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Pit Debrief

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2026 Indianapolis 8 Hour | Qualifying | Turner Motorsport leads 10-car field into Superpole

Karishma Persad010 mins
Turner Motorsport tops Indianapolis 8 Hour qualifying as Foley, Rothberg and De Phillippi lead 10 crews into Superpole.
Photo Credit: SRO | Fabian Lagunas
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Turner Motorsport topped qualifying for the 2026 DESDER Indianapolis 8 Hour, with Justin Rothberg, Connor De Phillippi and Robby Foley combining for the fastest three-driver average before 10 crews advanced to Friday evening’s Superpole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The #29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO recorded a 1:23.460 average across the three 15-minute sessions, putting the Pro championship contender 0.099s ahead of the #69 Archangel Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 EVO. The #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing entry completed the leading three, while only 0.132s separated Turner from fifth-placed AF Corse USA on the combined qualifying classification.

Friday represented a significant step forward for Turner after Foley had led the Pro runners but finished eighth overall during Thursday night’s Free Practice. Rothberg started the qualifying sequence ninth before De Phillippi went fastest in Q2 and Foley lowered the benchmark again in Q3, helping a crew that entered Indianapolis seven points away from the GTWC America Pro championship lead take control before Superpole.

Hodenius leads opening qualifying session

Lin Hodenius established the opening benchmark in the #80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, setting a 1:23.752 to finish 0.154s clear of Matías Pérez Companc in the #12 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo. Marvin Klein produced an impressive third-fastest time aboard GetSpeed Team PCX Racing’s #999 Mercedes-AMG, putting the Pro-Am entry ahead of Danny Dyszelski’s RS1 Porsche and Michai Stephens in the #34 JMF Motorsport Mercedes-AMG.

Scott Dollahite took sixth in the #6 Ford Mustang GT3 EVO ahead of Michael McCann Jr. and Thomas Merrill, while Rothberg placed Turner ninth with a 1:24.614. Todd Coleman completed the top 10 for Archangel, meaning neither of the two crews that would ultimately lead the combined classification featured at the head of the opening session.

Mitchell Green set the Am benchmark for Scuderia Corsa with a 1:24.958, matching Ralf Bohn’s Pro-Am Herberth Motorsport Porsche to the thousandth. The #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette did not record a time in the official Q1 classification, while the remaining 27 entries all registered representative laps.

Qualifying 1 full results

  1. #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing — Pro — Lin Hodenius — 1:23.752
  2. #12 AF Corse USA Ferrari — Pro — Matías Pérez Companc — 1:23.906 — +0.154
  3. #999 GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — Marvin Klein — 1:23.936 — +0.184
  4. #28 RS1 Porsche — Pro-Am — Danny Dyszelski — 1:24.122 — +0.370
  5. #34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports — Pro — Michai Stephens — 1:24.173 — +0.421
  6. #6 Dollahite Racing Ford — Pro-Am — Scott Dollahite — 1:24.379 — +0.627
  7. #8 McCann Racing Porsche — Pro — Michael McCann Jr. — 1:24.384 — +0.632
  8. #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche — Pro — Thomas Merrill — 1:24.532 — +0.780
  9. #29 Turner Motorsport BMW — Pro — Justin Rothberg — 1:24.614 — +0.862
  10. #69 Archangel Motorsports McLaren — Pro-Am — Todd Coleman — 1:24.705 — +0.953
  11. #27 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — Jason Daskalos — 1:24.707 — +0.955
  12. #9 TR3 Racing Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — Brayton Williams — 1:24.816 — +1.064
  13. #67 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari — Am — Mitchell Green — 1:24.958 — +1.206
  14. #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche — Pro-Am — Ralf Bohn — 1:24.958 — +1.206
  15. #79 Tsunami RT Porsche — Pro-Am — Johannes Zelger — 1:24.961 — +1.209
  16. #14 Riley Technologies BMW — Pro-Am — Slade Stewart — 1:25.062 — +1.310
  17. #31 Wright Motorsports Porsche — Pro-Am — Dave Musial Jr. — 1:25.134 — +1.382
  18. #86 High Class Racing Porsche — Pro-Am — Kerong Li — 1:25.151 — +1.399
  19. #64 Chicago Performance and Tuning Co. Lamborghini — Pro-Am — Nicolai Elghanayan — 1:25.315 — +1.563
  20. #32 GMG Racing Porsche — Pro-Am — Kyle Washington — 1:25.318 — +1.566
  21. #13 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — Todd Parriott — 1:25.362 — +1.610
  22. #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW — Pro-Am — Derek DeBoer — 1:25.437 — +1.685
  23. #11 MAD Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG — Am — Marc Austin — 1:25.488 — +1.736
  24. #88 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — John Gilliland — 1:25.585 — +1.833
  25. #163 AF Corse USA Ferrari — Am — Jay Schreibman — 1:25.749 — +1.997
  26. #017 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — Michael Clark — 1:25.844 — +2.092
  27. #71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin — Pro-Am — Frank DePew — 1:26.982 — +3.230
  28. #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette — Pro-Am — Ross Chouest — No time

