Full-season entrants separated by 25 points
Güven heads list of drivers’ championship contenders

 
Intercontinental GT Challenge 2024 concludes this Saturday (October 5) at the Indianapolis 8 Hour Presented by AWS where all three full-season entrants – Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-AMG – can still win the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships.

The trio’s cars comprise 80% of the 25-strong entry list for an event that also doubles up as the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS season finale.

Porsche leads both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ standings but does not have a IGTC Pro line-up amongst its seven entries. BMW and Mercedes-AMG, on the other hand, both have two full strength factory crews at their disposal.

That will make things very difficult for co-championship leader Ayhancan Güven who is part of GMG Racing’s Pro-Am effort. 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, meanwhile, is aiming to follow in the recent footsteps of Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon by winning the championship for Mercedes-AMG.

There is one more mathematical but also absent contender: Laurens Vanthoor is tied with Güven after sharing Bathurst and Nürburgring victories. But he will only win the championship if Güven were to retire and the other title protagonists fail to overcome their starting deficits.

PORSCHE | 7x 911 GT3 R | MANUFACTURERS’ POINTS: 99

A mix of domestic and international teams represent Stuttgart at Indianapolis where Porsche could win its first Intercontinental crown since 2020.

As already mentioned, the manufacturer is without a full factory entry. But its seven 911 GT3 Rs do include two Fanatec GT America Pro combinations – which must feature at least one Silver-graded driver – that have the potential to fight for a top six finish or better if the BMW and Mercedes-AMG IGTC Pro cars trip up.

They could also bag pole position in the Shootout, just as Laurin Heinrich sensationally did in Huber’s Pro-Am entry last year. This time he returns with Wright Motorsports, while three more Porsche drivers – Patric Niederhauser, Bastian Buus and Güven – respectively join Herberth, EBM and GMG in the Pro-Am class.

Güven undoubtedly faces a tough challenge to maintain his drivers’ championship lead, but Porsche’s prospects of winning the manufacturers’ crown are a little better. Per IGTC’s rules, only the two best placed finishers per entrant score points on their manufacturer’s behalf. Porsche leads that classification by 16 points with 43 available for finishing first and second.

BMW | 7x M4 GT3 | MANUFACTURERS’ POINTS: 83

Last year’s Indy winners ultimately lost both championships to Mercedes-AMG. This season, it must overturn deficits in both standings if it’s to clinch a first and possibly second IGTC title since 2020. 

A glance at the entry list suggests BMW means business at the Brickyard where two full factory crews and three IGTC Pro cars head up its contingent of seven M4 GT3s.

Weerts spearheads its drivers’ title assault after scoring maximum IGTC points last time out at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. His seven-point deficit is also the same as the difference between finishing first and second, meaning a victory would guarantee him the championship based on a superior result at the finale.

The Belgian shares WRT’s #31 M4 GT3 with last year’s Indy winners Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor. They can no longer win the drivers’ title thanks to partnering their regular Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS co-driver.

BMW also has a second opportunity in the shape of Dan Harper and Max Hesse who lie fourth in the standings and 14 points behind Porsche’s leading duo. Both factory drivers compete with ROWE Racing in Fanatec GT Europe. But while the team surroundings might be changing this weekend, their usual Endurance Cup co-driver Augusto Farfus remains alongside them at the 8 Hour – an event he won en route to the IGTC drivers’ crown in 2020.

There’s also a third IGTC Pro entry courtesy of Random Vandals Racing who pair 2020 Indy winner and BMW factory driver Connor De Phillippi with IndyCar regular Conor Daly. 

Elsewhere, another of last year’s victors, Philipp Eng, partners fellow long-time works Pro Bill Auberlen in ST Racing’s Fanatec GT America Pro entry.

MERCEDES-AMG | 6x GT GT3 | MANUFACTURERS’ POINTS: 74

The defence of both IGTC titles has not gone entirely to plan for Mercedes-AMG in 2024 after it failed to win at Bathurst, Nürburgring or Spa. But it has previously won at the Brickyard and also finished two-three there last year before sealing the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles in Abu Dhabi.

A 25-point starting deficit and IGTC’s scoring system makes it highly difficult for Mercedes-AMG to retain its manufacturers’ title. Indeed, six of the seven Porsches have to retire for Affalterbach to have any chance.

Its hopes therefore predominantly rest with Stolz who’s joined in Lone Star Racing’s entry by Fabian Schiller and three-time reigning IndyCar champion Álex Palou. The Spaniard is making his first GT3 start outside of Japan this weekend so his performance will likely and understandably overshadow that of Mercedes-AMG’s two seasoned works drivers who know the car inside out.

Nevertheless, it’s Stolz – IGTC’s runner-up last year – who starts 17 points behind Güven and Vanthoor. Finishing any lower than second would therefore rule him out of this season’s title fight.

The other factory car, run by GruppeM Racing, features reigning champion Jules Gounon, Maro Engel and Mikael Grenier. The latter is 25 points shy of top spot so can therefore still tie with Güven and Vanthoor by winning at Indy. However, his sole victory would be trumped on countback by their first place finishes at Bathurst and Nürburgring.

Elsewhere, SunEnergy1 and Kenny Habul return to IGTC for the first time since finishing second overall at Bathurst.

INDEPENDENT CUP | 3x ENTRIES

All three Independent Cup entrants – Antares Au, Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Adrian D’Silva – make the trip to Indy.

Au starts 25 points ahead of Ibrahim but is not yet assured of the championship title. Indeed, a DNF for Herberth’s Porsche, which also features Loek Hartog and Niederhauser, would leave the door ajar for Triple Eight JMR whose Mercedes-AMG must win its class regardless. 

Ibrahim scored maximum points at Bathurst with Jordan Love, whom he partners again this weekend along with Arjun Maini, before Au claimed victories in Germany and Belgium. D’Silva, meanwhile, is yet to win but could still play a role in the championship battle if Au was to non-score.

Qualifying, Pole Shootout and the entire Indianapolis 8 Hour Presented by AWS is live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel this Friday and Saturday.

INDIANAPOLIS 8 HOUR PRESENTED BY AWS TIMETABLE
WEDNESDAY 2 OCTOBER
13:30 – 15:00: Test Session 1
16:10 – 17:40: Test Session 2

THURSDAY 3 OCTOBER
16:00 – 16:30: Bronze Test
18:45 – 20:15: Free Practice

FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER
10:45 – 12:15: Pre-Qualifying
15:05 – 15:20: Qualifying 1
15:27 – 15:42: Qualifying 2
15:50 – 16:05: Qualifying 3
17:35 – 17:50: Pole Shootout

SATURDAY 5 OCTOBER
12:15 – 20:15: Race