2021 Indianapolis 8 Hours
The 2021 Indianapolis 8 Hours was an endurance race held on 17 October 2021[1] at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, in Indiana, United States. The event was open to cars in GT classes, namely GT3 and GT4. It was the second running of the Indianapolis 8 Hours. It was also the second leg of the 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge and the seventh and final round of the 2021 GT World Challenge America. The GT World Challenge America results were determined by the race results after three hours instead of the full eight hours.
| Event Information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 2 of 3 in the 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge | ||||||||||||||
|  | ||||||||||||||
| Date | 17 October 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge | |||||||||||||
| Location | Speedway, Indiana, United States | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||
| 
 | ||||||||||||||
The race was run on the SCCA Runoffs layout, not the INDYCAR Grand Prix layout as was done the previous year, as it was made necessary as a result of kerbing damage in the Turn 5-6 chicane during the Verizon 200 NASCAR-INDYCAR meeting. The Runoffs course utilised the old Formula One course with the newer Snake Pit section. [2]
Class structure
    
Cars competed in the following two GT classes.
- GT3 Cars
- GT4 Cars
Entry List
    
Qualifying
    
    Qualifying results
    
Pole positions in each class are denoted in bold.
| Pos.[20][21] | Class | No. | Team | Qualifying | Pole Shootout | Grid | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GT3 Pro | 51 |  AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors | 1:34.916 | 1:33.456 | 1 | 
| 2 | GT3 Pro | 25 |  Audi Sport Team Saintéloc | 1:34.728 | 1:33.514 | 2 | 
| 3 | GT3 Pro | 99 |  Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing | 1:34.444 | 1:33.515 | 3 | 
| 4 | GT3 Pro | 71 |  AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors | 1:34.706 | 1:33.556 | 4 | 
| 5 | GT3 Pro | 32 | .svg.png.webp) Audi Sport Team WRT | 1:34.826 | 1:33.817 | 5 | 
| 6 | GT3 Pro | 37 | .svg.png.webp) Audi Sport Team WRT | 1:34.562 | 1:33.845 | 6 | 
| 7 | GT3 Silver | 33 |  Winward Racing | 1:35.168 | 1:34.013 | 7 | 
| 8 | GT3 Pro | 89 |  Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP | 1:34.942 | 1:34.130 | 8 | 
| 9 | GT3 Silver | 20 |  Wright Motorsports | 1:35.885 | 1:34.197 | 9 | 
| 10 | GT3 Pro/Am | 75 | .svg.png.webp) SunEnergy1 Racing | 1:35.791 | 1:34.232 | 10 | 
| 11 | GT3 Pro | 3 |  K-Pax Racing | 1:34.641 | 1:34.376 | 11 | 
| 12 | GT3 Silver | 26 |  Saintéloc Racing | 1:35.503 | 1:34.418 | 12 | 
| 13 | GT3 Silver | 93 |  Racers Edge Motorsports | 1:35.775 | 1:34.456 | 13 | 
| 14 | GT3 Pro | 6 |  K-Pax Racing | 1:35.664 | 1:34.903 | 14 | 
| 15 | GT3 Pro | 59 |  Crucial Motorsports | 1:34.730 | No Time | 15 | 
| 16 | GT3 Silver | 77 | .svg.png.webp) Richard Mille - Compass Racing | 1:36.045 | 16 | |
| 17 | GT3 Pro/Am | 70 |  Inception Racing with Optimum Motorsport | 1:36.152 | 17 | |
| 18 | GT3 Pro/Am | 19 |  CrowdStrike/ DXDT Racing | 1:36.395 | 18 | |
| 19 | GT3 Pro/Am | 34 |  GMG Racing | 1:36.523 | 19 | |
| 20 | GT3 Pro/Am | 88 |  Zelus Motorsports | 1:36.764 | 20 | |
| 21 | GT3 Pro/Am | 04 |  CrowdStrike/ DXDT Racing | 1:37.044 | 21 | |
| 22 | GT3 Pro/Am | 63 |  CrowdStrike/ DXDT Racing | 1:37.199 | 22 | |
| 23 | GT3 Pro/Am | 10 |  TR3 Racing | 1:37.218 | 23 | |
| 24 | GT3 Pro/Am | 91 |  Rearden Racing | 1:37.429 | 24 | |
| 25 | GT3 Am | 61 |  AF Corse | 1:37.537 | 25 | |
| 26 | GT3 Pro/Am | 16 |  EBM Giga Racing | 1:41.637 | 26 | |
| 27 | GT4 Am | 68 |  TGR Smooge Racing | 1:43.069 | 39[Q 1] | |