De Phillippi moves Turner to the front

The order changed significantly in Q2 as De Phillippi became the first driver of the afternoon to break into the 1:22s. His 1:22.938 put Turner 0.118s ahead of Aaron Telitz, who continued Archangel’s increasingly competitive weekend by taking the Pro-Am benchmark with a 1:23.056.

Riccardo Pera followed in third for GMG Racing, keeping the #32 Porsche near the sharp end after Ayhancan Güven had topped both Indianapolis test sessions earlier in the event. Nicklas Nielsen placed the AF Corse Ferrari fourth before Alex Sedgwick completed the leading five for Dollahite Racing, with just 0.442s covering them.

Ryan Yardley took sixth for Wright Motorsports, only 0.003s ahead of Mikaël Grenier, while Aaron Jeansonne, Hampus Eriksson and Jesse Krohn completed the top 10. Oswaldo Negri led Am with a 1:24.330, narrowly beating Ben Keating and Jamie Morrow in the second qualifying classification.

Qualifying 2 full results

  1. #29 Turner Motorsport BMW — Pro — Connor De Phillippi — 1:22.938
  2. #69 Archangel Motorsports McLaren — Pro-Am — Aaron Telitz — 1:23.056 — +0.118
  3. #32 GMG Racing Porsche — Pro-Am — Riccardo Pera — 1:23.338 — +0.400
  4. #12 AF Corse USA Ferrari — Pro — Nicklas Nielsen — 1:23.371 — +0.433
  5. #6 Dollahite Racing Ford — Pro-Am — Alex Sedgwick — 1:23.380 — +0.442
  6. #31 Wright Motorsports Porsche — Pro-Am — Ryan Yardley — 1:23.533 — +0.595
  7. #34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports — Pro — Mikaël Grenier — 1:23.536 — +0.598
  8. #88 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — Aaron Jeansonne — 1:23.560 — +0.622
  9. #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW — Pro-Am — Hampus Eriksson — 1:23.569 — +0.631
  10. #14 Riley Technologies BMW — Pro-Am — Jesse Krohn — 1:23.603 — +0.665
  11. #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing — Pro — Luca Stolz — 1:23.631 — +0.693
  12. #13 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — Riley Dickinson — 1:23.672 — +0.734
  13. #86 High Class Racing Porsche — Pro-Am — Anders Fjordbach — 1:23.688 — +0.750
  14. #28 RS1 Porsche — Pro-Am — Daan Arrow — 1:23.718 — +0.780
  15. #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche — Pro — Morris Schuring — 1:23.771 — +0.833
  16. #27 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — Wyatt Brichacek — 1:23.850 — +0.912
  17. #71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin — Pro-Am — Andrew Davis — 1:24.138 — +1.200
  18. #8 McCann Racing Porsche — Pro — Zachary Vanier — 1:24.146 — +1.208
  19. #9 TR3 Racing Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — Indy Dontje — 1:24.183 — +1.245
  20. #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche — Pro-Am — Alfred Renauer — 1:24.272 — +1.334
  21. #163 AF Corse USA Ferrari — Am — Oswaldo Negri — 1:24.330 — +1.392
  22. #79 Tsunami RT Porsche — Pro-Am — Fabio Babini — 1:24.358 — +1.420
  23. #64 Chicago Performance and Tuning Co. Lamborghini — Pro-Am — Mads Siljehaug — 1:24.420 — +1.482
  24. #11 MAD Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG — Am — Ben Keating — 1:24.421 — +1.483
  25. #67 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari — Am — Jamie Morrow — 1:24.839 — +1.901
  26. #999 GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — Patrick Charlaix — 1:28.218 — +5.280
  27. #017 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — Lars Kern — 1:46.711
  28. #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette — Pro-Am — Aaron Povoledo — No time

Foley sets fastest lap of three-session qualifying

Foley then delivered the fastest lap of the entire qualifying sequence, taking the Turner BMW around Indianapolis in 1:22.830. His effort beat De Phillippi’s Q2 benchmark by 0.108s and completed a strong recovery from Rothberg’s ninth place in Q1, giving the #29 the average it needed to lead the combined order.

