Track Open to Public Thursday; Practice at Dusk
Public gate hours for the Indianapolis 8 Hour Presented by AWS at Indianapolis Motor Speedway have shifted to provide fans with access to more on-track action and a second night of racing with headlights on at dusk.
Seven series featuring some of the most evocative sports cars and an interesting mix of competitors from North America and the world will compete on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course at IMS from Thursday, Oct. 16 through Saturday, Oct. 18.
“Opening our gates to fans on Thursday gives them another chance to see racing on the road course at dusk with headlights on,” IMS and INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “The Indy 8 Hour race weekend is a great conclusion to the 2025 event schedule at IMS, and we are excited to kick off the weekend a day early.”
The Intercontinental GT Challenge and Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS will share the road course for the premier event of the weekend, an eight-hour endurance sports car race for GT sports cars starting at 12:15 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 18 and finishing with headlights on in dusk – a unique sight at IMS – at 8:15 p.m. This round is the season finale for both series.
These GT sports cars from prestigious manufacturers such as Acura, BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, which resemble their road-going counterparts, will compete in the longest race of the year at the Racing Capital of the World.
Other series racing throughout the weekend in a fall festival of sports car and touring car racing include GT America powered by AWS, Pirelli GT4 America, TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School, Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Cup North America and McLaren Trophy America. Those series are conducting doubleheader sprint races Thursday through Saturday.
Thursday’s schedule includes practice sessions for all series. In addition, fans can enjoy Race 1 of the TC America series and qualifying and Race 1 for McLaren Trophy America. Practice and qualifying will continue Friday along with TC America Race 2, McLaren Trophy America Race 2 and GT America Race 1.
Fans can view Sunday’s action free of charge from the Turn 2 Mounds.
Public days for the event were previously Friday through Sunday. Fans who already purchased tickets for Sunday have been contacted by the IMS Ticket Office.
Single and multi-day tickets for the Indianapolis 8 Hour race weekend are available at IMS.com.
