After a weekend of misfortune at Sebring International Raceway just a few weeks ago, the Heart of Racing (HOR) team will look to close out the year on a high note with a strong outing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) for the SRO America season finale.
The event weekend will feature a different schedule from the regular SRO event weekends. Official practice sessions will start on Thursday before qualifying and the first set of races take place on Friday. Saturday will only see the Heart of Racing drivers in action with their Sharpies for the autograph session as the day features the Fanatic World Challenge 8 Hour event.
Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt will team up in the No. 26 Aston Martin Pirelli GT4 America entry. The lady duo will be on the hunt to finish out the season with a podium finish after scoring a high finish of fifth at Circuit of the Americas, VIRginia International Raceway, and Sebring International Raceway so far this season.
“I’m looking forward to our final race of the season at Indy,” said Grisham. “I’m determined to bounce back from our Sebring performance and achieve a strong finish. This will be both Rianna and I’s first time driving at Indy and with less practice time than usual, we’ll need to get up to speed quickly.”
Grisham nor O’Meara-Hunt have driven at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but they were able to see the track in action while visiting during the IMSA Battle On The Bricks weekend.
“Heading into our last race of the season, it’s a bittersweet feeling,” said O’Meara-Hunt. “I am so excited to show what we have and get the results we deserve, I think Indy is going to be a really positive weekend. In saying that, I’m definitely not ready for the season to be over! I have had the best time getting to know the team and being a part of this family. Hannah and I have both never been to Indy before and we only have two practice runs to figure it out, so in that case it's going to be challenging, but we can go into the weekend feeling confident from the pace we both showed at Sebring, we want to finish the season off well, hopefully by getting the team our first podium!”
Roman De Angelis and Gray Newell will compete alongside Grisham and O’Meara-Hunt in the No. 24 Aston Martin Pirelli GT4 America entry. De Angelis and Newell have two wins this season at NOLA Motorsports Park and Road America.
The duo will bring knowledge from prior races at IMS to the team as De Angelis most recently competed during the IMSA Battle On the Bricks weekend in the Heart of Racing GTD entry scoring a fourth place finish. Newell will go on to make his ninth start at Indianapolis. Newell’s highest finish in Pirelli GT4 America, whom he co-drove with team principal Ian James, was third in 2022.
“I think Indy will be great. I mean, I really like Indy,” said De Angelis. “We were there a few weeks ago with IMSA and I thought the Aston Martin GT3 car was quite strong there. I think the Aston Martin GT4 car will be just as great. We may lack a little bit in the straight lines, compared to some of the BMWs and some of the other manufacturers. But honestly the Aston is great under braking, it's easy to drive, and has good air conditioning! So I think it'll be great at Indy as it is everywhere else. Hopefully it's a little bit cooler for us to avoid some of the heating problems that kind of take some power away. I’m excited to get there and hopefully finish the season on a st
rong note.”
Newell will be working overtime as he will not only compete in Pirelli GT4 America, but in GT America powered by AWS. In the GT America powered by AWS series, Newell has scored a win, a second place finish and two fourth place finishes at IMS. Newell looks to get back on the podium to complete the season, already this season he has landed four podium finishes at St. Petersburg Grand Prix and Circuit of the Americas.
GT America powered by AWS will kick off the four race weekend for the Heart of Racing on Friday at 1:40pm ET. Pirelli GT4 America will follow with race one at 5:25pm Friday evening. Racing action will resume Sunday morning for race two in both series.