Regulator Racing Ready for Indianapolis 8 Hour as Elias Seppänen Joins

Regulator Racing Ready for Indianapolis 8 Hour as Elias Seppänen Joins

The season-long lineup of Jeff Burton and Philip Ellis will be bolstered this weekend by the addition of up-and-comer Elias Seppänen as Regulator Racing tackles the toughest challenge of the season: The Indianapolis 8 Hour powered by AWS. Together, Burton and Ellis have captured two Pro-Am class victories in Fanatec GT World Challenge America this season, including one overall win at Virginia International Raceway. Seppänen, who has forged his own winning pedigree in Europe over recent years, is a natural fit as the Burton Lumber Mercedes-AMG GT3 lineup expands to three drivers.

Seppänen, a 20-year-old from Helsinki, Finland, has quickly made a name for himself in the world of GT racing. After making the transition from single-seat racing in 2022, Seppänen piloted Team Landgraf’s Mercedes-AMG to the ADAC GT Masters championship in 2023 with co-driver Salman Owega. Their win, which included 4 wins and 6 podiums, made them the youngest title-winning driver pairing in series history. Seppänen is on track to repeat that feat in 2024, leading the championship with two races to go.

“I’m super excited to be joining Regulator Racing for the Indianapolis 8 Hour!” said Seppänen. It will be my first race in America, and to do it at a track like Indianapolis is great. I can’t wait to meet the whole team and give my best for a good result!”

Ellis is hoping for continued success at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. The Swiss driver was called up last-minute to compete in the GS class of IMSA’s Michelin Pilot Challenge race two weeks ago, where he proceeded to drive through the field to a second-place finish in the Mercedes-AMG GT4.

He’ll be back in GT3 action when the team takes to the track on Wednesday and Thursday for testing, before getting into the meat of the weekend with qualifying on Friday. The green flag for the Indianapolis 8 Hour will fly at 12:15 ET on Saturday. You can watch all the action for free at YouTube.com/GTWorld and you can follow along with us on Instagram at @RegulatorRacing.