The first edition of the Indianapolis 8 Hour had mixed weather to scramble the field and a BMW show to never forget, as the second Intercontinental GT Challenge race of 2020 and final round of the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS had Walkenhorst Motorsport and Bimmerworld commanding the event at the temple of speed.
The whole weekend was spent looking at the sky as much as the track with the clouds covering the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and leaving in the air the possibility of rain. In the end, the raindrops came right at the green flag call while everybody was on slicks, which scrambled the choices between the field, with some cars pitting as early as the next lap possible while others opted to maximize track time despite being on slicks and slower, and the No. 7 K-PAX Bentley made the most out of it with Jordan Lee Pepper leading by 30 seconds.
The rain came so hard in the first 20 minutes of racing that a full course yellow had to be called due to the slippery track making things tricky for the No. 6 VitalSpeed Ferrari, which spun at the home straight, crashed in the outside wall and then stopped at Turn 1. After nearly 30 minutes behind the Safety Car the green was on again and the No. 75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes was going away while the rest of the field was fighting for position, only for the field to be neutralized again, and this was condition in which the first hour ended.
The green flag was back after the first pit window was done, and the No. 30 Honda was leading the way while dealing with a damp track and the constant threat of the No. 35 Walkenhorst BMW, and eventually they swapped places once traffic entered in the game. The track condition evolved to be damp at best, and thanks to the second pit window, Walkenhorst Motorsport kept the lead, but had the No. 34 BMW on it instead.
Dealing with strain in the rain tires as the track condition was changing was a challenge, and in the third hour it affected the No. 31 Hardpoint WRT Audi in the left rear, exactly the same corner in which the No. 93 Racers Edge Acura suffered its puncture. In the meantime, the No. 7 K-PAX Bentley that was in contention for the win was hit in the left rear corner by the No. 3 Motorsport USA McLaren GT4, and even though Jordan Lee Pepper tried to limp back to the pits, the bent wheel didn’t let it happen, bringing another Safety car intervention.
When the race got back to green the Walkenhorst duo was keeping a safe 1-2, which allowed them to have their particular battle, with the No. 35 BMW prevailing and getting first place. As the third hour ended, so it did the GT World Challenge America season, with the win of the No. 04 DXDT Mercedes, Shelby Blackstock and Trent Hindman officially becoming Silver Cup champions and Martin Fuentes winning the Pro-Am Cup title.
While the leading GT3 BMWs had a comfortable gap to the No. 30 Honda, the GT4 class was still on fire, with at least four cars exchanging blows for the top spot.Halfway into the fourth hour, the No. 30 Honda was able to break the Walkenhorst 1-2, sitting in second to challenge for a win with less pit stops than its opponents.
The No. 30 Honda was depending of a Safety Car at the right time to break the order and eventually be in contention for the win, but it never came in the right moment to unlap itself from the Walkenhorst BMWs, and the pace advantage was meager over the course of the final hours.
While BMW was more than set for an overall win, the GT4 class still had some sort of challenge for the crown as the No. 2 GMG Porsche GT4 was testing its luck against the No. 438 ST Racing BMW GT4 while the No. 82 Bimmerworld BMW GT4 was accommodated in first place. Robin Liddell had the pace to be a threat, but not to attack the No. 438, so the BMWs were commanding the class like it was during the whole race.
With no changes in the gaps during the final hour, the No. 30 Honda went from resistance to settling, as the car kept its third place intact while the Walkenhorst pair of BMWs cruised to the finish line, with the No. 34 car leading the No. 35 after exactly 300 laps and a bit more than 730 miles.
Indianapolis 8 Hour - Race results
The Pro-Am Cup winner was the No. 04 DXDT Mercedes, coming home fifth overall, while the No. 20 Wright Porsche came home sixth overall as the sole Silver Cup entry. The GT4 class was secure by the No. 82 BimmerWorld BMW while the No. 438 ST Racing BMW came in second.
The focus now changes towards the biggest event of the SRO calendar, the TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa, to be held on 24 and 25 October and with 25 hours of racing in a special occasion, as the European Daylight Saving Time changes exactly on race day.
PHOTO: SRO/Fabian Lagunas, Brian Cleary
Comments
Post a Comment
Do you have an opinion? Feel free to comment.