- No. 80 Team Mercedes-AMG Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Co-Driven by Jules Gounon, Maxime Martin and Lin Hodenius in the Season-Ending Intercontinental GT Challenge Indianapolis 8 Hour October 16 - 18 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Second-Consecutive Year Lone Star Racing Competes as The First and Only United States Mercedes-AMG Performance Team in the Indianapolis 8 Hour
Team Mercedes-AMG Lone Star Racing returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) next month with another powerhouse driver lineup that includes three top international Mercedes-AMG drivers and the team's familiar blue and yellow No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) Indianapolis 8 Hour, October 16 - 18.
Lone Star Racing, this year with its international driving trio of Jules Gounon, Maxime Martin and Lin Hodenius, contests the IGTC event at the "Brickyard" for the fifth straight year and the second consecutive Indianapolis 8 Hour as a Mercedes-AMG Performance Team. The team made history last year as the first U.S. Mercedes-AMG Performance Team to compete in the 8 Hour IGTC race at the "Racing Capital of the World."
Lone Star once again proudly carries the official “Mercedes-AMG Team” designation at Indianapolis, where they have extensive and race-winning experience in the IGTC race. From 2021 through 2023, Lone Star provided the cars, technical support and all the necessary pitlane and paddock equipment for Hong Kong-based Team Mercedes-AMG Craft-Bamboo Racing. The highlight was an overall victory in 2022 and an outright runner-up finish the following year.
In last year's debut as a Mercedes-AMG Performance Team, superstar guest driver - and now four-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion - Alex Palou qualified the Lone Star entry second overall and first in the IGTC Pro category. Palou then joined Mercedes-AMG teammates Luca Stolz and Fabian Schiller in rebounding from early electrical issues to claim the final IGTC Pro podium position with a hard-earned third-place class finish.
“We are proud to return with a true Lone Star Racing effort to the Indianapolis 8 Hour for the second year as an AMG Performance Team," said Lone Star Racing Team Manager and Technical Director AJ Petersen. “This is a race we know well, and we are proud of our success, both in our first run as wholly operated Lone Star operation last year and in the earlier editions of the race as the main support for Craft-Bamboo. In that span, we have a combined record of an overall victory, overall second place and IGTC Pro finishes, an IGTC Pro third-place showing and the IGTC Pro pole each of the last two years. We want to thank Mercedes-AMG and our team owner and driver Dan Knox, a multiple race winner at Indianapolis himself, in collectively making this all possible."
Gounon returns to Lone Star after working with the team in the Craft-Bamboo supported races in 2021 and 2023. His co-drive to a second-place finish in 2023 helped Gounon secure that year's IGTC drivers championship. Similarly, Daniel Juncadella's championship-winning IGTC season in 2022 was bolstered by his Indy 8 Hour victory in that year's Lone Star-supported Craft-Bamboo entry.
"I'm very happy to be back with Lone Star Racing," Gounon said. "We were together in 2021 and fast but couldn't make it to the end because of contact. So, I am really looking forward to getting back with Lone Star and AJ Petersen, I really like the Texan team, they are really nice guys, and the car has always been very fast. I have really been fortunate to accomplish just about everything at Indianapolis. I have been on pole, maybe a fastest race lap and podiums in P3 and P2, but we still are going to win it and really hope that this year we will have a chance. We have a great lineup, a good team and a good car, so I really hope we can go for the win at the end."
Mercedes-AMG driver Martin debuts with Lone Star Racing at Indianapolis and has previous experience in IGTC Pro competition in the 8 Hour with another manufacturer the last two years.
"I am really looking forward to being able to compete again in the IGTC round at Indianapolis. It will be my first time with Mercedes-AMG, but we have a really strong team and strong driver lineup, so I really believe that we have a good chance and will be competitive. It is great to be part of it and be with Lone Star Racing. It will be the first time for me, but I have only heard really good things. Lin and I have done the whole WEC season together, so we know each other quite well and, for sure, it will help to be already on the same page because we know each other. It will also be my first time driving with Jules, and I am really looking forward to the race and working with the team."
Completing the driver lineup is 19-year-old Lin Hodenius, who is one of Martin's season-long co-drivers on the Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3LM team in the 2025 World Endurance Championship (WEC).
"I am excited to take this opportunity to drive next to the Pros and learn from them in the same car," Hodenius said. "Of course, I am with Maxime in the WEC, which is very nice, but now I have two Pros to work with, including Jules. I am excited to be driving with them and to learn from them. Maxime and I are good teammates together, and I am very happy that we will be together with Lone Star Racing for the Indianapolis 8 Hour."
It will be a quick return engagement at Indy for Hodenius and Lone Star Racing after a breakout performance just this past weekend in the six-hour IMSA race at the Brickyard. A convincing race-opening performance, which saw Hodenius lead the first 44 laps in his class for more than hour, remarkably came in his Lone Star Racing, IMSA and Indianapolis debuts. A loose rear wheel ultimately led to a disappointing retirement for the Lone Star No. 80 at mid-race, but the commanding opening performance showed a sign of things to come.
"Certainly, there is some unfinished business in Indianapolis," Hodenius said. "I want to finish what we started in the six-hour IMSA race, but every race is a new race. We always try to attack every race in the same manner as always and push and push to the finish."
The Intercontinental GT Challenge Indianapolis 8 Hour is scheduled to start at 12:20 p.m. EDT on Saturday, October 18, with the checkered flag falling eight hours later at 8:20 p.m. EDT. Live flag-to-flag coverage can be seen on the GT World YouTube channel.
About Lone Star Racing: Based at Motorsport Ranch within the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area in Cresson, Texas, Lone Star Racing is competing in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing/ACS Manufacturing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the 2024 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup in the GTD class. Lone Star Racing and its team members have won races across North America spanning sprint and endurance racing formats. The crew has worked together on many different teams and various types of cars, developing a strong bond and proven capability that gives them a competitive and winning advantage. Lone Star Racing competes with the support of primary partner ACS Manufacturing, Inc. (www.ACSManufacturing.com). Look for Lone Star Racing and team owner/driver Dan Knox on Facebook and follow the team on YouTube at Lone Star Racing, on Twitter and Instagram at @LSRTeam and on the official team web site at www.LoneStarRacingTeam.com.