At the halfway point in the Indianapolis 8-Hour presented by AWS, the leaders have settled into a race rhythm. In the IGTC PRO Class the No. 31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Augusto Farfus leads and is the overall leader. The FGTWC PRO Class leader is the No. 45 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R of Jan Heylen. The No. 04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 is the PRO-AM Class leader thanks to a determined Colin Braun.
It took two turns for the action to heat up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On Lap 1 in the IGTC PRO Class, the No. 30 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 jumped from third place to first overall. The No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsport Acura NSX took the unceremonious act of being the first to spin, which in turn made the No. 85 Rearden Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R the first team to receive a drive-through penalty for causing an incident. The No. 21 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 became the first, and thus far only, car to go back to the garage for repairs. The team quickly returned to the race within the first hour.
In the second hour, the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX found the No. 85 Rearden Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R again on track. This time it was the Racers Edge Motorsport Acura that received the penalty for contact. The first caution of the race came with six and a half hours remaining. The 91 DXDT Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Jeff Burton came to a stop on track due to loss of power. The caution packed up the field, but it was ultimately the myriad of pit stops that brought position changes throughout the three classes.
Hour three unveiled an Achilles heel to race teams and endurance racing. Multiple pit stops went under review to ensure proper procedures took place. This included the No. 27 TR3 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT who, under the command of Kenton Koch, had pushed forward eight positions in the PRO-AM Class. The No. 27 TR3 Mercedes-AMG had to change the transponder; however, the team did so while fueling. For the pit lane infraction, the team served a drive-through penalty.
The most dramatic moment of the race came with a penalty served by the No. 30 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 for a drive time infraction. The team served a drive-through penalty after leading the entirety of the race up to that moment. The lead was then handed over to the No. 31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3. However, the No. 31 Team WRT BMW would suffer a slow puncture and be forced to pit early handing the overall lead and IGTC PRO Class lead to the No. 77 Mercedes-AMG Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. The Mercedes-AMG Craft-Bamboo Racing team was the highest qualifying car in the class but lost the lead in Turn 2. Its leading laps were the first time a manufacturer other than BMW led the race.
The race continues to march on into the night. Sunset will be at 7:17 p.m., giving drivers nearly an exact hour of night racing. To watch the race live click here for the live stream or join the conversation with host Ash Vandelay on Twitch.