Indy 8H: Friday Paddock Notes
Thursday was a rainy day in Indianapolis, but this morning is bright and filled with sunshine.
Here’s a catchup of what’s gone on in the last 24 hours ahead of Saturday’s Indianapolis 8 Hour powered by AWS.
DXDT’s Askew aims for Spring 2024 launch of new Corvettes
David Askew, owner and founder of DXDT Racing, spoke with DSC about the team’s upcoming new Corvette Racing customer programme in the 2024 GT World Challenge America series.
In response to a question about the team announcing a “partial season” in 2024 with the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs, Askew clarified that his team will still run a full season, but that the new cars themselves won’t arrive until after the first round, and DXDT will start 2024 with its existing Mercedes-AMG GT3s.
“We don’t get the cars until April, so we’ll start testing right away,” Askew said to DSC on Thursday afternoon. “Next year, it’s going to be partial with the Corvette because we’re not gonna get them until the third race, so we’re gonna have to start in the Mercedes and then transition to the Corvette, in order to be in the points.
“I’m envisioning our first race will probably be COTA.”
Askew, who is an avid Corvette enthusiast at heart, said that his interest began from the moment Corvette Racing first announced its intention to enter the GT3 customer racing space at the Daytona 24 Hours – and had committed to the new Corvette programme “around July”.
Rain disrupts Thursday’s on-track action
Thursday afternoon rain showers resulted in limited running for the Indy 8 Hour teams, especially when considering that the forecast for the remainder of the weekend will be sunny – there was little to no incentive to risk an accident in poor weather that would not be representative of the conditions on race day.
Only ten cars took to the track during the 90-minute night-time Free Practice, and only eight set representative times on wet tyres. The two Team WRT BMW M4 GT3s led the session with Maxime Martin in the #31 leading Dries Vanthoor in the #30. Mario Farnbacher was third-fastest aboard the #93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3.
The preceding Paid Bronze Test Session was even quieter. Only one car, the #535 Sky Tempesta Racing Ferrari 488 GT3, did so much as an installation lap before retreating to the garage.
The afternoon practice sessions in the Pirelli GT4 America and GT America powered by AWS series were cancelled because of the rain – though both series were able to run in the morning when the track was still dry.
In brief, the Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4s finished 1-2 in GT4 America Practice 1, led by Michael Cooper in the #2 ahead of Andy Lee in the #8.
Adam Adelson, Dan Knox, and GT4 championship contender Robb Holland led their respective classes in GT America Practice 1.
In that same session, the #04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 of George Kurtz was hit by the #13 Flying Lizard Aston Martin Vantage GT4 of Todd Parriott just one corner into their respective out laps.
The damage to Kurtz’s car forced the CrowdStrike/Riley team to change to a backup car for the rest of the GT America weekend. This does not impact the team’s Indy 8H efforts and pursuit of the GT World Challenge America Pro-Am title. Parriott’s #13 Aston Martin did not return for the rest of the day.
Weather forecast
The good news is that conditions will be excellent for the rest of the weekend, with temperatures only expected to reach as high as 20°C today, and ~15°C on race day, with cross winds blowing east to west up to nine m/s.
Cool temperatures and breezy conditions can be expected at the #Indy8H. Showers are possible Friday night, but are unlikely to impact the on-track activity. Details at https://t.co/yVkUW42dwk @IntercontGTC @gtworldcham @GT4America @GTxREPORT @GTendurance_ @PitlaneParley pic.twitter.com/YV2vnNase9
— Racecast Weather (@RacecastWx) October 5, 2023
Clerical notes
The minimum pit stop time for the Indianapolis 8 Hour Race is 112 seconds, with no “joker” stops allowed.
Any team that goes more than one second under the minimum time will receive a drive-through penalty or an equivalent 68-second post-race time penalty.
Any team that goes less than one second under the minimum time will have that margin of time multiplied by five, and that product of time will be added to the minimum time of the following pit stop for that car.
It’s worth noting some of the BoP changes since last year’s Indy 8 Hour. The Mercedes-AMG GT3s are 30 kilos heavier than last year. The BMW M4 GT3s have a lower minimum ride height, a small -5kg weight increase, and a minor power reduction.
The Acura NSX GT3s received a minor power reduction and -10kg weight reduction; the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 receives a minor power reduction, and the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo receives a +10kg weight increase and an even smaller power reduction.
This event is new for the Ferrari 296 GT3 and Porsche 911 GT3 R 992. The new Porsche has had no BoP changes since Sebring while the Ferrari only got a small power increase at the end of the power band.
Live sessions
All of today’s Indy 8 Hour sessions will be streamed live on the SRO GT World YouTube channel, plus all support races including GT4 America and GT America Race 1.
Indianapolis 8 Hour Pre-Qualifying Practice
Indianapolis 8 Hour Qualifying
Indianapolis 8 Hour Pole Shootout
GT America Race 1
GT4 America Race 1
Images © Fabian Lagunas / SRO Motorsports America, DXDT Racing
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