> Result: Qualifying
Craft-Bamboo’s Maximilian Goetz, Raffaele Marciello and Jules Gounon topped qualifying for this year’s Indianapolis 8 Hour by setting the fastest average time across three 15-minute sessions this afternoon.
Nine other entries, including the Huber Motorsport Porsche that recorded the quickest individual time of all courtesy of Laurin Heinrich, join last year’s winning Mercedes-AMG in tonight’s top-10 Pole Shootout, which will also feature nine Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli nominated entries.
They include both factory Mercedes-AMGs and WRT BMWs which filled the top-four places, Wright Motorsport and Huber’s Porsches, the M4s of BimmerWorld and ST Racing, and Sky Temesta’s Ferrari after the latter made it through at DXDT’s expense by just 0.017s.
RS1’s Porsche was the only top-10 finisher not nominated to score IGTC points.
Craft-Bamboo only topped Q2 but was second in the first and last segments to wind up 0.126s clear of GruppeM’s entry on the final combined times.
Maro Engel initially beat Goetz by 0.066s but his early advantage was then overturned with interest by Marciello. Nevertheless, last year’s 8 Hour winner was made to work for Q2 spoils by the impressive Ben Tuck and TRG’s Aston Martin.
Gounon then added the finishing touches despite missing out on the fastest time of all to Heinrich who actually set two laps quick enough for individual top spot.
His Huber Porsche, which also features IGTC Independent Cup title challenger Antares Au, finished as the best placed Pro-Am entry in seventh but now becomes a legitimate pole contender when it takes to the track tonight. The same 911 GT3 R has already scored an unlikely Intercontinental pole position this year, at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in late June.
Tonight’s 15-minute Pole Shootout begins at 18:45 EDT (GMT -4). Watch it live on GT World YouTube and SRO Motorsports Twitch channels.