| 28 | GT4 Pro/Am | 2 |  GMG Racing | 1:43.516 | 27 | |
| 29 | GT4 Silver | 36 |  Bimmerworld Racing | 1:43.748 | 28 | |
| 30 | GT4 Pro/Am | 119 |  Stephen Cameron Racing | 1:44.093 | 29 | |
| 31 | GT4 Silver | 82 |  Bimmerworld Racing | 1:44.240 | 30 | |
| 32 | GT4 Pro/Am | 47 |  Nolasport | 1:44.252 | 31 | |
| 33 | GT4 Pro/Am | 8 |  GMG Racing | 1:44.414 | 32 | |
| 34 | GT4 Pro/Am | 98 |  Random Vandals Racing | 1:44.649 | 33 | |
| 35 | GT4 Silver | 111 |  Classic BMW | 1:44.651 | 34 | |
| 36 | GT4 Pro/Am | 66 |  TRG - The Racers Group | 1:44.740 | 35 | |
| 37 | GT4 Pro/Am | 54 |  Black Swan Racing | 1:44.859 | 36 | |
| 38 | GT4 Am | 7 |  Nolasport with OGH | 1:46.189 | 37 | |
| 39 | GT4 Am | 09 |  Automatic Racing | 1:44.608 | 38 | |
| 40 | GT3 Pro | 96 |  Turner Motorsport | No Time | WD[Q 2] | |
| 41 | GT3 Pro/Am | 12 |  Ian Lacy Racing with G3 Racing | No Time | WD[Q 3] | |
- The No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 has been stripped of its GT4 class pole following a overboost issue in Qualifying.[22]
- The No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 was withdrawn following Michael Dinan's sinkness in Pre-Qualifying.[23]
- The No. 12 Turner Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 was withdrawn following Frank Gannett's crash in Friday's Bronze Test Session.[23]
Race Result
    
Class winners denoted with bold and  .
.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team / Entrant | Drivers | Car | Laps | Time/Retired | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GT3 Pro | 25 |  Audi Sport Team Saintéloc |  Christopher Haase  Patric Niederhauser  Markus Winkelhock | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 265 | 8:00:59.768  | 
| 2 | GT3 Pro | 89 |  Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP |  Timur Boguslavskiy  Daniel Juncadella  Raffaele Marciello | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 265 | +11.958 | 
| 3 | GT3 Pro | 3 |  K-Pax Racing |  Mirko Bortolotti  Andrea Caldarelli  Jordan Pepper | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 265 | +22.853 | 
| 4 | GT3 Pro | 51 |  AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors |  Côme Ledogar  Nicklas Nielsen  Alessandro Pier Guidi | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | 265 | +49.508 | 
| 5 | GT3 Pro | 32 | .svg.png.webp) Audi Sport Team WRT |  Christopher Mies .svg.png.webp) Dries Vanthoor .svg.png.webp) Charles Weerts | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 265 | +51.655 | 
| 6 | GT3 Silver | 77 | .svg.png.webp) Richard Mille - Compass Racing |  Mario Farnbacher  Ashton Harrison  Matt McMurry | Acura NSX GT3 Evo | 265 | +59.815  | 
| 7 | GT3 Silver | 26 |  Saintéloc Racing | .svg.png.webp) Nicolas Baert  Lucas Légeret  Aurélien Panis | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 265 | +1:23.937 | 
| 8 | GT3 Silver | 93 |  Racers Edge Motorsports |  Jacob Abel  Dakota Dickerson  Taylor Hagler | Acura NSX GT3 Evo | 264 | +1 Lap | 
| 9 | GT3 Pro | 6 |  K-Pax Racing |  Corey Lewis  Marco Mapelli  Giovanni Venturini | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 264 | +1 Lap | 
| 10 | GT3 Pro-Am | 75 | .svg.png.webp) SunEnergy1 Racing | .svg.png.webp) Mikaël Grenier .svg.png.webp) Kenny Habul  Martin Konrad | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 261 | +4 Laps  | 
| 11 | GT3 Pro-Am | 34 |  GMG Racing |  Dennis Olsen  James Sofronas  Kyle Washington | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 261 | +4 Laps | 
| 12 | GT3 Pro | 37 | .svg.png.webp) Audi Sport Team WRT |  Mattia Drudi  Robin Frijns  Nico Müller | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 261 | +4 Laps | 
