Maxime Martin has Secured the Drivers’ Championship in the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) at the Seventh Edition of the Indianapolis 8 Hour Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). Together with Mikaël Grenier and Michai Stephens and the No. 34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Team, the Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver Finished Fifth Overall and Third in the Pro class in the Season-Ending IGTC and GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS race. The No. 34 Team's Third-place Pro Finish Also Secured Second Place in the GT World Challenge America Pro Class Championship for the JMF Team and Co-Drivers Grenier and Stephens. Other Podium Performances in Saturday's Endurance Race were Am division winners Marc Austin, Ben Keating and Peter Dempsey who Prevailed in a Race-Long Battle with their Closest Challenger for the Class Victory in the No. 11 Mad Joker Racing with Lone Star Mercedes-AMG GT3.
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Maxime Martin has won the drivers’ championship in the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) at the seventh and final edition of the Indianapolis 8 Hour Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). Together with co-driver Mikaël Grenier and Michai Stephens and the No. 34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 team, the Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver finished fifth overall and third in the Pro class in the season-ending IGTC and GT World Challenge America powered by AWS race. Martin made up an eight-point deficit and, with a total of 70 points to become the fourth Mercedes-AMG driver to win the Intercontinental GT Challenge drivers’ title. He follows in the footsteps of Tristan Vautier (2018), Daniel Juncadella (2022) and Jules Gounon (2023).
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport is now the sole record holder in this classification. Second place in the IGTC, with 68 points, went to Maro Engel, who did not race at Indianapolis as he was competing in the DTM finale at Hockenheim. Luca Stolz finished the IGTC season in third place in the drivers’ standings with 61 points, marking the first time that three Mercedes-AMG drivers have taken the top-three places in the IGTC.
The JMF team's third-place Pro finish also secured second place in the GT World Challenge America Pro class championship for the JMF team and co-drivers Grenier and Stephens. Mercedes-AMG finished as the runner-up in the manufacturers’ championships.
Starting driver Stephens laid the groundwork for a strong result early on. Starting from fifth on the grid, he moved to the front of the Pro class on the first lap and, after 45 minutes, briefly took the overall lead. Grenier and Martin also led laps in the No. 34 throughout the race but ultimately Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports was unable to challenge for victory as the race progressed and crossed the finish line fifth outright and third in Pro as one of just eight teams joining the overall winner in completing 322 laps.
Another standout podium performance in Saturday's endurance race came from Am-division winners Marc Austin, Ben Keating and Peter Dempsey who prevailed in a race-long battle with their closest challenger for the class victory in the No. 11 Mad Joker Racing with Lone Star Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The No. 34 stepped up to carry the Mercedes-AMG Performance Team flag when the other supported entry, the No. 80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, was caught up in a contact incident less than 10 minutes into the race. A competitor spun exiting Turn 12 just in front of starting driver Lin Hodenius who wasn’t able to avoid contact that ended the No. 80’s race. The incident also dashed teammate Luca Stolz’s chance to win this season’s Intercontinental GT Challenge championship and kept returning Lone Star Racing driver and reigning five-time IndyCar Champion Alex Palou from racing in his second Indianapolis 8 Hour.
The No. 34’s sister No. 27 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry also suffered some early heartbreak when a mechanical issue sidelined Jason Daskalos in the third hour. After Daskalos started, debuting team driver Wyatt Brichacek ran competitively in the overall top three in a 50-minute stint in hour two, but multiple Mercedes-AMG GT3 driving champion Philip Ellis joined Palou as another star that never had a chance to shine on Saturday.
Two other Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing entries persevered to the finish at Indy. The No. 9 TR3 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and co-drivers Brayton Williams, Daniel Morad and Indy Dontje completed the Pro-Am top-10 and finished 15th overall. The Indianapolis debuting No. 999 GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 finished 20th in the outright order and 13th in Pro-Am in the team’s very first time competing outside of Europe in the United States.
