22 Cars on Provisional Entry List for Indy 8H

Photo: John Dagys

A total of 22 cars are on the provisional entry list for next month’s Indianapolis 8 Hour, with GT4 cars now confirmed to race alongside a reduced grid of GT3 machinery.

Released by SRO Motorsports Group on Thursday, the entry list features a mix of U.S. and European efforts, including full-season GT World Challenge America powered by AWS competitors that will close out their season during the race.

Full-season IGTC competitors Team Honda Racing, Walkenhorst Motorsport and SunEnergy1 Racing have committed alongside a contingent of U.S.-based GT3 machinery.

Notable absences include GruppeM Racing and  Orange 1 FFF Racing Team, which had both been planning full-season campaigns along with Aston Martin entrant Garage 59.

Lamborghini and Aston Martin are the only points-scoring manufacturers not shown.

Honda’s factory Acura NSX GT3 Evo will feature Mario Farnbacher, Dane Cameron and Renger van der Zande as drivers, while Walkenhorst will enter its second BMW M6 GT3 for the first time this season after logistics issues forced the No. 35 car out of the season-opening Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

Augusto Farfus and Nick Catsburg are expected to be joined by an American BMW factory driver in the No. 34 entry, with Martin Tomczyk, Nick Yelolly and David Pittard set to drive the second BMW.

SunEnergy1 is one of three Mercedes-AMG GT3s entered, joining the GTWC America DXDT Racing entries, which will all compete for Pro-Am class honors.

Should another entry not materialize, it would be the first time in series’ history that Mercedes-AMG will not have a factory-supported car fighting for overall honors.

Audi, which does not have a presence in GTWC America, has only a single Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo entered with a to-be-announced team and driver lineup.

It would mark the three-time championship-winning manufacturer’s smallest IGTC program to date, on a weekend that sees a clashing ADAC GT Masters round severely impacting the German manufacturers in particular.

Black Swan Racing is set to join Wright Motorsports with Porsche 911 GT3 R entries, both in GT3 Pro-Am, while occasional GTWC America entrant Vital Speed will run its Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo in the Overall class, featuring Ryan Briscoe in the lineup.

Racers Edge Motorsports and Squada Corse, two other GTWC America teams, complete the 13-car GT3 field, with to-be-announced third drivers.

According to a SRO America representative, all GTWC America competitors will run for the full eight-hour duration, despite only the first three hours of the race counting towards points.

GT4 America Entrants to Boost Field

Nine GT4 cars are set to give the race a significant boost, with Pirelli GT4 America teams joining the overall grid for the Oct. 4 enduro.

It includes a pair of Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport entries from GMG Racing, a TRG and BGB Motorsports Porsche apiece, BMWs M4 GT4s from ST Racing, Classic BMW and CGR Team TFB, as well as an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 fielded by RS1.R

The GT4 America Sprint and SprintX seasons will also come to a close at Indianapolis, with separate races planned alongside the season finale for TC America and GT Sports Club. 

The NTT IndyCar Series will also be part of the event for its Harvest GP weekend on the 13-turn, 2.439-mile oval/road course.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John