| 13 | GT3 Pro-Am | 10 |  TR3 Racing |  Giacomo Altoè  John Megrue  Bill Sweedler | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 259 | +6 Laps | 
| 14 | GT3 Pro-Am | 63 |  CrowdStrike/DXDT Racing |  David Askew  Ryan Dalziel  Scott Smithson | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 256 | +9 Laps | 
| 15 | GT3 Pro-Am | 70 |  Inception Racing with Optimum Motorsport |  Brendan Iribe  Kevin Madsen  Ollie Millroy | McLaren 720S GT3 | 255 | +10 Laps | 
| 16 | GT3 Am | 61 |  AF Corse |  Conrad Grunewald  Mark Kvamme  Jean-Claude Saada | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | 254 | +11 Laps  | 
| 17 | GT4 Silver | 36 |  Bimmerworld Racing |  Bill Auberlen  James Clay  Chandler Hull | BMW M4 GT4 | 247 | +18 Laps  | 
| 18 | GT4 Pro-Am | 119 |  Stephen Cameron Racing |  Guy Cosmo  Tom Dyer .svg.png.webp) Sean Quinlan | BMW M4 GT4 | 247 | +18 Laps  | 
| 19 | GT4 Pro-Am | 54 |  Black Swan Racing |  Jeroen Bleekemolen  Sebastiaan Bleekemolen  Tim Pappas | Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport | 247 | +18 Laps | 
| 20 | GT4 Silver | 82 |  Bimmerworld Racing |  Nick Galante  Devin Jones  James Walker | BMW M4 GT4 | 246 | +19 Laps | 
| 21 | GT4 Pro-Am | 66 |  TRG - The Racer's Group |  Derek DeBoer  Andy Lally  Spencer Pumpelly | Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport | 246 | +19 Laps | 
| 22 | GT4 Pro-Am | 8 |  GMG Racing |  Andy Lee  Joel Miller  Elias Sabo | Audi R8 LMS GT4 Evo | 244 | +21 Laps | 
| 23 | GT4 Silver | 111 |  Classic BMW |  John Capestro-DuBets .svg.png.webp) Alex Filsinger  Dominic Starkweather | BMW M4 GT4 | 223 | +42 Laps | 
| 24 | GT3 Pro-Am | 04 |  CrowdStrike/DXDT Racing |  Colin Braun  Ben Keating  George Kurtz | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 212 | +53 Laps | 
| 25 | GT4 Am | 09 |  Automatic Racing |  Jonathan Branam  Paul Kiebler  Mikel Miller | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 | 212 | +53 Laps  | 
| 26 | GT4 Am | 7 |  Nolasport with OGH |  Sean Gibbons  Pippa Mann  Sam Owens | Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport | 200 | +65 Laps | 
| 27 | GT4 Pro-Am | 47 |  Nolasport |  Jason Hart  Colin Noble  Matt Travis | Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport | 196 | +69 Laps | 
| NC | GT3 Pro | 99 |  Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing |  Maro Engel  Jules Gounon  Luca Stolz | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 243 | Retired | 
| NC | GT3 Pro | 59 |  Crucial Motorsports |  Ben Barnicoat  Robert Bell  Paul Holton | McLaren 720S GT3 | 242 | Retired | 
| NC | GT3 Pro | 71 |  AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors |  Antonio Fuoco  Callum Ilott  Davide Rigon | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | 237 | Retired | 
| NC | GT4 Pro-Am | 98 |  Random Vandals Racing |  Al Carter  Conor Daly  Paul Sparta | BMW M4 GT4 | 169 | Retired | 
| NC | GT3 Pro-Am | 16 |  EBM Giga Racing |  Nick Boulle  Adrian D'Silva .svg.png.webp) Jeffery Kingsley | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 144 | Retired | 
| NC | GT3 Silver | 20 |  Wright Motorsports | .svg.png.webp) Jan Heylen  Fred Poordad  Max Root | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 144 | Retired | 
| NC | GT4 Pro-Am | 2 |  GMG Racing |  Jason Bell  Andrew Davis  Trent Hindman | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 | 134 | Retired | 
| NC | GT4 Am | 68 |  TGR Smooge Racing |  Kevin Conway  John Geesbreght  Jack Hawksworth | Toyota GR Supra GT4 | 120 | Retired | 
| NC | GT3 Pro-Am | 91 |  Rearden Racing |  Jeff Burton  Vesko Kozarov | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 103 | Retired | 
| NC | GT3 Pro-Am | 19 |  CrowdStrike/DXDT Racing |  Michael Cooper  Thomas Merrill  Erin Vogel | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 62 | Retired | 