Güven came closest with a 1:22.872, only 0.042s away, while Thomas Fleming placed Archangel third on 1:22.918. The McLaren GT3 Junior Driver has quickly adapted to Indianapolis after joining Todd Coleman and Telitz for his first race at the circuit, and the #69’s pace across all three drivers ultimately secured the Pro-Am crew second overall.

Chris Mies was fourth for Dollahite Racing with a 1:22.996 but encountered a mechanical problem approaching Turn 1 late in the session. He kept the Ford in the run-off without triggering a red flag, allowing the time to stand and preserving the crew’s place among the Superpole qualifiers.

Philip Ellis and Alex Fontana followed in fifth and sixth, before Alessio Picariello placed the #8 McCann Porsche seventh and second among the Pro drivers. Álex Palou took eighth for Lone Star Racing, Loek Hartog was ninth for Kellymoss and Maxime Martin completed the top 10. Peter Dempsey’s 1:23.651 led the Am runners on the Q3 timing sheet and proved decisive in the combined class order.

Qualifying 3 full results

  1. #29 Turner Motorsport BMW — Pro — Robby Foley — 1:22.830
  2. #32 GMG Racing Porsche — Pro-Am — Ayhancan Güven — 1:22.872 — +0.042
  3. #69 Archangel Motorsports McLaren — Pro-Am — Thomas Fleming — 1:22.918 — +0.088
  4. #6 Dollahite Racing Ford — Pro-Am — Chris Mies — 1:22.996 — +0.166
  5. #27 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — Philip Ellis — 1:23.183 — +0.353
  6. #79 Tsunami RT Porsche — Pro-Am — Alex Fontana — 1:23.216 — +0.386
  7. #8 McCann Racing Porsche — Pro — Alessio Picariello — 1:23.243 — +0.413
  8. #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing — Pro — Álex Palou — 1:23.327 — +0.497
  9. #88 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — Loek Hartog — 1:23.355 — +0.525
  10. #34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports — Pro — Maxime Martin — 1:23.363 — +0.533
  11. #64 Chicago Performance and Tuning Co. Lamborghini — Pro-Am — Loris Spinelli — 1:23.406 — +0.576
  12. #31 Wright Motorsports Porsche — Pro-Am — Laurin Heinrich — 1:23.468 — +0.638
  13. #14 Riley Technologies BMW — Pro-Am — Andy Lee — 1:23.491 — +0.661
  14. #12 AF Corse USA Ferrari — Pro — Frederik Schandorff — 1:23.501 — +0.671
  15. #9 TR3 Racing Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — Daniel Morad — 1:23.514 — +0.684
  16. #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW — Pro-Am — Marcus Ericsson — 1:23.521 — +0.691
  17. #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche — Pro-Am — Robert Renauer — 1:23.526 — +0.696
  18. #13 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — Kay van Berlo — 1:23.620 — +0.790
  19. #86 High Class Racing Porsche — Pro-Am — Hongli Ye — 1:23.642 — +0.812
  20. #11 MAD Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG — Am — Peter Dempsey — 1:23.651 — +0.821
  21. #28 RS1 Porsche — Pro-Am — Jan Heylen — 1:23.744 — +0.914
  22. #71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin — Pro-Am — Robin Liddell — 1:23.764 — +0.934
  23. #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche — Pro — Kévin Estre — 1:24.183 — +1.353
  24. #163 AF Corse USA Ferrari — Am — Benny Simonsen — 1:24.255 — +1.425
  25. #67 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari — Am — Conrad Grunewald — 1:24.262 — +1.432
  26. #999 GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — Jordan Boisson — 1:24.486 — +1.656
  27. #017 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — Colin Braun — 1:40.159
  28. #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette — Pro-Am — No third driver / no time

Turner leads five Pro and five Pro-Am entries into Superpole

When the three individual driver times were averaged, Turner emerged at the head of the 10-car group that would progress to Superpole. The IGTC qualifying classification featured an even split of five Pro and five Pro-Am entries, reflecting how competitive the Pro-Am field has been throughout a weekend in which the class repeatedly challenged for the top positions.

