Indianapolis Wednesday Notebook

Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO

***A total of 25 GT3 cars are set for Saturday’s Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS, which will close out both the Intercontinental GT Challenge and GT World Challenge America powered by AWS seasons. The entry is down by two from the initial list of 27 following the withdrawals of the No. 2 Racers Edge Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo and No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

***While Jason Bell will still race this weekend in his Racers Edge Aston, which has been entered again in GT America powered by AWS competition, the Nick Short-led CRP squad is absent altogether due to damage from its car in the most recent GTWC America race at Barber Motorsport Park.

***That incident initially led Philip Ellis receiving four behavioral warning points for causing a collision, although the significant sanction on the Mercedes-AMG factory driver was later rescinded by the stewards one day after the event.

***Eight GT3 manufacturers are set to do battle in Saturday’s sixth edition of the Indy enduro, with an example from all brands except the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo having assembled for a group photo on the yard of bricks (pictured above) on Wednesday.

***Team WRT and drivers Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts are fresh off securing the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS overall team and drivers’ championships in last weekend’s Endurance Cup season finale at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It came just a month after the BMW factory duo also won the Sprint Cup title.

***Van der Linde heads into the weekend with a five-point lead over Raffaele Marciello in the IGTC drivers’ championship, with both factory stars having been split up in separate WRT entries this weekend after sharing the winning car in last month’s Suzuka 1000km, as well as the Nürburgring 24 in June.

***BMW drivers occupy the top four positions in the IGTC driver standings, although defending champion Weerts, who sits fourth, will be unable to defend his title as the Belgian is paired up with van der Linde again this weekend, alongside Valentino Rossi, in the No. 46 BMW.

***Augusto Farfus, who is third in the title race, is similarly teamed up with Marciello in WRT’s No. 777 car, which is numbered after Omani driver Al Faisal Al Zubair, who normally competes with the team in GTWC Europe.

***A maximum of 25 driver points are up for grabs in IGTC competition this weekend, with a up to 43 points for the manufacturers’ championship, which currently sees BMW hold a 18-point advantage over defending champions Porsche. BMW is seeking its first IGTC crown.

***Porsche holds the numerical advantage this weekend, with seven 911 GT3 Rs entered across the three classes, compared to five M4 GT3 EVOs, although only the two overall highest-placed finishers per brand will score points for the manufacturer. Both Mercedes-AMG and Ferrari, the two other registered IGTC brands, are already mathematically ruled out of the manufacturers’ title.

***Four drivers: Ralf Bohn (Herberth Motorsport), Antares Au (Wright Motorsports), Kenny Habul (75 Express) and Adrian D’Silva (Earl Bamber Motorsport) are registered to score IGTC Independent Cup points this weekend, with Bohn and Au tied for the class points lead.

***Habul, however, has moved his SunEnergy1-sponsored Mercedes-AMG entry from Pro-Am to Pro, bringing in two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Will Power and Australian Supercars ace Chaz Mostert in the process, in an effort to increase his chances of winning a record fifth IGTC class title.

***The Bronze-rated U.S.-based Australian is only six points behind Bohn and Au, who will be in Pro-Am class Porsches this weekend. Habul utilized a similar strategy by running in the Pro class at the season-opening Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour in February, where he, Jules Gounon and Luca Stolz finished third overall. Unlike previous years, there is no rule limiting IGTC Independent Cup entries to a specific class.

***Power, who is set for his GT3 racing debut, is tied with Michael Schumacher for the most wins of any driver in a top-level series at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The Australian has claimed five IndyCar wins on the circuit (2015, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2024), the same number of wins Schumacher has in the Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005).

***This weekend will not be the IndyCar veteran’s first sports car race, as Power took part in the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hours at the wheel of a Porsche 996 GT3 RS with co-drivers Des Wall, Paul Freestone and James Koundouris. The car failed to finish the race. “It was one of the only times there was a Bathurst 24 Hour race,” he told Sportscar365. “It was awesome. I really enjoyed it. But obviously a long time ago.”

***Turner Motorsport driver Justin Rothberg, who could clinch his first GT America title in Friday’s opening race of the weekend and currently also leads the GTWC America Pro-Am standings with Robby Foley, is fresh off making his stock car racing debut, finishing 17th in the ARCA Menards Series season finale at the Toledo Speedway earlier this month.

***Will Turner indicated to Sportscar365 that Rothberg could make additional starts outside of SRO America competition during the winter months ahead of a planned step up to the GTWC America Pro class next year.

***Foley and Rothberg, who won the 2024 Pro-Am title, currently hold a 19-point lead over DXDT Racing’s Matt Bell and Blake McDonald heading into the double points-paying GTWC America season finale, which means a maximum of 50 points are up for grabs.

***IGTC or one-off entries that began their campaigns at the last GTWC America round at Barber will not be eligible to scoring points in the domestic championship and will be invisible in the ranking for the championship according to a SRO America spokesperson.

***DXDT will be fighting for a GTWC America title for the second consecutive year this weekend, having come up short in the Pro class championship last year to Wright Motorsports despite an eight-race class win streak for Tommy Milner and Alec Udell, who is joining Bell and McDonald in their Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R this weekend. “We expected to be in the fight, and we’re in it,” said Bell. “It’s nice for that part of the story to have gone well. Now we need to finish it out.”

***Corvette Racing factory ace Nicky Catsburg, meanwhile, has been added to the lineup of the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette this weekend, marking the Dutchman’s third consecutive IGTC race with three different teams. Catsburg was in CrowdStrike by SPS Pro-Am class Mercedes-AMG at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa before scoring an overall podium finish at Suzuka in the No. 99 Team JMR Corvette.

***Catsburg said: “I’ve tested already this year with the Chouest Povoledo Racing team. The test and their Corvette felt good. The Pirelli tire was a new tire for me compared to IMSA so let’s see. I’m looking forward to it, and I think it’s going to be good fun. I’m looking forward to working with those guys, get to know them a little better and see how I can help them out. It should be a good time.”

***Jenson Sofronas has been suspended from competing in this weekend’s Toyota GR Cup North America season finale after being determined by the stewards for “unsportsmanlike” conduct with Ethan Tovo following Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park. Sofronas, the 14-year-old son of GMG Racing team owner/driver James, additionally received a $10,000 suspended penalty provided no further unsportsmanlike conduct is observed.

***Thursday’s track action includes a second test session for Indy 8H competitors followed by Free Practice, which will be run as a night session. Additionally, the first race of the weekend, McLaren Trophy America, is set for a 2:05 p.m. EST start time with live coverage on SRO’s GT World and McLaren Automotive’s YouTube channels.

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