Mercedes AMG Confirm 8 GT3 Cars For Indianapolis 8 Hours
Mercedes-AMG wants to continue its winning streak in IGTC during the Indianapolis 8 Hours.
After Bathurst and Spa, the next round for the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli (IGTC) is the Indianapolis 8 Hour.
The season opener at Mount Panorama saw an AMG lock-out of the top three, followed by another overall win in the 24-hour race at Spa together with second place too!
With five out of six possible podium slots, Mercedes-AMG leads both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings.
The upcoming 8-hour race in Indianapolis (8th October 2022) is the penultimate IGTC round and also the finale of the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS. In total, eight Mercedes-AMG GT3 are competing at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, four of them in the Pro class which is expected to produce the overall winner, two of which – the #33 Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing entry and the #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft Bamboo Racing car, will be racing as Performance cars with extended factory support.
The Customer Racing cars will be run by Crowdstrike Racing, US Racetronics, DXDT Racing, Hero Life and Kids for Kids as well as SunEnergy1 Racing by AKKODIS ASP.
US Racetronics (above) and the #63 DXDT Racing cars are also Pro class entries.
Crowdstrike Racing, Hero Life and Kids for Kids (below) and SunEnergy1 Racing by AKKODIS ASP have been entered in the Pro-Am class while the second AMG of the DXDT Racing team has been registered for the Am class with Mercedes-AMG teams then represented in all three classes in the field.
Eligible to score points for the IGTC manufacturers’ standings are the Mercedes-AMG GT3s #6, #33, #75 and #77.
The 8-hour race at Indianapolis is the third of four rounds of the 2022 IGTC season. Moreover, the race serves as the GT World Challenge America season finale. In the North American series, Mercedes-AMG also has good championship chances: after twelve of 13 races, Customer Racing Team Crowdstrike Racing (Riley Motorsports) is only twelve points down on the leaders in the Pro-Am teams’ standings. Its drivers George Kurtz and Colin Braun (both USA) can also seal the drivers’ title in the Pro-Am category at Indianapolis. Currently, the duo is in second place within striking distance of the leading driver pairing. The battle for the GT World Challenge America title will be decided by the intermediate results after the first three hours of racing.
Christoph Sagemüller, head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport: “Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the world’s most legendary race tracks. The races here are always particular highlights and combined with huge challenges. That also applies to the Indianapolis 8 Hour that will certainly require a lot from our Performance and Customer Racing Teams again. However, we are starting boosted by our outstanding achievements at Bathurst and in the Spa 24-hour race. Of course, we want to continue our winning streak in IGTC. We will do everything to secure the manufacturers’ title in the Intercontinental GT Challenge at Indianapolis already.”
Stefan Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing: “In the Indianapolis 8 Hour, we are on the grid with eight cars in three classes. With this wide presence and our high quality in the driver line-up, we are in an excellent position to continue our winning streak in the 2022 IGTC on one hand and to bring the World Challenge trophy to Affalterbach for the fourth time on the other hand. Among the four endurance races of the 2022 IGTC season, Indianapolis is the shortest. Therefore, it is even more important to be there at the front right away. Our primary goal will be to make optimum use of the practice sessions and to secure good grid positions in qualifying. I am certain that we then can also bring home the results in the various classes we are hoping for in the race with the right tactics.”
Jules Gounon, driver, Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing #33: “Together with Mercedes-AMG, we have achieved a remarkable triple of wins in the last three IGTC races (9h Kyalami, 12h Bathurst, 24h Spa) and we will try to maintain this momentum for the IGTC endurance race at Indianapolis. The 8-hour race of Indianapolis is another major highlight on this year’s race calendar and at an iconic race track! Together with Russell Ward and Philip Ellis, we are a strong trio of drivers and I am very much looking forward to be racing for the great Winward team for the first time.”
Daniel Juncadella, driver, Mercedes-AMG Craft Bamboo Racing #77: “We are heading to Indianapolis with excitement and with ambitions to win. Raffaele and I already raced together at Spa and we are looking forward to an exciting race in which we want to make it to the front together with Daniel Morad. The circuit with its long straights always is a special challenge for every driver, especially in finding the best opportunities for overtaking.”
Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the 2022 Indianapolis 8 Hours:
4 – Pro-Am – Crowdstrike Racing (Riley Motorsports) – George Kurtz (USA), Colin Braun (USA), Ben Keating (USA)
6 – Pro – US Racetronics – Steven Aghakani (USA), Loris Spinelli (ITA), Tristan Vautier (FRA)
8 – Am – DXDT Racing – David Askew (USA), Scott Smithson (USA), Valentin Pierburg (GER)
33 – Pro – Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing – Russell Ward (USA), Philip Ellis (SUI), Jules Gounon (FRA)
39 – Pro-Am – Hero Life and Kids for Kids (Cameron Racing) – Chris Cagnazzi (USA), Guy Cosmo (USA), Shane Lewis (USA)
63 – Pro – DXDT Racing – Bryan Sellers (USA), Dirk Müller (GER), Patrick Assenheimer (GER)
75 – Pro-Am – SunEnergy1 Racing by AKKODIS ASP – Dominik Baumann (AUT), Kenny Habul (AUS), Martin Konrad (AUT)
77 – Pro – Mercedes-AMG Team Craft Bamboo Racing – Raffaele Marciello (SUI), Daniel Juncadella (ESP), Daniel Morad (CAN)