INTERNATIONAL GT CHALLENGE: KELVIN VAN DER LINDE WINS THE INDIANAPOLIS 8 HOUR AND THE SEASON TITLE

An Indianapolis 8 Hour dominated by severe weather decided the outcome of the 2025 Intercontinental GT Challenge.

After more than two hours under red flag conditions from the halfway mark due to torrential rain, followed by a further two hours under full course yellow, Kelvin van der Linde, driving the Team WRT BMW M4 GT3, won the race – which finished at 8:20 p.m. local time – and secured the season title at the end of a contest marked by interruptions and great patience.

The newly crowned champion, sharing the car with Valentino Rossi, making his debut in the Indianapolis 8 Hour, and Charles Weert, crossed the line ahead of the GMR Mercedes-AMG and the BMW M4 GT3 of his team-mate and title rival Raffaele Marciello, partnered by Augusto Farfus and Al Faisal Al Zubair.

The two title-contending crews started from second and third on the grid, but in reversed order, with Marciello’s BMW lining up immediately behind the Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG, which claimed pole position following a penalty imposed on the Random Vandals Racing BMW that had topped Friday’s pole shootout.

“The heavy rain made the race more challenging but no less exciting,” said Matteo Braga, Pirelli’s Circuit Activity Manager. “The changing weather – from the morning heat to the evening cold and rain – put both our P Zero DHG slicks and Cinturato WHB wet tyres to the test, delivering consistency and reliability in both cases. With Indianapolis, and with the GT World Challenge Asia race in Beijing, held for the first time ever on a street circuit, another successful season alongside SRO across all continents comes to a close – a season during which we have further enriched our data bank and strengthened the relationship of mutual trust with the teams.”

The Indianapolis event also marked the final round of the GT World Challenge America, supported by races from GT4 America, GT America, and TC America, all supplied by Pirelli.