Great joy for BMW M Motorsport: In a true heart-stopping finale, Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, and Charles Weerts triumphed at the Indianapolis 8 Hour. At the finish, the trio in the #31 BMW M4 GT3 from Team WRT had a lead of 0.260 seconds over second place. This secured BMW M works driver Weerts the Drivers' Title at the season finale of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. In the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley in the #29 BMW M4 GT3 from Turner Motorsport grabbed the title in the Pro-Am class.
The foundation was laid at the start: In just a few corners, van der Linde brought the #31 BMW M4 GT3, in the design of Premium Technology Partner Shell, from fourth to second place. After the first driver change, Weerts took the lead at the Motorsport Speedway, which would last for a long time. At times, the trio from Team WRT was half a minute ahead of the rest of the field.
However, several safety car phases nullified the lead for van der Linde, Vanthoor, and Weerts, shuffled the field, and ensured a real thriller in the final phase: Vanthoor was in second place during the last hour of the race - within striking distance of the leading Porsche, which had to build a five-second lead due to a time penalty. In the end, it was enough for the #31 BMW M4 GT3: 0.260 seconds made the difference for the celebrated victory. With this, Team WRT defended its triumph from the previous year: in 2023, van der Linde and Vanthoor, together with Philipp Eng, had won in Indianapolis. With the victory, Weerts secured the title in the IGTC drivers' championship. Previously, he had already stood on the podium as third at the 24h Nürburgring and the 24h Spa-Francorchamps.
The sister car, however, was plagued by bad luck in the USA: Due to an engine change after qualifying, the #33 BMW M4 GT3 driven by Augusto Farfus, Dan Harper, and Max Hesse had to start from last place. Harper provided excitement in the early phase and worked his way up from 23rd to sixth place in his first stint. At times, the trio from Team WRT was even on course for a podium. But due to a defect in the rear diffuser, the #33 BMW M4 GT3 fell back and eventually had to retire from the race almost an hour before the end.
The #99 BMW M4 GT3 with BMW M works driver Connor de Phillippi from Random Vandals Racing, which also started in the IGTC Pro category, fell out of the race for the podium after a strong start due to technical defects.
In the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, which also had its season finale at the Indianapolis 8 Hour, Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley celebrated the title in the Pro-Am class. Alongside Patrick Gallagher, they took second place in the Pro-Am class in the #29 BMW M4 GT3 from Turner Motorsport, securing the title in a heart-stopping finale. In the end, they prevailed by just one point over their manufacturer colleagues – benefiting from the misfortune of Neil Verhagen and Samantha Tan, who had led into the season finale. Early in the race, the #38 BMW M4 GT3 from ST Racing, driven by John Capestro-Dubets, suffered a technical defect that threw the trio too far back.
The sister car, the #28 BMW M4 GT3 with BMW M works driver Eng, finished fifth in the Pro category. The #8 BMW M4 GT3 from Team Flying Lizard Motorsports, with BMW M works driver Nick Yelloly at the wheel, finished ninth in the Pro-Am category after a technical issue.
That was a tight one. Of course it is an exptional victory. It is our first victory in IGTC this year. I am very happy for the guys and for Charles for winning the championship.
Driver statements.
Charles Weerts (Team WRT, #31 BMW M4 GT3, Driver’s Champion): “I am super happy to win the championship. And to so with the victory here is incredible. The Porsche is really fast but we did a faultless race. And I am very proud to win the championship for myself, but also for BMW M Motorsport. Such a success is thanks to an amazing job by the teams and to my different teammates, who supported me to that title. A huge thank you to everyone involved. And thank you to BMW M Motorsport for providing us with an amazing car and an amazing team. I am very happy for that.”
Max Hesse (Team WRT, #33 BMW M4 GT3, DNF): "We were unlucky that our car arrived late because the container was affected by a strike. So we started the weekend on the back foot. But we fought our way through well. After our solid qualifying, we changed the engine and had to start from the very back. However, we had a very good pace, were in the top three after two hours, and fought for second place the entire time. Unfortunately, with two hours remaining, we had a technical defect and therefore couldn't support BMW M Motorsport in winning the manufacturer's title. That hurts a lot, especially for the team, who worked night shifts to get the car ready. They did a great job. Thanks to the team."
Robby Foley (Turner Motorsport, #29 BMW M4 GT3, Pro-Am-Champion): “It is an amazing day for everybody at Turner and BMW M Motorsport. We had a great car all day. We knew we had to stay in the race and stay consistent. A great result for the team. Thanks to Justin for having me this year and for being an amazing teammate.”
Samantha Tan (ST Racing, #38 BMW M4 GT3, P19): „We came into the race with a big lead. We knew, we just had to keep it clean and finish the race. We came prepared and gave it our all. We had a great first stint and then it all fell down when we ran into some issues. The guys worked as fast as they could. And then we went out and kept pushing: I mean it is not over until it is over. We had great pitstops and stellar runs by Neil and JCD but then we had the issue again. But we kept going until the end. Unfortunately, we finished one point behind the championship leader. But overall we can keep our heads high. We have had such an incredible season. I know we can be proud of what we achieved and how much we progressed over the season.“