Dan Harper has the record books squarely in his sights on Saturday as he attempts to become the first UK driver in history to be crowned the Intercontinental GT Challenge champion.
The Indianapolis 8 Hours was not a planned outing for the 23-year-old but his results at Germany’s Nürburgring 24 Hours and Belgium’s Spa 24 Hours means he has a shot at lifting the coveted title.
Co-driving the ROWE Racing-run BMW M4 GT3 on each of those occasions, he collected 18 points, however, this weekend, the Bavarian-badged car is being maintained by Rene Verbist’s Team WRT.
The Porsche of Laurens Vanthoor and Ayhancan Guven currently leads the way going into the last round of the series in the east of the States — 14 points ahead of Harper and his team-mate, Max Hesse.
Porsche also holds the upper hand in the manufacturers’ battle from Mercedes-AMG and BMW, with the latter leaving no stone unturned at the ‘Brickyard’ as two of its crews are factory efforts.
The three marques make-up 80 per cent of the 25-strong entry list for a meeting that is also doubling up as the Fanatec GT World Challenge America season finale.
Despite a freight problem delaying the arrival of their twin-turbo car and limiting time around the 2.439-mile track, Harper is refusing to allow the setback to weigh on his mind, especially as Team WRT took the chequered flag first, 12 months ago.
“I am incredibly excited to be racing at Indianapolis for the closing round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge,” admitted the Hillsborough man.
“It is going to be good fun racing in America for the very first time in my career and getting the opportunity to learn all about such an iconic circuit with a new team.
“It wasn’t an aim to be fighting for the IGTC drivers’ title, but we have ended up with a shout after our good results at the Nürburgring and Spa. The main target is to get the best result possible to help BMW to win the manufacturers’ title, and we will see where that puts us in the drivers’ battle.
“I’m also looking forward to joining up with Team WRT. I know they are a very talented, professional and established team, so it’ll be great to see how they work and gain some knowledge from them,” he added.
The Indianapolis 8 Hours gets underway on Saturday at 5.15pm (UK) and concludes at 1.15am.
Meanwhile, Colin Turkington will round off the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship with a visit to Brands Hatch GP for rounds 28, 29 and 30 of the tin top competition this weekend.
With the drivers’ title beyond the Portadown man, he has made supporting Team BMW counterpart Jake Hill in his quest to lift the trophy for the first time. Helping the German company wrestle the team trophy back from Ford is also top of the agenda.
“We have two main jobs this weekend; to win a record 10th Manufacturers’ crown for BMW and to make sure a West Surrey Racing driver wins the Drivers’ title,” said Turkington.
“You learn that in the British Touring Car Championship, it is never done until the fat lady sings so, as a team, we will do everything we possibly can to come home with the big trophies.”