Vital Speed, Andretti Autosport Team Up for Indy 8H Entry

Photo: Ryan Briscoe Instagram

Vital Speed Motorsports will team up with Andretti Autosport to field a Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 in the Indianapolis 8 Hour, it has been announced.

Ryan Briscoe, Jeff Westphal and Jarett Andretti will pilot the Pro class entry in the U.S. leg of the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli, which will also close out the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS season on Oct. 7-9.

The newly formed partnership, which recently tested at Sonoma Raceway, will blend the “best of the two winning teams” with a “combined engineering effort” according to a statement from Andretti Autosport.

It will mark Jarett Andretti’s return to SRO America competition after winning the Pirelli GT4 America Silver Cup title in 2020.

The 29-year-old will fulfill the event’s requirement of having a Silver-rated driver in each lineup in the Pro class.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Vital Speed Motorsports, their partners at SiFT Discovery, Ryan and Jeff for the 8 Hour endurance race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said Andretti.

“IMS is a special place for myself, my family and my team at Andretti Autosport. I am excited to compete there again and hopefully bring the team another win.”

Both Westphal and Briscoe were part of Vital Speed’s 2020 effort in the Indy 8 Hour.

“I am really excited to be back for Vital Speed, now with Andretti Autosport,” said Westphal. “The partnership should make the on track performance better as the depth of knowledge is integrated into both entities.

“Having Ryan and Jarett alongside me is fantastic as we head into this highly contested, highly competitive, Intercontinental GT round with manufacturer-based entries from around the sports car world.

“I will share my expertise with the 488 GT3 Evo to my teammates, the ins and outs of all the electronic and mechanical settings in an effort to make our team as strong as possible.”

Briscoe added: “This is a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved here and I’m super proud to be returning with Vital Speed with their new Andretti Autosport partnership.

“Jarett and Jeff are top level drivers and I believe we will have everything we need to succeed.”

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