BMW sends two works drivers into the Indianapolis 8 Hour finale

BMW M Motorsport will line up three BMW M4 GT3 EVOs at the Indianapolis 8 Hour from 8 to 10 October, the season finale for both the Intercontinental GT Challenge and GT World Challenge America. Works drivers Robby Foley and Connor De Phillippi share the Turner Motorsport entry, with Foley still in the hunt for the Pro title. The news comes after a busy late-September weekend that brought Team KRC victory in the Shanghai 8 Hours and a string of class wins for the BMW M4 GT4 EVO in the United States.

The closing weeks of the 2026 customer racing season are stacking up quickly for BMW, with title fights running in parallel on two continents. The headline event is the Indianapolis 8 Hour on 8–10 October, which doubles as the finale for the Intercontinental GT Challenge and for the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS.

Three M4 GT3 EVOs at the Brickyard

Three BMW M4 GT3 EVOs are entered for the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Turner Motorsport takes the fight to the Pro category with the #29 car, crewed by the team’s regular GT World Challenge America pairing of BMW M works driver Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg, joined by a second works driver, Connor De Phillippi (all USA). Foley and Rothberg remain in contention for the Pro title.

In the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the picture is less promising: BMW sits third in the manufacturers’ standings and can no longer defend the title it won last year. The other two M4 GT3 EVOs are run by Riley Technologies and Random Vandals Racing in the Pro-Am class.

“The season finales in the US racing series are taking center stage these weeks,” said Björn Lellmann, Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport. “Both in the IMSA Series next weekend at Road Atlanta and the following weekend in Indianapolis in the GT World Challenge America and the Intercontinental GT Challenge, I am keeping my fingers crossed for our teams and drivers to secure victories and hopefully titles at the end of the season.”

Barber sets up the title decider

At the penultimate SRO America round at Barber Motorsports Park on 25–27 September, Foley and Rothberg finished fourth in the Pro category, just off the podium but with enough points to keep the championship alive. “We collected valuable points here. Even though we just missed the podium, we still have a chance in the title fight when we head to Indy,” Foley said, pointing to Turner Motorsport’s recent GTD-class win with the M4 GT3 EVO in the IMSA Series at Indianapolis.

The GT4 machinery fared better. Sam Craven and Kenton Koch took Pro-Am honours in both races in the #94 BMW M4 GT4 EVO run by Random Vandals Racing, finishing second and third overall. In the Silver category, Francis Selldorff and Kevin Boehm were second for Auto Technic Racing, with BMW M Racing Academy member Josh Green and Bruno Colombo third for Random Vandals Racing. In the Am class, Joseph and Lucas Catania took second in Race 1 for Rigid Speed Company, while Kris Wilson and Zach Lumsden were third in both races for Colorado Motorsport with Flying Lizard. Lumsden also added a win and a second place in the GT4 class of GT America, sealing that title with a round to spare.

Shanghai win on debut

BMW M works driver Max Hesse (GER) won the Shanghai 8 Hours on the same weekend, sharing the #18 BMW M4 GT3 EVO with Zhang Mingyang and Zhang Zhendong (both CHN) for Team KRC. The margin was roughly 1:30 minutes — a comfortable result on what was both Hesse’s first visit to the circuit and the team’s first appearance at the event.

“In the race, we actually had a slightly better pace than expected and made it through without any major drama,” Hesse said. “I am very happy for Team KRC that, after the disappointment at the Suzuka 1000KM, they were able to celebrate victory this time.” GAHA Racing’s two M4 GT3 EVOs added third places in the Silver-Am and Am classes.

Results elsewhere

Century Motorsport closed out the British GT Championship at Brands Hatch with an overall third place and the Silver-Am class win for Jonathon Beeson and Charles Clark in the #80 M4 GT3 EVO, ending the category’s drivers’ standings as runners-up. At the 24 Hours of Barcelona, Haas RT finished second overall and won the Am class with the #21 M4 GT3 EVO, while CP Motorsport’s #483 M4 GT4 EVO took the GT4 category. Podium finishes also came in the GT4 European Series at Zandvoort, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at Indianapolis and GT4 Australia in Sydney.

The Indianapolis 8 Hour runs from 8 to 10 October, preceded by the IMSA season finale at Road Atlanta.

Source: www.press.bmwgroup.com