Hodenius Taking Indy 8H Opportunity “With Both Hands”

Lin Hodenius has described joining Lone Star Racing’s Pro lineup at the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS as a ‘learning experience he will take with both hands’ as he teams up with Mercedes-AMG factory drivers Jules Gounon and Maxime Martin for the Intercontinental GT Challenge season finale.

The Dutchman has been inserted into the lineup of the No. 80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo as the mandatory Silver-rated driver, with Lone Star fielding one of three IGTC Pro cars representing the Stuttgart manufacturer alongside GruppeM Racing.

Hodenius, who will be making his Indy 8H debut, is coming to the end of his maiden season in GT3 competition after transitioning away from junior single seaters.

After a debut with Team Motopark at the Michelin 24H Dubai at the start of the year, he joined Iron Lynx in the FIA World Endurance Championship as well as a one-off appearance in the Italian GT Championship.

More recently, he joined Lone Star in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rounds at Indianapolis and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

“For sure I’ve been doing very good,” Hodenius told Sportscar365. “My first year in GTs, you want to have a lot of driving, make a lot of meters, get used to the car.

“I can say that I know the Mercedes quite well right now. So it’s been going very good, working with different teams.

“Internally, I think it’s all been very good, learning different people. But it’s been an awesome journey so far. I really enjoyed it.”

Hodenius hinted he is relishing the opportunity to work as part of a Pro entry in Indianapolis, also pointing out that he has an existing working relationship with Martin as they share a car in WEC.

“It’s awesome to be in a Pro car,” he said. “Doing that in your first year, I think it’s something I can be proud of to be asked for. For sure it’s awesome.

“I think we made a great steps with Mercedes to get me in that position and I think it’s awesome working with them.

“Of course I worked with Maxime in WEC, which was great, but I think it’s very nice to have Jules with me as well. Seeing the two pros, you really see two worlds on how they experience the car.

“Of course, I go for the win massively. I try to play my role as best as possible, but it will also be a huge learning experience for me, which I will really take with both hands.”

Hodenius also spoke of the benefits of having integrated with Lone Star prior to the IGTC finale, describing it as a “very positive thing.”

“For sure, very good,” he said. “Of course, we have some European engineers, which are nice to work with. But of course, all the mechanics are all American. The head of the team is American.

“So it’s nice to learn how those people work here overseas, which I think was very nice and helpful over the Indy race.

“For sure it’s very, I think it’s a very positive thing to be with them already one race before you attack the eight-hour.”