Power finds his footing in GT3 at Indy

Two-time IndyCar Series champion Will Power has proved a fast learner in a GT3 car, but he knows there's much more to learn. Joining Kenny Habul and Chaz Mostert in the No. 75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO for the Intercontinental GT Challenge Indianapolis 8 Hour at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he's shown he has pace; but going fast by yourself and racing can be very different things.

“It felt very awkward at first – I had done so many laps in the open-wheel around here,” Power explains. “But the [GT3] cars are very good; the braking, the performance you get out of a heavy car like that is amazing. It's got good downforce, good horsepower, really fun. I really enjoyed it.”

Tomorrow's race will bring new lessons for Power. Taking the opportunity to attempt his second GT3 race as he transitions from Team Penske to Andretti Global in the IndyCar Series, he'll need to understand racing a much different car, to adjust to the aero wash that takes downforce off the front, and learn how the tires degrade during a stint.

“I think following is different. You see a bit more in front of you with an open-wheel car, and also you lose a lot of just front, and not overall, grip," he notes. "I think working out how to get by people will be something that I'll have to work on during the race – where you place a car and that sort of thing. Plus knowing you've got no car here [motioning left], and you've got all all car out there [motioning right]. You've got to know that too!”

He can lean on teammate Mostert for some of that information. The Australian Supercars star has a lot of GT3 experience as well, having taken a GT World Challenge Australia title. But Mostert acknowledges that adjusting to endurance racing from a sprint race background has been some time coming.

“It's taken so many years for me just to try and calm down a little bit in these races – generally, my background is more sprint races,” Mostert says. “So you get out there and you're just going for lap times – and generally as an endurance driver, you have to look after the tires the best and the brakes. So yeah, I'm going to just try and do my job for these other guys, keep the car nice and straight, and then we'll see where we are at the end. But it's always just a lot of fun, and there are so many world-class drivers here, I'm just honored to be on the grid.”

Power can probably help Mostert out with some local knowledge. Although Mostert has competed on the IMS road course before, in last year's IMSA Battle on the Bricks six-hour race, it pales to Power's five IndyCar wins on the road course to go along with his 2018 Indianapolis 500 victory. That number puts him on par with Michael Schumacher as the driver with the most victories on Indy's road course.

“I spend a lot of time at this place, and had a lot of success, too,” Power says. “I love being here, and to drive something different, I wanted to do that for a while – that different discipline I have to learn – and really enjoy it.

"I've really been having a lot of fun this weekend, being teammates with Chaz. Watched him for years over over in Australia and Supercars. He's won a lot of races, so he's teaching me some good stuff this weekend. And, yeah, I hope we can do a great job for Kenny and get him a championship. I don't know if we have a shot at an overall win, but that would be amazing, too.”

Power's got plenty of miles on the Indy road course, but adding to them in a GT3 has taken some getting used to. Walt Kuhn/IMS

For longtime GT3 racer Habul, who raced with Power in Formula Fords, putting together an all-Australian team is a dream come true. And if it all comes together on Saturday, he could walk away with a fifth Intercontinental GT Challenge championship, adding the Independent Cup title to two Bronze-class championships and two Pro-Am titles.

“it's cool. It was modeled off 1986 – Peter Brock and Alan Moffat went to Spa, and it was called Team Australia versus the world,” Habul says. “Will's a good friend of mine – been racing since we were young, I think in the ’90s, in Formula Ford. We actually stood on a podium at the Gold Coast IndyCar race in ’99 together. And then we went into F3 and he did a lot better than me, which I'm happy for. And I went into business and did OK, so I'm lucky. But racing is my love, and I wanted to drive with him for a long time, so it's exciting just to see the way he drives and the way he's come up to speed.

“He really is still trying to find his feet in the car. He's not comfortable at all. It's heavy, and it doesn't do what he's used to a race car doing. So it's impressive to see he was purple in a couple of sectors this morning.”

• Saturday's Indianapolis 8 Hour, the season finale for both the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the GT World Challenge America, begins at 12:20pm ET, and will be carried live on RACER+.