. Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing will be joined by Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing. Ten AMG drivers are among the 21 drivers of the Customer Racing Teams, including newcomer Álex Palou (ESP). The three-time IndyCar Series champion, who won his third title in mid-September, has signed an exclusive contract with Mercedes-AMG for the Indianapolis 8 Hour on his home circuit. It will be his first time at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG GT3. But this is not the 27-year-old's first foray into GT racing. In 2019, he competed in the Japanese Super GT, where he took a pole position and a podium finish in the GT300 category. Jeff Burton (USA) and Philip Ellis (SUI) are currently tied for third place in the GT World Challenge America PRO-AM standings.
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Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC): The endurance race in the US state of Indiana will be the IGTC finale for the first time. The first three stages of the prestigious championship were the Bathurst 12 Hour, the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring and the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Defending champion Mercedes-AMG is in third place in the manufacturers' standings ahead of the finale. Luca Stolz (GER) is in fifth place in the drivers' standings after two podium finishes from three races. Prince Jefri Ibrahim (MAS) is in second place in the Independent Cup for drivers with a bronze classification. The Lone Star Racing team from Texas is the first US Mercedes-AMG Performance Team to compete in the IGTC.
"I went to cheer Dani Juncadella two years ago when he raced in Indianapolis, and I wanted to do the race if there was a chance. 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 8h. It would be amazing to close out the season on a high with another trophy."
Álex Palou, Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing #4
Indianapolis 8 Hour supporting programme: The supporting programme also features Mercedes-AMG GT2s, Mercedes-AMG GT3s and Mercedes-AMG GT4s in GT America as well as Mercedes-AMG GT4s in GT4 America. Jason Daskalos (USA) and CRP Racing lead the GT3 driver and team standings ahead of the final two one-hour races in GT America.