Veteran Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing competitor CJ Moses also returned to action at Indy, competing in the weekend’s single driver GT America powered by AWS race on Saturday. Moses secured a lead-lap finish in 11th place on Saturday in his No. 58 Random Vandals Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
"We are very pleased with the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge season. The top three places in the Intercontinental GT Challenge drivers’ championship and our fourth drivers’ title – which makes us the sole record holders – underline the outstanding performance we have delivered together with our teams. We have thus once again lived up to our claim of being the ‘World’s Fastest Family.’ Congratulations to Maxime Martin on this well-deserved title. I would also like to thank all the other teams and drivers who represented Mercedes-AMG Motorsport so brilliantly across the five races on four continents."
Simon Wilbers, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
"We’d actually set our sights on competing for victory in all the classifications at Indianapolis. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace for that this weekend. On top of that, there was the retirement of the Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing, through no fault of their own. I feel incredibly sorry for Luca that his chances of winning the championship were dashed after just four laps. I’m really happy for Maxime that he was able to secure the drivers’ championship after such a successful season.”
Stefan Wendl, Head of Customer Racing, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
“The race
presented us with a series of challenges. But in the end, we put in a
consistently strong performance and secured a podium finish in the Pro class.
I’m very happy to have won the Intercontinental GT Challenge Championship. This
season, I’ve raced with various teams and worked with lots of people. I’d like
to thank every single one of them who played a part in enabling me to celebrate
this title today.”
Maxime Martin, Driver – No. 34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
“We knew it would be a close title race. Although we’ve improved significantly compared to last year, finishing as runners-up is disappointing at first, given that we led the championship throughout the season. The team performed well and made the right strategic decisions. However, fifth place overall and third in the Pro class was the best we could manage today. Congratulations to Maxime on winning the Intercontinental GT Challenge championship.”
Mikael Grenier, Driver – No. 34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
“I believe at the forefront of the race the starting driver selections are going to be optimized for the strategy to prioritize the strongest at the end. Granted, I believe that it wasn’t our year as a collective, if I may respectfully say, but hopefully in the future. It is possible when an organization and all of its partners, on the back of Mercedes-AMG, continue to put a very strong foot in front of the other together to learn in what we love, and that is motorsports. It’s just a privilege to be here and learn in every round of the championship and right up to the final minutes of the season finale.”
Michai Stephens, Driver – No. 34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
“I have been fortunate enough to get to victory lane at Indianapolis before but not on this kind of stage. It was in the smaller classes, but this is amazing and it was a lot of fun. Racing with these guys is a blast. Just putting the whole thing together and watching the team work so hard to get here was worth it. It’s fun being kind of an owner and operator while driving and building everything out too.”
Marc Austin, Driver – No. 11 Mad Joker Racing with Lone Star Mercedes-AMG GT3
“At this point of my career, I am just looking to do things that look fun. I had an open weekend, and this looked like fun. And it was! Getting back in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the first time in a while was like slipping on an old glove or an old suit. It took me a little while to remember what all the buttons did, but the Mercedes-AMG GT3 is just such a good GT3 car. It is just a very forgiving car and I loved racing one again.”
Ben Keating, Driver – No. 11 Mad Joker Racing with Lone Star Mercedes-AMG GT3
“It’s been a pleasure to get to know and work with everyone at Lone Star Racing with Ben, Marc and AJ Petersen and get to drive a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the first time. It’s an iconic brand, and it was a pleasure to drive it and get to learn another car. It was super difficult to chase down the leader, but I just pushed as hard as I could. The gap kept getting smaller and smaller and thankfully we came away with the victory."
Peter Dempsey, Driver – No. 11 Mad Joker Racing with Lone Star Mercedes-AMG GT3
“It was a very disappointing premature end to our weekend. We were in a solid position and could have had a good chance with a smart strategy. It hurts when you no longer have any control over the outcome. I would have loved to win the Intercontinental GT Challenge and take home this beautiful trophy, but I’ll just have to try again in 2027.”
Luca Stolz, Driver – No. 80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
“It breaks your heart. That’s racing, and that’s why it is so cool when you win it, because it is so hard. Honestly, it has been a joy again preparing for the race, the practice, the qualifying and I had a lot of fun during the Superpole yesterday. Today, we really couldn’t finish the business, but I am really happy for the opportunity both Lone Star Racing and Mercedes-AMG have given me and for all of my teammates as well. I am excited to see when our next one is going to be.”
Alex Palou, Driver – No. 80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3