27 Entries on Provisional Indy 8H Entry List

Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO

A total of 27 cars, the largest GT3 entry for an Intercontinental GT Challenge race on U.S. soil since 2021, are on the provisional entry list for next month’s Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS, which is set to feature several star-studded lineups.

Released by SRO Motorsports Group on Wednesday, the preliminary entry for the Oct. 18 enduro at Indianapolis Motor Speedway only lists teams, manufacturers and the class each entry has been registered in.

Team WRT, winners of last weekend’s IGTC Suzuka 1000km, headline the list with a pair of BMW M4 GT3 EVOs.

Sportscar365 understands that the Belgian squad’s two mandated Silver-rated drivers, required to compete in the unified Pro class this year, are set to be MotoGP legend-turned BMW factory driver Valentino Rossi, and Al Faisal Al Zubair, who competes with WRT in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS.

While not confirmed, BMW Motorsport boss Andreas Roos strongly hinted to Sportscar365 that Rossi could contest the race due to the new Silver requirement in the top class.

The remainder of WRT’s squad is likely to consist of BMW factory drivers who sit atop the IGTC points standings, including Kelvin van der Linde, Raffaele Marciello, Augusto Farfus and Charles Weerts, who are currently first through fourth in the drivers’ championship, respectively.

All of the above drivers except Weerts are mathematically eligible to win the IGTC drivers’ crown.

A total of five BMWs are entered, when counting the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS entries from Random Vandals Racing and a single Turner Motorsport entry.

Conor Daly will join GTWC America Pro class points leaders Kenton Koch and Connor De Phillippi in the No. 99 machine, with BMW factory ace Philipp Eng expected to complete the No. 51 car’s lineup alongside full-season drivers Bill Auberlen and Varun Choksey.

Turner’s Pro-Am-entered BMW, meanwhile, will require a Bronze or Silver-rated driver to join class points leaders Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg.

Porsche, which sits second in the IGTC manufacturers’ standings, will have a race-high seven cars in its arsenal, including the return of reigning GTWC America Pro class champions Wright Motorsports, which will field two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs.

Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer are expected to be in the Pro class Porsche alongside a factory driver, with IGTC Independent’s Cup co-points leader Antares Au heading up the second car, in Pro-Am.

Ralf Bohn, who is tied with Au following the Hong Kong driver’s Bronze Cup class win at Suzuka, meanwhile, will be in Herberth Motorsport’s Pro-Am effort alongside Robert and Alfred Renauer, with a second Herberth entry also due to take part in the class.

While Adrian D’Silva in Earl Bamber Motorsport’s Porsche, GTWC Pro class championship contenders RS1 could receive a Porsche-contracted pilot to join Jan Heylen and Alex Sedgwick in their Pro class GTWC America season-long entry.

The same is expected for the GMG Racing Porsche of Kyle Washington and Tom Sargent, which competes in Pro-Am.

While no longer in with a chance of winning the IGTC manufacturers’ championship, Mercedes-AMG also has seven entries for Indianapolis, led by Pro class entries from GruppeM Racing and Lone Star Racing, which will join GTWC Pro entrant JMF Motorsports in the top category.

Kenny Habul’s 75 Express outfit will race in Pro-Am with Habul, Yannick Mettler and Mercedes-AMG factory driver Adam Christodoulou, while CrowdStrike by Riley will return to the grid with George Kurtz, Colin Braun and a third, two-be-announced driver, also in Pro-Am.

GTWC America regulars Regulator Racing and CRP Racing round out the Mercedes-AMG contingent.

Ferrari, the fourth registered IGTC manufacturer, will utilize its full season GTWC America entries from AF Corse, one in Pro-Am and another in Am, the latter which is battling with Dollahite Racing for championship honors.

FIA World Endurance Championship driver Stefano Gattuso will rejoin the Dollahite lineup of Scott Dollahite and Eric Powell, with the third driver in the No. 163 Ferrari of Ozz Negri and Jay Schreibman yet to be announced.

In addition to the Ford, which is not eligible for IGTC points, the remainder of the field is completed by GTWC America regulars, including Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs from DXDT Racing and Chouest Povoledo Racing.

Heart of Racing Team and Racers Edge Motorsports, which will return to top-series competition for the first time since the third round of the season at Sebring International Raceway, will represent Aston Martin with the Vantage GT3 Evo.

Archangel Motorsports, meanwhile, will enter the sole McLaren 720S GT3 Evo in the field.

The 27-car entry surpasses last year’s grid by two entries, with the potential of last-minute additions.

A finalized entry list, featuring full driver lineups, is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

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