Palou Joins Lone Star Racing for Indy 8H Return

NTT IndyCar Series star Alex Palou will contest next month’s Desder Indianapolis 8 Hour for Lone Star Racing, as Mercedes-AMG revealed its full driver lineups for the final round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge and GT World Challenge America powered by AWS seasons.

Palou, who won his fifth IndyCar title this year, will be making his second IGTC outing following on from his previous Indy 8H outing in 2024 for the same team.

The Spaniard will share the No. 80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with FIA World Endurance Championship regular Lin Hodenius and factory driver Luca Stolz for the Oct. 8-10 event.

“The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a special place for me, and I am excited to be returning for another shot at the Indianapolis 8 Hour with Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing,” commented Palou.

“I have some unfinished business from my 2024 GT3 outing, so I am really happy to reunite with the team to have another opportunity to aim for the race win.

“I always love the atmosphere and the fans there, and I look forward to having an exciting race to finish the 2026 season with hopefully another memorable trophy.”

The Lone Star car is one of two Pro class entries being fielded by Mercedes-AMG for the IGTC curtain-closer, the other being the GTWC America Pro points-leading No. 34 JMF Motorsports entry that will be shared by Maxime Martin, Mikael Grenier and Michai Stephens.

Stolz and Martin go into the finale split by just a point in the IGTC drivers’ standings, having finished fifth together in the Suzuka 1000km earlier this month, with both well-placed to overhaul Maro Engel, who is again absent due to a DTM clash.

A fourth-place finish for Martin or a fifth for Stolz would be enough to guarantee that the title goes to a Mercedes-AMG driver even if the best-placed of the brand’s rival drivers who will be present, Porsche’s Laurin Heinrich, wins the race.

Mercedes-AMG is also aiming to overhaul Porsche in the race for the manufacturers’ title, but faces a daunting 38-point deficit.

“We’re heading into the season finale of the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the GT World Challenge America in a solid position,” said Head of Mercedes-AMG customer racing Stefan Wendl.

“In Indianapolis, we want to put in another strong performance and reward ourselves with titles in both series.

“We have a fantastic line-up, to which we’ve once again been able to add five-time IndyCar champion Álex Palou this year – he’ll strengthen our team with his pace and his wealth of experience on this circuit.”

As well as its Pro car, JMF also has a Pro-Am entry for Philip Ellis, Wyatt Brichacek and Jason Daskalos, which is one of three Mercedes-AMGs in the class alongside TR3 Racing, which has already revealed its lineup, and GetSpeed Team PCX Racing.

Sharing driving duties for the latter team will be Jordan Boisson, Patrick Charlaix and Marvin Klein.

Finally, MAD Joker Racing will enter a Mercedes-AMG in the Am division for two of TF Sport’s WEC regulars, Peter Dempsey and Ben Keating, plus Marc Austin.