The Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS and Intercontinental GT Challenge championships took over Indianapolis Motor Speedway for one final race on the 2024 season calendar. It was nothing short of action-packed, with all eight hours producing thrilling on-track entertainment as battles unfolded across the board. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, teams across the FGTWCA Pro, IGTC Pro, and Pro-Am classes gave it their all as they fought with all their might for one last shot at being crowned champions.
In the Global Manufacturers Championship, Porsche continues to lead the charge, with a total of 18,714 points keeping them at the top of the standings. Mercedes-AMG retained second place on the leaderboard, but the gap has grown slightly, now with 841 points separating them. Ferrari is still occupying third place, with an updated 14873 points, but Audi is now only a mere 25 points behind, having caught up significantly.
• IGTC Pro’s Team WRT were the overall winners of the Indy 8 Hour, as Dries Vanthoor, Sheldon Van Der Linde, and Charles Weerts claimed top honors with the No. 31 BMW M4 GT3. The class podium was further completed by Maro Engel, Mikael Grenier, and Jules Gounon in second place on board the No. 130 GruppeM Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, while the No. 4 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Alex Palou, Fabian Schiller, and Luca Stolz took home third.
• In FGTWCA Pro, it was Wright Motorsports’ Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer, and Laurin Heinrich who had the ultimate privilege of kissing the bricks as race winners. With only a 7-point advantage heading into the final round, they had to come out on top in order to take home the crown, and they accomplished their goal.
• DXDT Racing’s Alec Udell, Tommy Milner, and Alexander Sims crossed the finish line in third in the FGTWCA Pro class, which saw the team conclude their season as Vice Champions, an impressive feat after not running in the opening two rounds. Racers Edge Motorsports locked in third in the championship standings after Zach Veach, Luca Mars, and Gabby Chaves were the runner-ups in the Indy 8 Hour.
• Herberth Motorsport’s Antares Au, Loek Hartog, and Patric Niederhauser claimed the Pro-Am win in the No. 10 Porsche 992 GT3 R, while Turner Motorsport’s Justin Rothberg, Robby Foley, and Patrick Gallagher claimed a crucial second-place finish in the No. 29 BMW M4 GT3, and Regulator Racing’s Jeff Burton, Phillip Ellis, and Elias Seppanen claimed the final podium position in the No. 91 Mercedes-AMG GT3.
• The Pro-Am championship truly came down to the wire, with Turner Motorsport emerging victorious by a mere three points over ST Racing when it was all said and done after a very close season-long battle.
• Wright Motorsports’ Laurin Heinrich set the overall fastest lap of the race, with a time of 1:23.689 on lap 273. In IGTC Pro, this feat was accomplished by the No. 31 Team WRT BMW with a time of 1:23.724 on lap 166, while the No. 10 Herberth Motorsport Porsche was the quickest Pro-Am car with a time of 1:23.997 on lap 5. Additionally, they were the only Pro-Am competitors to break below the 1:24 mark.
• The SUPER FUEL Hard Charger award went to the No. 163 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, as Jay Schreibman, Oswaldo Negri, and Toni Vilander made up a total of 12 positions over the course of the race.
• The eight-hour endurance race saw a total of 320 laps completed around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, running from daylight into darkness to close out the 2024 championship season in style.