No. 33 BMW to Start from Back of Grid After Engine Change

The No. 33 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 will start the Indianapolis 8 Hour powered by AWS from the back of the grid after a post-qualifying engine change.

Dan Harper had qualified eighth for the Intercontinental GT Challenge finale during Friday evening’s Pole Shootout session, setting a 1:23.499 that was 0.935 seconds down on polesitter Patric Niederhauser.

In a bulletin issued on Saturday morning, stewards outlined that they had approved a request from WRT to change the engine on the No. 33 car after qualifying.

As a result, Harper, Max Hesse and Augusto Farfus will start the eight-hour race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from the back of the grid.

Harper and Hesse are both in contention for the IGTC drivers’ title but will need to overcome a 14-point deficit to championship leader Ayhancan Guven.

BMW, meanwhile, will seek to overturn a 16-point gap to Porsche in order to claim its first manufacturers’ title.

The Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS is scheduled to start at 12:15 p.m. EDT.