- BMW Leads the Pack in Pro
- Porsche Shows Perseverance in Pro-Am
- Ferrari at the Front in Am Class
The Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS reached its halfway mark under dramatic skies, as a nearly uninterrupted run of green-flag action in the opening four hours was halted just three minutes before the midpoint due to weather conditions and lightning in the area.
The first half of the race saw fierce battles across the board, unpredictable incidents, and strategic twists setting the stage for an intense closing four hours to finalize the 2025 championship season.
Heading into the second half, the No. 777 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Raffaele Marciello, Augusto Farfus, and Al Faisal Al Zubair leads in the Pro class, while the No. 21 Blattner Company by Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) of Dustin Blattner, Alfred Renauer, and Dennis Marschall is on top in Pro-Am. In the Am category, the No. 163 AF Corse USA Ferrari of Jay Schreibman, Oswaldo Negri, and Conrad Grunewald currently occupies first place.
Pro Class
The early stages were dominated by Lin Hodenius in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, who executed a perfect start to build an early lead of several seconds. Behind him, Kenton Koch made an equally impressive opening stint, propelling the No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 up to second overall.
Mikaël Grenier also made strong progress in the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, while Philipp Eng delivered one of the standout performances of the opening hours aboard the No. 51 Random Vandals Racing BMW. After starting ninth following a technical infraction, Eng sliced through the field to reach second overall within 35 minutes, overtaking the sister Random Vandals entry in the process.
Drama struck at the front when overall leader Hodenius made contact with the No. 61 Earl Bamber Motorsport Porsche 992 GT3 R, resulting in a drive-through penalty for the Lone Star driver. The EBM Porsche headed to pit lane for assessment, losing valuable time in the aftermath.
Following the penalty, Varun Choksey took over from Eng in the No. 51 Random Vandals BMW, emerging in the overall lead after the first round of pit stops. The battle for first intensified soon after, as Augusto Farfus in the No. 777 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 went door-to-door with Choksey in a thrilling exchange for top honors. Farfus ultimately prevailed, with Tom Kalender taking the opportunity in the No. 888 Mercedes-AMG Team GMR to sneak into second place.
The No. 51’s strong run was interrupted when it was forced behind the wall for repairs with 4 hours and 51 minutes remaining, although the crew managed to return the BMW to the track , albeit seven laps down.
There was further heartbreak in the Wright Motorsports camp, as the No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) of Adam Adelson sustained damage following contact with the Pro-Am No. 04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3. Despite a determined effort to repair the car, the Porsche was eventually retired with a broken steering rack after going behind the wall and losing multiple laps.
Pro-Am Class
The Pro-Am field saw its share of adversity and impressive comebacks. Ross Chouest’s race got off to a difficult start when a puncture forced his No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R into an early pit stop, dropping him several laps down.
The No. 16 AF Corse USA Ferrari also hit trouble after serving a penalty and making contact with a ROWE panel following an off-track excursion.
Meanwhile, Blake McDonald showcased tremendous pace in the No. 11 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R, climbing up to second in class after overtaking championship rival Justin Rothberg in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, with Rothberg slipping to fifth in the order after the opening 40 minutes.
A flurry of pit stops around the one-hour mark reshuffled the order, bringing McDonald into a spirited battle with Antares Au in the No. 10 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) and Alfred Renauer in the No. 21 Blattner Company by Herberth Motorsport Porsche for second place in class.
However, DXDT Racing’s promising run took a dramatic turn when the car failed to restart after its pit stop, forcing the crew to push it back up pit lane. After extensive repairs to fix a starter motor issue, the team returned to the track 22 laps down, determined to see the checkered flag.
Follow Along
Watch live on RACER TV, or tune in to SRO’s free live streams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #Indy8H.
Additionally, viewers can watch the brand-new multi-viewer streaming experience in partnership with Vbrick and GPX Stream. This innovative platform gives fans unprecedented control over their race day experience, allowing them to seamlessly switch between multiple live onboard streams in real time for GT World Challenge America powered by AWS while simultaneously accessing the live leaderboard, race broadcast, and Twitch chat.