Mercedes-AMG wants to continue its winning streak in IGTC during the Indianapolis 8h.
28-09-2022 12:55 - MOTORSPORT
The Indianapolis 8 Hour have their third running this year. In 2021, Marciello and Juncadella managed to secure second place together with Timur Boguslavskiy. This year, the Mercedes-AMG teams are again prepared for the race in the best way. In total, eight Mercedes-AMG GT3s will be on the grid. Two of them, 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 support from Affalterbach. 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.
The two Performance cars of Mercedes-AMG Teams Winward racing and Craft Bamboo racing are competing in the Pro class, just like the cars of the US Racetronics team and the DXDT racing GT3 with starting number 63. The teams Crowdstrike racing, Hero Life and Kids for Kids 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. As a result, Mercedes-AMG teams are 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.
On Wednesday, 5th October, the teams already have the chance to prepare for the race in test sessions. On the following day, the Bronze test and free practice have been scheduled. After pre-qualifying on Friday morning, the three-part qualifying and the pole-shootout in the afternoon determine the starting grid order for the race. The race gets underway on Saturday, 8th October, at 12 noon local time (6pm CEST) and ends at 8pm local time (Sunday, 9th October, 2am CEST). The race is held on a track configuration of the #indianapolis Motor Speedway that also includes parts of the famous oval on which the legendary 500-mile race is run every year. The track owes its nickname “brickyard” to the historic track surface made of bricks, a small part of which at the finish line is still kept to this day.
On Wednesday, 5th October, the teams already have the chance to prepare for the race in test sessions. On the following day, the Bronze test and free practice have been scheduled. After pre-qualifying on Friday morning, the three-part qualifying and the pole-shootout in the afternoon determine the starting grid order for the race. The race gets underway on Saturday, 8th October, at 12 noon local time (6pm CEST) and ends at 8pm local time (Sunday, 9th October, 2am CEST). The race is held on a track configuration of the #indianapolis Motor Speedway that also includes parts of the famous oval on which the legendary 500-mile race is run every year. The track owes its nickname “brickyard” to the historic track surface made of bricks, a small part of which at the finish line is still kept to this day.