Tom Sargent has had a busy year leading up to the season finale at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Australian talent, who pilots the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R in the Pro-Am class of GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, is preparing for another shot at one of the most prestigious races on the global calendar: the Indy 8 Hour.
In addition to his American campaigns, he has taken a couple of trips abroad competing in GT World Challenge Europe, driving the No. 120 Porsche 992 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports at marquee rounds. Alongside Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer—the reigning GT World Challenge America Pro class champions—Sargent tackled both the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa and the 3 Hours of the Nürburgring, gaining invaluable experience against some of the best GT drivers in the world.
“It's cool going from one of the most famous European circuits to one of the most famous circuits in the USA,” Sargent reflected. “That’s really cool. That’s a dream come true just for me to start with.”
For Sargent, competing in the Indy 8 Hour is still a pinch-me moment. He vividly remembers his first time driving in the event and being struck by the caliber of the grid.
“During my first Indy 8 Hour, I remember going there and looking at the driver names who were on the entry list and being super impressed,” he recalled. “These are people I've watched forever—whether they're from the USA, Europe, or Australia even— and I've always wanted to compete against them. I obviously then went on to compete against some of them in Europe this year, and then they will come over here and I get to race against them all again.”
“To see a lot of these drivers go back to the USA is super cool,” he added. “I get to see where they race all year round, what they’re able to develop. Hopefully I can bring some of that back with me for the end of the year at the Indy 8 Hour.”
Sargent views his European adventures as the perfect preparation for the final round. Racing at Spa and the Nürburgring forced him to adapt quickly, and he believes those lessons will pay dividends in Indianapolis.
“Competing at Spa and the Nürburgring was a little bit different for me, it was something that I had to get used to,” Sargent admitted. “The good part is they’re both run with the Intercontinental GT Challenge components, so that’s really cool. These events in Europe are a good lead up for me where I get to gain some good experience. I’m going to be racing with the same sort of teams and drivers and hopefully this has all been a good lead-in for me come the end of the year.”
Though shorter in duration than Spa’s 24-hour marathon, the Indy 8 Hour holds a unique weight as the final round of the season. Championships often come down to the wire in Indianapolis, with double points on the line creating big swings on the leaderboard at the end of it all.
“It’s a very important event,” stated Sargent. “The series comes to a head there at the end of the year, so it really comes down to the line for all the drivers and teams that are competing.”