Indy 8H Set to Revert to Single Pro Class

Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO

October’s Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS is set to revert to a single Pro class with a Silver-rated driver mandate after running the last two editions with two different top categories according to separate Intercontinental GT Challenge and GT World Challenge America powered by AWS rules.

The joint IGTC/GTWC America season finale will operate with a three-class structure, exclusively again made up of GT3 machinery, but mirroring that of the domestic SRO America-run championship.

Both the 2023 and 2024 editions featured a dedicated IGTC Pro class with no driver rating restrictions, alongside the GTWC America Pro class, which has mandated a Silver driver in each lineup.

BMW Team WRT won both editions with all-Gold and Platinum-rated drivers, while Craft-Bamboo Racing took top overall honors in 2022 with then-Silver-rated driver Daniel Morad as part of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo team’s lineup.

The change to a single Pro class, where the maximum driver lineup will be Platinum/Platinum/Silver, is understood to have been made to help avoid confusion and also allow GTWC America teams to have an equal chance of overall honors.

Then-full-time GTWC America entrant Wright Motorsports, featuring Silver driver Adam Adelson and then-Silver Elliott Skeer and Porsche-contracted pilot Laurin Heinrich, nearly pulled off the overall win last year if for not a five-second post-race penalty for a pit lane infringement.

While the draft regulations for the sixth edition of the race has yet to be released, it’s understood that IGTC-only competitors will be invisible in the GTWC America classification, although all IGTC-nominated cars will be eligible to score points for the globe-trotting GT3 series.

The maximum driver lineup in Pro-Am will be Platinum/Silver/Bronze, while the Am class will mandate all Bronze drivers.

SRO America has also confirmed that that tire warmers will be banned, which also falls in line with this year’s GTWC America regulations.

While a provisional entry list has yet to be released, Sportscar365 understands that the event has already registered more cars than last year’s 25-car enduro.

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