Archangel’s consistency proved particularly valuable. Coleman was 10th in Q1, Telitz climbed to second overall in Q2 and Fleming took third in Q3, producing a 1:23.559 average that put the McLaren second outright and at the head of Pro-Am. Lone Star followed just 0.011s behind, while Dollahite Racing secured fourth ahead of AF Corse.

Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports took sixth before GMG, RS1 and the second JMF entry filled seventh through ninth. The #8 McCann Racing Porsche claimed the final place in Superpole, while the #31 Wright Motorsports Porsche missed out by 0.121s despite Heinrich producing a competitive Q3 lap.

That result leaves Heinrich outside the Superpole places as he continues his pursuit of Maro Engel in the IGTC Drivers’ Championship decider. Stolz, meanwhile, progresses with the third-placed Lone Star Mercedes-AMG, while Martin reaches the shootout with JMF in sixth as all three attempt to overturn the absent Engel’s advantage.

Combined qualifying results

  1. #29 Turner Motorsport BMW — Pro — 1:23.460
  2. #69 Archangel Motorsports McLaren — Pro-Am — 1:23.559 — +0.099
  3. #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing — Pro — 1:23.570 — +0.110
  4. #6 Dollahite Racing Ford — Pro-Am — 1:23.585 — +0.125
  5. #12 AF Corse USA Ferrari — Pro — 1:23.592 — +0.132
  6. #34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports — Pro — 1:23.690 — +0.230
  7. #32 GMG Racing Porsche — Pro-Am — 1:23.842 — +0.382
  8. #28 RS1 Porsche — Pro-Am — 1:23.861 — +0.401
  9. #27 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — 1:23.913 — +0.453
  10. #8 McCann Racing Porsche — Pro — 1:23.924 — +0.464
  11. #31 Wright Motorsports Porsche — Pro-Am — 1:24.045 — +0.585
  12. #14 Riley Technologies BMW — Pro-Am — 1:24.052 — +0.592
  13. #86 High Class Racing Porsche — Pro-Am — 1:24.160 — +0.700
  14. #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche — Pro — 1:24.162 — +0.702
  15. #88 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — 1:24.166 — +0.706
  16. #9 TR3 Racing Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — 1:24.171 — +0.711
  17. #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW — Pro-Am — 1:24.175 — +0.715
  18. #79 Tsunami RT Porsche — Pro-Am — 1:24.178 — +0.718
  19. #13 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — 1:24.218 — +0.758
  20. #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche — Pro-Am — 1:24.252 — +0.792
  21. #64 Chicago Performance and Tuning Co. Lamborghini — Pro-Am — 1:24.380 — +0.920
  22. #11 MAD Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG — Am — 1:24.520 — +1.060
  23. #67 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari — Am — 1:24.686 — +1.226
  24. #163 AF Corse USA Ferrari — Am — 1:24.778 — +1.318
  25. #71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin — Pro-Am — 1:24.961 — +1.501
  26. #999 GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — 1:25.546 — +2.086
  27. #017 Kellymoss Porsche — Pro-Am — 1:37.571 — +14.111

The #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette does not feature in the merged classification after failing to record the three times required to establish an average.

MAD Joker edges close Am battle

The Am classification changed hands in each of the three sessions before MAD Joker Racing ultimately came out on top. Scuderia Corsa’s Green led Q1, Negri moved AF Corse ahead in Q2 and Dempsey then produced the fastest Am lap of the afternoon in the final segment.

Dempsey’s Q3 performance gave Marc Austin, Keating and Dempsey a 1:24.520 average, putting the #11 Mercedes-AMG 0.166s ahead of Scuderia Corsa and another 0.092s clear of the #163 AF Corse Ferrari. Their 22nd-place overall position therefore gives MAD Joker the strongest starting point among the three Am entries before Saturday’s race.

Superpole to settle the front of the grid

Turner now carries the fastest combined qualifying average into Superpole after a particularly significant afternoon for Foley and Rothberg’s championship bid. The BMW crew is pursuing a third consecutive GTWC America title together after winning the previous two Pro-Am crowns, and the addition of De Phillippi has helped place them at the front heading into the decisive shootout.

The narrow margins leave little certainty over who will claim pole. Archangel sits only 0.099s behind Turner, Lone Star another 0.011s back and Dollahite and AF Corse complete a top five covered by 0.132s. After the GTWC America qualifying session was delayed by an earlier timing and scoring issue, Superpole is scheduled to begin at 18:10 ET, when one nominated driver from each of the 10 advancing crews will decide the leading positions for Saturday’s final Indianapolis 8 Hour.

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