GMG Racing won the DESDER Indianapolis 8 Hour with Kyle Washington, Riccardo Pera and Ayhancan Güven, while fifth place made Maxime Martin the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge drivers’ champion. Güven brought the #32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R home a record 56 seconds clear, which also secured Porsche the manufacturers’ title.
Stolz out after ten minutes
Justin Rothberg started from pole in the #29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, but Alex Sedgwick took the lead into the first corner in the #6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3. The title fight then changed within ten minutes. The #13 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 R spun at Turn 1 and Lin Hodenius could not avoid it in the #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Both cars retired, which ended Luca Stolz’ championship chances before he had driven a lap.
That left Martin needing fifth or better among the IGTC entrants to beat Maro Engel, who missed the finale because of his DTM commitments.
Sedgwick led for the whole of the first hour, but the Dollahite Mustang did not make the finish either. In the second hour Scott Dollahite ran over a kerb and the suspension damage ended the car’s race.
Early stop wins it for GMG
Martin’s #34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 led the second and third hours before the #12 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 took over. The sister #27 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 became the third and last retirement when Jason Daskalos stopped on track with gearbox failure. That caused the fourth and final caution, and the remainder of the race ran green.
GMG Racing used that to its advantage. Washington had opened the race with a double stint and completed his minimum drive time, and just before half distance the team pitted the #32 some 20 minutes before its stint length ran out. From then on the Porsche ran a different pit stop schedule from its rivals. Güven and Pera drove it to the finish.
They are the first Pro-Am crew to win the race overall in its seven editions, and it is Porsche’s first overall win in the event. The result also made Washington the GT World Challenge America Pro-Am champion.
Behind them, Todd Coleman, Tom Fleming and Aaron Telitz climbed from eighth on the grid to second in the #69 Archangel Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3. Telitz passed Frederik Schandorff’s #12 AF Corse Ferrari just before the final pit stops, and Fleming came out of those stops in second place.
Robby Foley was ahead of Schandorff with an hour to go, but the Ferrari came out ahead of the #29 Turner BMW again at the final stops. Foley then forced his way back past coming onto the front straight. That put the BMW third overall, behind the McLaren and ahead of the Ferrari. It also won the Pro class, which gave Foley and Rothberg the GT World Challenge America Pro title.
Fifth is enough
Maxime Martin finished fifth overall with Mikael Grenier and Michai Stephens. Because the Archangel McLaren is not an Intercontinental GT Challenge entry, he scored points for fourth and took his first IGTC title by four points over Engel.
Ralf Bohn took the Independent Cup win in the #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Kerong Li had already secured that title at Suzuka.
The Am class went to Marc Austin, Ben Keating and Peter Dempsey in the #11 MAD Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, although not without a scare. Dempsey made contact with Kevin Estre’s #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R in the final hour, and the car was given a post-race time penalty. MAD Joker finished a lap ahead of the second-placed #163 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3, so the penalty did not cost it the win.
Farewell to the Indianapolis 8 Hour
This was the seventh and last Indianapolis 8 Hour. From 2027, the eight-hour race moves to Circuit of The Americas as the Texas 8 Hour, while Indianapolis stays on as the GT World Challenge America finale. The Intercontinental GT Challenge returns in February with the Bathurst 12 Hour.