| NC | GT3 Silver | 33 |  Winward Racing |  Marvin Dienst  Philip Ellis  Russell Ward | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 62 | Retired | 
| NC | GT3 Pro-Am | 88 |  Zelus Motorsports |  Jason Harward  Madison Snow | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 100 | Retired | 
| Results | |||||||
References
    
- "Indianapolis 8 Hour Event Schedule".
- "Indianapolis Wednesday Notebook – Sportscar365".
- Dagys, John (October 7, 2021). "Keating, Smithson, Merrill Complete DXDT Lineups for Indy". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- Dagys, John (October 7, 2021). "Bortolotti, Mapelli Join K-PAX as FFF Withdraws Indy 8H Entry". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- Dagys, John (October 8, 2021). "Record 41 Entries for Indianapolis 8H". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
- Dagys, John (October 1, 2021). "WRT, Sainteloc Spearhead Audi's Four-Car Indy 8H Bid". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- "Sainteloc's Silver crew completes Audi Sport's Indy IGTC nominations". gt-world-challenge-america.com. SRO Motorsports Group. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- Dagys, John (4 October 2021). "AF Corse Commits to Indy, Kyalami with Factory Ferraris". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- "Spa winners Pier Guidi, Ledogar and Nielsen headline Ferrari's Indy 8 Hour assault". gt-world-challenge-america.com. SRO Motorsports Group. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- Dagys, John (6 October 2021). "McLaren Factory Drivers Set for Indy 8H Effort". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- "inception racing confirms Indianapolis 8 Hour entry". gt-world-challenge-america.com. SRO Motorsports Group. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
- Lloyd, Daniel (5 October 2021). "Compass Names Drivers for Indianapolis 8H Entry". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- Goodwin, Graham (4 October 2021). "AKKA ASP Enter AMG GT3 In Indy 8 Hours". dailysportscar. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- Dagys, John (11 October 2021). "AKKA-ASP Borrowing DXDT Mercedes Amid Freight Delays". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- Dagys, John (11 October 2021). "Juncadella to Replace Fraga in AKKA-ASP Mercedes for Indy 8H". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- "Craft-Bamboo to represent Mercedes-AMG at Indianapolis 8 Hour". gt-world-challenge-america.com. SRO Motorsports Group. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
- Dagys, John (11 October 2021). "Indianapolis Thursday Notebook". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- Dagys, John (5 October 2021). "Hawksworth Joins Smooge Toyota GR Supra GT4 for Indy 8H". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- "IndyCar star Daly joins RVR's Indianapolis GT4 entry". gt-world-challenge-america.com. SRO Motorsports Group. October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- "Qualifying: Craft-Bamboo Mercedes leads fastest 15 into Indy Pole Shootout". gt-world-challenge-america.com. SRO Motorsports Group. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- "Pier Guidi maintains stellar form to give AF Corse Ferrari pole at Indianapolis". gt-world-challenge-america.com. SRO Motorsports Group. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- Dagys, John (17 October 2021). "Smooge Toyota Supra GT4 Stripped of Indy 8H Class Pole". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- Dagys, John (16 October 2021). "Turner Withdraws BMW Entry Due to Dinan Illness". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
