The 2024 Intercontinental GT Challenge season concludes on Saturday, October 5 with the Indianapolis 8 Hours, where all three full season entrants – Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-AMG – can still win the constructors’ and drivers’ championships.
The trio’s cars represent 80 percent of the 25-entry field for an event that also serves as the GT World Challenge America season finale.
Porsche leads the manufacturers’ and drivers’ rankings, but does not have a 911 PRO among its seven entered cars. BMW and Mercedes-AMG, however, both have two full crews at their disposal.
This will make things very difficult for Ayhançan Güven, who is part of GMG Racing’s PRO-AM team. The Turk is seven points ahead of Charles Weerts, whose BMW colleagues and fellow title contenders Dan Harper and Max Hesse share WRT’s other M4 GT3. Luca Stolz, however, aims to follow in the recent footsteps of Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon as the representative of Mercedes-AMG.
There is another competitor mathematically in contention, but absent: Laurens Vanthoor is tied with Güven after sharing victories at Bathurst and the Nürburgring. But the Belgian will only win the title if Güven retires and the other protagonists fail to close the gap.
PORSCHE: 7 911 GT3 R, 99 Points
A mix of national and international teams represents Stuttgart in Indianapolis, where Porsche could capture its first Intercontinental crown since 2020.
As already mentioned, the manufacturer does not have a complete official team. But its seven 911 GT3 Rs include two GTWC America PRO lineups – with at least one Silver driver – that have the potential to challenge for a top-six finish or better if the IGTC BMWs and Mercedes-AMG PROs have trouble .
They could also take pole position in the Shootout, just as Laurin Heinrich did in Huber’s Pro-Am car last year. This time the German will return with Wright Motorsports, while three other Porsche drivers – Patric Niederhauser, Bastian Buus and Güven – join Herberth, EBM and GMG respectively in the Pro-Am class.
Güven undoubtedly has a difficult challenge to maintain the leadership of the drivers’ championship, but Porsche’s prospects of winning the constructors’ crown are slightly better. Under IGTC rules, only the top two finishes per participant earn points on behalf of their manufacturer. Porsche leads this classification with 16 points and 43 available for first and second place.
#45 Wright Motorsports Porsche GT3 R 992: Madison Snow, Jan Heylen, Trent Hindman
Photo by: SRO
BMW: 7 M4 GT3, 83 points
Last year’s Indy winners lost both championships to Mercedes-AMG. This season, the Bavarian manufacturer must overturn deficits in both classifications if it wants to win its first and perhaps second IGTC title since 2020.
A look at the entry list shows that BMW intends to get serious at the Brickyard, where two full crews and three PRO cars lead the battalion of seven M4 GT3s.
Weerts leads the charge on the drivers’ title after taking maximum IGTC points last time out at the 24 Hours of Spa. His seven-point deficit is equal to the difference between first and second place, meaning a win would guarantee him the championship.
The Belgian shares WRT’s #31 M4 GT3 with last year’s Indy winners Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor, who can no longer win the drivers’ title by teaming with their colleague.
BMW also has a second opportunity, represented by Dan Harper and Max Hesse, who find themselves in fourth place in the standings, 14 points behind the leading Porsche duo. Both factory drivers compete with Rowe Racing in GTWC Europe, where they have Augusto Farfus as their partner, ready to remain by their side at Indy, an event he won en route to the IGTC drivers’ crown in 2020.
There’s also a third IGTC Pro entry with Random Vandals Racing, pairing 2020 Indy winner and BMW works driver Connor De Phillippi with IndyCar star, Conor Daly.
Also present was another of last year’s winners, Philipp Eng, paired with long-time colleague Bill Auberlen in the ST Racing M4.
Vincitore della gara #30 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3: Philipp Eng, Dries Vanthoor Sheldon van der Linde
Photo by: SRO
MERCEDES: 6 AMG GT3, 74 POINTS
The defense of both IGTC titles was not entirely successful for Mercedes-AMG in 2024, after it failed to win at Bathurst, Nürburgring or Spa. However, the German manufacturer has already won at the Brickyard and finished second three times last year before taking the drivers’ and constructors’ titles in Abu Dhabi.
The 25 starting point deficit and the IGTC points system make it very difficult for Mercedes-AMG to retain the constructors’ title. In fact, six of the seven Porsches have to retire for Affalterbach to have any chance.
His hopes are therefore pinned primarily on Stolz, who is joined by Fabian Schiller and three-time reigning IndyCar champion Álex Palou. The Spaniard is making his first GT3 start outside Japan this weekend, so his exit will be tougher than that of the two experienced Mercedes-AMG drivers who know the car inside out.
However, Stolz – last year’s IGTC runner-up – starts 17 points behind Güven and Vanthoor. A finish lower than second place would exclude him from the fight for this season’s title.
The other official car, managed by GruppeM Racing, is made up of reigning champion Jules Gounon, Maro Engel and Mikael Grenier. The latter is 25 points away from first place and can therefore still draw with Güven and Vanthoor by winning in Indy. However, its only victory would be nullified by the tally of their first places at Bathurst and the Nürburgring.
Also present were SunEnergy1 and Kenny Habul, returning to the IGTC for the first time after second place in Bathurst.
#77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: Maximilian Götz, Jules Gounon, Raffaele Marciello
Photo by: SRO
INDEPENDENT CUP
All three Independent Cup participants – Antares Au, Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Adrian D’Silva – will be in Indy.
Au starts with a 25 point lead over Ibrahim, but is not yet sure of the championship title. Indeed, a retirement for Herberth’s Porsche, which also includes Loek Hartog and Niederhauser, would leave the door open for Triple Eight JMR, whose Mercedes-AMG must win its class regardless.
Ibrahim took maximum points at Bathurst with Jordan Love, who he partners with Arjun Maini again this weekend, before Au claimed wins in Germany and Belgium. D’Silva, on the other hand, hasn’t won yet, but could still play a role in the championship fight if Au fails to score points.
THE PROGRAM
In Indianapolis we start running on Wednesday with the first tests, while the race will take place on Saturday: taking into account the 6 hour time difference that separates us from Indiana, let’s see what all the Italian times are for the event.
Wednesday 2 October
19:30 – 21:00: Test 1
22:10 – 23:40: Test 2
Thursday 3 October
22:00 – 22;30: Bronze Test
Friday 4 October
00.45 – 1.15: Free Practice
4.45pm – 6.15pm: Pre-Qualifying
9.05pm – 9.20pm: Qualifying 1
9.27pm – 9.42pm: Qualifying 2
9.50pm – 10.05pm: Qualifying 3
23:35 – 23:50: Pole Shootout
Saturday 5 October
18:15: Gara (8h)
