The California 8 Hours is a sports car endurance race for GT3 and GT4 specification cars held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, as part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.[1] The first annual race was run in 2017. TCR Touring Cars were added to the race in 2018.[2] Over the three editions of the event, it was broadcast in part on television by CBS Sports Network, and streamed live across the internet.[3][4][5]

For the first two years, the California 8 Hours served as the season finale of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. In 2019, the date was brought forward to fill the second race of the season. The event is due to be replaced by the newly created Indianapolis 8 Hours event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 2020 Intercontinental GT Challenge.[6]

Winners

Year Drivers Vehicle Entrant Laps Ref
2017 Germany Pierre Kaffer
South Africa Kelvin van der Linde
Germany Markus Winkelhock 		Audi R8 LMS United States Audi Sport Team Magnus 314 [7]
2018 Germany Christopher Haase
South Africa Kelvin van der Linde
Germany Christopher Mies 		Audi R8 LMS Germany Audi Sport Team Land 306 [8]
2019 Australia Nick Foster
Spain Miguel Molina
Australia Tim Slade 		Ferrari 488 GT3 Taiwan HubAuto Corsa 327 [9]

Multiple winners

By driver

Wins Driver Years
2 South Africa Kelvin van der Linde 2017, 2018

By manufacturer

Wins Manufacturer Years
2 Germany Audi 2017, 2018

See also

References

  1. ^ Karis, Tony. "Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca preps for California 8 Hours, the longest race in track history". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ^ James, Richard S. (October 25, 2018). "Double the grid, double the spectacle at California 8 Hours". Racer. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  3. ^ Kish, Ryan (March 30, 2019). "California 8H: Pre-Race Notes". DailySportsCar. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  4. ^ "CBS Sports Network to Broadcast California 8H". SportsCar365. September 22, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  5. ^ "Stream the California 8 Hours live". Racer. October 28, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  6. ^ Coch, Mat (26 July 2019). "Indianapolis joins Bathurst on IGTC calendar". Speedcafe. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  7. ^ "8 h California 2017". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  8. ^ "California 8 Hours 2018". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  9. ^ "California 8 Hours 2019". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_8_Hours