O’Young: Mercedes-AMGs Were ‘Never in Range’ to BMWs

Craft-Bamboo Racing team director Darryl O’Young expressed frustration at the gap between Mercedes-AMG and race winner BMW at the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS, saying the former was “never in any sort of range.”

Team WRT dominated the penultimate round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli season, earning BMW’s third consecutive victory in the series.

The second-placed Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo driven by Maximilian Goetz, Jules Gounon and Raffaele Marciello finished 53 seconds behind the No. 30 BMW M4 GT3, which rebounded from a drive-through penalty.

O’Young felt the Balance of Performance played a role in the difference between the two German manufacturers.

SRO Motorsports Group issued each car’s BoP values ahead of the Indy 8H event and did not make any adjustments after official track sessions started on Thursday.

“Today, I’m actually super disappointed about the race because it wasn’t a race,” O’Young told Sportscar365.

“We drove around. We were never in any sort of range towards the BMWs. Clearly, pace was hidden and they used the pace today and they controlled it. It was not a race.

“It was not even a maximum push. The last thing I’d like to do is talk about BoP but today was not even a race. It was not even close. We’re not talking tenths.

“It’s disappointing to come all this way and drive around.”

O’Young added that the No. 77 Mercedes-AMG, which had been provided by American team Lone Star Racing, was “running perfect” for Craft-Bamboo throughout the race.

Its only hiccup was a loose splitter that caused Marciello to come under pressure from Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing driver Luca Stolz in the closing stages.

“When you combine the two AMGs, you have six of the best AMG drivers here,” said O’Young.

“They didn’t forget how to drive Indianapolis. For sure the BMWs did a good job. The cars ran reliably, and the drivers are all good.

“But today wasn’t about BMW or about AMG. It was about the BoP and whoever came out on top.”

Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM driver Maro Engel, who finished third, noted that the 53-second winning margin would likely have been larger without the No. 30 BMW incurring a drive-through penalty for Dries Vanthoor exceeding his maximum stint time.

“From our side, we put together the cleanest race we could,” Engel told Sportscar365.

“I think it was obvious we didn’t have the tools or the pace to fight the BMWs today. So to come away with a P2 and a P3 is definitely great for us.

“If you add the drive-through that the winners had, they basically put a lap on us within six hours.

“P2 and P3 we’re very happy with that today and the maximum we could have achieved.

“What we saw today was very much what we saw yesterday in Pre-Qualifying in the long runs. I don’t feel like there was a real difference today. If anything, qualifying was very surprising.”

WRT: Tire Temperatures Key to Race-long Pace

Team WRT sporting director Kurt Mollekens reckoned the differentiating factor in the race, and why BMW turned its form around after qualifying fourth and sixth, was its ability to maintain a sweet spot in terms of tire temperature.

The race took place in cold and clear conditions which also usually favor the BMWs because the cooler, denser air enhances the efficiency of their turbocharged engines.

“In qualifying, with the couple of laps we had because we maybe didn’t fuel enough, we would have improved further with another one or two laps in that pole shootout,” Mollekens told Sportscar365.

“Why we were so quick here is the tire temperatures. If we can keep them cool at a normal operating range, we are fine. That’s the big advantage here and why we were so competitive.

“We were just under it in that shootout because it wasn’t long enough. We need four, five or six laps to build it up.”

Mollekens estimated that the BMWs were “lacking three-tenths” in qualifying.

“In race pace, it was much better,” he said. “We focused from session one on race pace and we were very strong at that.

“When we could get those tires in that operating window, it did wonders for the drivers.”

John Dagys contributed to this report