Five-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou never turned a lap at the Indianapolis 8 Hour on Oct. 10. His No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO was wrecked in the opening minutes of the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That was a separate incident from a Porsche that lost its entire front end in a debris caution later in the same chaotic opening hour.
Palou was sharing the car with Lin Hodenius and Luca Stolz for his second Indianapolis 8 Hour start in three years. He was returning to the same Mercedes-AMG team that fielded him in 2024. Hodenius was running the opening stint when Todd Parriott’s No. 13 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO spun in front of him. The contact collected the Mercedes-AMG and left it with significant damage, according to Sportscar365 and GT World Challenge America. The team retired on the spot, and Palou never got into the cockpit. The crash also ended Stolz’s bid for the Intercontinental GT Challenge drivers’ championship, Sportscar365 reported.
Separately, contact at Turn 1 tore the entire front end off Kerong Li’s No. 86 High Class Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R after Li made contact with Thomas Merrill’s No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche, Sportscar365 reported. The impact scattered bodywork across the track and brought out a full-course caution so crews could clear it. GT World Challenge America’s own race recap confirmed the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche “sustained damage in a separate incident” and returned to action a lap down after repairs.
Second Indianapolis 8 Hour debris caution follows in the opening hour
The Li-Merrill incident was not the only yellow flag tied to loose parts in the race’s first 60 minutes. Officials called a second full-course caution for debris scattered across the front straight, Sportscar365 reported, giving teams their first opportunity to make scheduled driver changes. Two full-course cautions for debris inside one hour made for an unusually dense stretch, even in an eight-hour enduro.
Sports car series treat loose bodywork as a serious hazard. Broken carbon-fiber and plastic panels can puncture tires, damage suspension components or fly into following cars at speed. Safety teams typically throw a full-course caution rather than a local yellow so track workers can retrieve debris without race traffic running through the area at speed. It’s standard practice across GT World Challenge America and Intercontinental GT Challenge events.
Contact elsewhere on the opening lap added to the early chaos. Jay Schreibman and Jordan Boisson collided in the No. 999 GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes-AMG at Turn 7. Officials handed each driver a drive-through penalty — Schreibman for causing the incident, Boisson for a restart violation — according to Sportscar365.
Sedgwick and Stephens take early leads despite the carnage
Despite the early incidents, the race settled into a battle up front. Alex Sedgwick took the overall and Pro-Am lead on the opening lap in the No. 6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 EVO and stretched his advantage past four seconds by the end of the first hour, Sportscar365’s recap showed. Michai Stephens, driving the No. 34 Mercedes-AMG for Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports, led the Pro class.
For Palou, the day amounted to a scratched seat-time opportunity rather than the race win he came back to Indianapolis chasing. It marked his second brush with track debris this year. FODNews previously reported on a debris-related pit penalty that cost Palou during an IndyCar race earlier this season.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course hosted the event as part of the GT World Challenge America calendar. The race also served as the Intercontinental GT Challenge season finale. Palou’s team, Lone Star Racing, is a Mercedes-AMG performance partner based in Texas. Of the two Porsche teams involved in the Turn 1 incident, Wright Motorsports returned to the race after repairs. High Class Racing’s car did not continue.
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