Weekend Recap: Audi Wins Indianapolis 8 Hour; SRO America Seasons Wrap Up
Catch up on busy weekend of sports car racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway...
Patric Niederhauser took Audi Sport Team Sainteloc to victory in a controversial Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS, following multiple late-race incidents and questionable calls in race control.
Audi, meanwhile, came four points away from clinching the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli manufacturer’s title with one race remaining in the global GT3 series.
The Swiss driver took his No. 25 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo to a 11.958-second win over the No. 89 AKKA-ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Raffaele Marciello after a drive-through penalty for the No. 32 Team WRT Audi of Dries Vanthoor for failure to follow instructions from race control.
Vanthoor emerged as the overall leader after making a fuel-only final pit stop following an accident for the then-leading No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of Callum Ilott, who slammed into a GT4 car after attempting an outside move into Turn 1.
Another full course caution was called moments after the restart for the second-placed No. 99 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes of Jules Gounon, who collided with the No. 59 Crucial Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 of Ben Barnicoat, ending both teams’ days.
Niederhauser shared top honors with Christopher Haase and Markus Winkelhock, marking the French squad’s first major GT3 victory since the 2017 TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa.
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Compass Acura Wins GTWC America Portion of Indy 8H
The No. 77 Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo of Ashton Harrison and Matt McMurry have won the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS portion of the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS.
The Pro-Am class entry completed the three-hour mark ahead of the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura duo of Taylor Hagler and Dakota Dickerson.
Harrison, in her GT3 race debut, completed the opening stint in the Compass Acura before handing over to McMurry for a single stint, prior to the HPD GT3 Academy driver climbing back behind the wheel of the entry.
She finished 40 seconds clear of the Racers Edge Acura.
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Conquest West Sweeps GT4 America Weekend
A late charge by Michai Stephens sealed Conquest Racing West’s fourth consecutive overall victory in Friday’s Pirelli GT4 America season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Stephens drove from third to first in the No. 35 Mercedes-AMG GT4 to make the ultimate pass for the win with two minutes to go around the No. 59 WR Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 of Paul Terry.
He stretched out to a 2.447-second win in the 60-minute contest, sharing the winning Mercedes with co-driver Colin Mullan.
The WR Aston came home second on the road in the hands of Terry, who inherited a 15-second lead from Aston Martin junior Valentin Hasse-Clot, who dominated the first half of the race from pole.
It was, however, stripped of its Pro-Am class win one day later due to a technical infringement.
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Iribe Dominates GT America Races at Indy
Brendan Iribe has swept the GT America powered by AWS weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with misfortune for Sean Quinlan helping give Jason Bell the GT4 class championship in Saturday’s season finale.
Iribe took his No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 to a 29.940-second win over the No. 101 TKO Motorsports Bentley Continental GT3 of Memo Gidley in another dominant run.
GT3 champion-elect Charlie Luck finished third overall and took another Masters class win in his No. 45 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R ahead of Jeff Burton in the No. 91 Rearden Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo.
Kyle Washington completed the top-five in his No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche after an early race battle with Jason Harward until Harward spun his No. 88 Zelus Motorsport Lamborghini on Lap 3.
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