Palou Aiming to Support Stolz, Mercedes-AMG’s IGTC Title Bid

Photo: Joe Skibinski/IMS

Alex Palou said he’s hoping to help support Luca Stolz in his Intercontinental GT Challenge title bid, which could also put Mercedes-AMG in a position to overthrow Porsche in the manufacturers’ championship in this weekend’s Desder Indianapolis 8 Hour.

The five-time NTT IndyCar Series champion is making his second Indy 8 Hour start in the last three years, rejoining Lone Star Racing’s factory-supported Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo entry that sees FIA Silver-rated driver Lin Hodenius as the third pilot.

Palou, who impressed in his IGTC and GT World Challenge America powered by AWS debut at Indianapolis in 2024, was unable to translate the pace of the car into a top result after the car was struck with intermittent electrical issues.

“I was not able to do [the race] last year but I’m super excited,” Palou told Sportscar365. “It’s my ‘home’ race let’s say. It was a fun race [in 2024]. We had some good performance but didn’t end up where we wanted.”

When asked if he feels like he has some unfinished business in the race, Palou said “for sure.”

He added: “Let’s see if we could fight for the win.”

Palou, who made his debut in the Mercedes-AMG in the 2024 event, admitted it didn’t take much adaptation considering his previous GT3 experience in SUPER GT in a McLaren 720S GT3, which came in 2019.

“It was pretty easy,” he said. “There’s always stuff you can learn from each car, which is why I do it as well.

“It was good. I did some GT3 stuff [before] but in a different car. But at the end of the day, it’s the speed and stuff. It was not a tough adaptation.”

While Mercedes-AMG holds an outside chance of claiming the IGTC manufacturers’ crown, as the German brand enters the race 38 points behind Porsche, Palou’s co-driver Luca Stolz sits second in the drivers’ championship and is the top-placed driver competing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend.

This is because current IGTC points leader Maro Engel is absent for his second consecutive race due to clashing DTM commitments.

However, Stolz just holds a single-point advantage over fellow Mercedes-AMG factory driver Maxime Martin, who has been added to JMF Motorsports’ entry, which is also in the Pro class.

“I’ll just be doing whatever they tell me to do,” said Palou. “I enter there as an extra driver just to be there to help.

“I just don’t want to create any chaos for these championship.”

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