Marcus and Hampus Ericsson are certainly no strangers to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a venue that has played an integral role in both of their respective racing careers. While their paths have taken them to different paddocks, they now have the opportunity to share the same cockpit as they take on the DESDER Indianapolis 8 Hour in the No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO with Derek DeBoer.
Indianapolis is the site of one Marcus’ greatest achievements of his career. In 2022, he kissed the bricks in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, etching his name into the history books and one of motorsport’s most coveted lists as an Indianapolis 500 champion. Now he returns in a much different capacity, stepping outside the IndyCar world and challenging himself in unfamiliar machinery.
For Hampus, Indianapolis represents a culmination of a season of growth. He has found success at IMS in other series, further building his confidence and experience, but as he prepares to close out his debut season in GT World Challenge America competition, the young Swede views Indy as the perfect finale to showcase all of the building blocks that he and teammate DeBoer have laid.
“It’s been amazing,” Hampus said of his first season with Random Vandals Racing. “I think this year has been the biggest challenge, but also the best experience I’ve ever had, both in terms of growing as a person, but also as a driver.”
The 2026 season has been a learning experience for Hampus, who has worked alongside DeBoer while adapting to the BMW GT3 machinery and a new team environment, but Hampus believes the lessons learned throughout the year have put the No. 99 entry in a strong position heading into the final round.
“We haven't had the results we aimed for, but that’s racing sometimes,” he added. “I think we have good momentum coming to the finale here in Indy for the 8 Hour, especially with the guest driver. So hopefully our luck will turn this weekend.”
That guest driver, of course, is his older brother Marcus. The idea of bringing Marcus into the fold was hardly a last-minute decision, with the conversations beginning almost as soon as the season got underway.
“I would say we started discussing it right off the get-go at Sonoma,” Hampus shared. “We always knew we needed a third driver for Indy, and Marcus lives here, he’s raced here, he’s won here. It just made sense.”
There was also a more personal reason to make the opportunity happen. Hampus has spent much of his career carving his own path in motorsport, but Marcus has remained an important source of guidance and support along the way. Now, the younger Ericsson gets the chance to share a car with the person who has helped him navigate the professional racing world.
“I’m very, very excited to have him in the car,” Hampus said. “We’ll see where he’s at in GT3, but I’m sure he’ll be fast, so we’re in good hands.”
While the Andretti Global IndyCar driver has sampled GT3 machinery previously, the BMW presents a different challenge.
“Derek and I are still new to this car and to this team,” Hampus explained. “I think the key will be for all three of us to help each other and then just try to maximize everything we can get from each other. I’ve tried to explain as much as I can about the BMW to Marcus, but again, I’m still learning as well.”
“We’re really looking forward to getting all the help we can from both BMW and the engineers, but also from the driver coaches of the Random Vandals team,” Hampus continued. “We’re in good hands, so I’m very confident for the weekend.”
Hampus also arrives at the eight-hour race with the advantage of having competed at the venue just weeks prior, albeit in different machinery. However, it gives him a chance to build fresh references around a road course that can be difficult to master.
“I think I’ll start at a little bit of a head start from where I should have been without the race that I did a few weeks ago,” he revealed. “Also, looking at last year here in the eight hour, the BMW package was really strong, so now it’s just about the drivers squeezing everything out of it.”
Hampus was present for his brother’s Indy 500 triumph in 2022, and now four years later, his excitement is palpable as he eyes up the opportunity to create his own career highlight, with Marcus sitting alongside him in the same race car.
“It’ll be my biggest, coolest race of my career,” Hampus exclaimed. “I’m grateful for the team, for BMW, and to GT World Challenge America and Intercontinental GT Challenge. It’s going to be amazing.”
On the other hand, for Marcus, returning to IMS is all too familiar territory but the challenge will be far from what he has known.
“I’m very excited,” Marcus said. “It’s always special to drive here at IMS, and obviously for me, having won here in the 500, it’s always even more special if that’s possible. To be here this weekend racing at Indianapolis together and sharing a car is going to be super special. I’ve been helping Hampus throughout his career and trying to open doors with my connections, so to be doing this together and sharing a car is going to be a good challenge.”
Marcus has followed Hampus’ season closely, including attending the GT World Texas round at Circuit of The Americas and keeping up with the No. 99 entry throughout the year, and now gets to jump in for himself to close out the season at a venue that is very fitting within his repertoire.
“I’ve driven this track like a million times,” he joked. “But I’m going to have to reset some of those references that I have from an IndyCar to a GT car around here. I really enjoy those challenges where you have to reprogram yourself and learn something new. That’s one of the reasons why I want to do different kinds of racing and put myself in positions where I’m not super comfortable.”
Another IndyCar driver had a similar outlook, as five-time champion and 2025 Indianapolis 500 winner Alex Palou will also be competing in the Indianapolis 8 Hour, and the two have already been partaking in a little trash talk.
Marcus and Alex are competing in different classes and for different manufacturers, making a direct comparison difficult. Still, the opportunity to share the track with another IndyCar star adds another layer of intrigue to the weekend.
“Me and Alex, we were teammates back at Chip Ganassi Racing,” Marcus said. “He’s a good friend of mine, and obviously an amazing driver as he’s shown in IndyCar and other things as well. It will be fun to be out on track with him.”
There is, however, one question that inevitably follows Marcus back to Indianapolis. He has already won the Indianapolis 500, and he has already kissed the most famous bricks in the world, so what would it mean to do it again in a whole new way?
“A dream come true, for sure,” Marcus said. “We’re here to have fun and have a good weekend, but of course, always when you put the helmet on, you want to perform, and the ultimate goal is to win. We just have to be there in the fight and then execute well. The dream is to kiss the bricks on Saturday night.”
The Indianapolis 8 Hour could also prove to be more than simply an interesting detour for Marcus. After following GT World Challenge America throughout the season, as well as keeping an eye on the championship’s European counterpart, he has developed an appreciation for the level of competition in GT racing.
“It seems like a great global championship,” he shared. “Really good, fantastic racing really. I’m definitely excited to be here for myself, but also for my brother, to race in this series. It’s been very good for him. I would definitely be keen to do more of these races.”
Until then, the focus is firmly on Indianapolis. Hampus arrives looking to cap a season of development with the result he and Random Vandals have been chasing all year. Marcus arrives with a wealth of experience, a fresh GT3 perspective and the valuable asset of having thousands of laps completed at the venue already. Together with DeBoer, they will take on eight hours of racing against one of the strongest GT fields of the year.
When the sun sets over the Brickyard and the Ericsson brothers go racing into the night under the lights, they will have the opportunity to write a new chapter in a family racing story that has already brought them both to Indianapolis in very different ways.
This time, they will be doing it together.