> BimmerWorld and ST Racing M4 GT3s also confirmed
Team WRT will spearhead BMW’s attack on the Indianapolis 8 Hour Presented by AWS next weekend after its M4 GT3s and two full factory crews were confirmed for round four of this season’s Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli campaign.
BMW was the inaugural Indy 8 Hour winner in 2020 and leads the IGTC manufacturers’ championship by nine points ahead of the globe-trotting GT3 series’ North American leg.
But Philipp Eng, Augusto Farfus and Maxime Martin are also in drivers’ title contention with two races left to run. And to that end BMW has doubled its chances by splitting them across its Belgian squad’s two entries.
CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa winner Eng lies tied-second in the standings, 15 points behind Jules Gounon. He’s joined in the #30 entry by Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde whose own IGTC championship chances were severely dented with retirement last time out.
Their Spa co-driver, Charles Weerts, moves across to the car shared by Farfus and Martin who are five points behind Eng and 20 off the lead. Realistically, they must beat Gounon at Indy to have any chance in IGTC’s season finale at the Gulf 12 Hours on December 8-10.
Two more M4s feature on this year’s Indy entry list, and both are Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS regulars.
BimmerWorld’s Chandler Hull and Bill Auberlen are currently third in their domestic standings and will be joined at Indy by Robby Foley. A Pro entry, this has the potential to challenge for overall honours against the international factory crews.
ST Racing, meanwhile, will be more concerned with Fanatec GT America and Indy Pro-Am honours. And to that end they can count on BMW factory ace Neil Verhagen who partners Samantha Tan and Jake Walker.
Each registered manufacturer is permitted to nominate up to four IGTC points-scoring cars, three of which can feature Pro crews. It’s therefore reasonable to assume that both BimmerWorld and ST will feature on the IGTC entry list when it’s confirmed next Monday.