BMW M Motorsport: two works drivers for Indianapolis 8 Hour as Team KRC wins Shanghai 8 Hours

BMW M Motorsport's latest news roundup covers the closing weeks of the 2026 season across several championships. The headline item is the Indianapolis 8 Hour on 8-10 October, the season finale for both the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, where three BMW M4 GT3 EVOs will line up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Recent weekends brought wins and podiums for BMW teams: victory for Team KRC at the Shanghai 8 Hours, wins and podiums for the BMW M4 GT4 EVO in SRO America, and further results in the British GT, GT4 European Series, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, 24H Series and GT4 Australia.

From 8th to 10th October, the Indianapolis 8 Hour at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will serve as the season finale for both the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS. Turner Motorsport will run the #29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the top Pro category, with the two GT World Challenge America regulars, BMW M works driver Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg, joined by the second BMW M works driver Connor De Phillippi (all USA). Foley and Rothberg are still fighting for the Pro title, while BMW M Motorsport sits third in the Intercontinental GT Challenge manufacturers' standings with no chance to defend last year's title. The other two BMW M4 GT3 EVOs will be fielded by Riley Technologies and Random Vandals Racing in the Pro-Am class.

At the penultimate SRO America weekend at Barber Motorsports Park (25th-27th September), Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg narrowly missed the podium in the Pro category of the GT World Challenge America, finishing fourth in the #29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO but keeping their title chance alive for the Indianapolis 8 Hour. "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," said Foley, who added that the pair would try to use their momentum from the Indy win in the IMSA Series; just over a week earlier, Turner Motorsport had won the GTD class of the IMSA Series with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. In GT4 America, Sam Craven and Kenton Koch won the Pro-Am category in both races in the #94 BMW M4 GT4 EVO from Random Vandals Racing and finished second and third overall on the podium, while Francis Selldorff and Kevin Boehm took second in the Silver class in race one for Auto Technic Racing and BMW M Racing Academy member Josh Green and Bruno Colombo finished third for Random Vandals Racing. In the Am class, Joseph and Lucas Catania were second in Race 1 for Rigid Speed Company, Kris Wilson and Zach Lumsden took third in both races for Colorado Motorsport with Flying Lizard, and Lumsden added a first and a second place in the GT4 class of GT America to secure the GT4 title ahead of schedule.

At the Shanghai 8 Hours (25th-27th September), BMW M works driver Max Hesse (GER) claimed victory in the #18 BMW M4 GT3 EVO together with his teammates Zhang Mingyang and Zhang Zhendong (both CHN), winning convincingly by a margin of around 1:30 minutes at Team KRC's debut in the event. "This was a very successful weekend for my debut in Shanghai," said Hesse, who added that his new teammates were very easy to work with, that the car had slightly better pace than expected, and that he was happy for Team KRC after their disappointment at the Suzuka 1000KM. The two BMW M4 GT3 EVOs from GAHA Racing finished third in both the Silver-Am and Am classes.