Photo credit Sideline Sports Photography
Team Hardpoint’s IMSA WeatherTech GTD Porsche Will Start On Row Five Out West at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (September 11, 2021) – Team Hardpoint EBM’s Efrin Castro earned his second Porsche Carrera Cup North America Pro-Am win on Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and teammate Riley Dickinson earned his fourth podium finish of the season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The team is split in two different locations this weekend, with the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship running out west at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Team owner Rob Ferriol and Katherine Legge will co-drive the No. 88 Richard Mille/GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R in Sunday’s race after qualifying 10th in class on Saturday for Team Hardpoint.
Castro’s win came flag-to-flag in the No. 65 Fine Fare Supermarkets/GoDomincanRepublic.com Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in dominating fashion with a 23.353 second win. Despite running in the Pro-Am Class, Castro finished in ninth place overall in the 45-minute race.
The victory allowed him to make up twenty points in the championship, as leader Alan Metni missed Saturday’s race to run in a separate series at Laguna Seca. Metni will be in Indianapolis for the two Sunday races.
“I was able to hold my pace and create a gap for the whole race and was very consistent with my laps and that gave me the win,” Castro said. “I learned the track a little better today for tomorrow’s races, and that will help tomorrow. I would have liked to have Alan Metni here but he had a different race and I’m very glad to get the win today. I’ll try to do it again tomorrow with him here.”
Dickinson had a successful day for himself and the No. 53 Porsche Austin/Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche 911 GT3 Cup overall and in the Pro class. Starting fourth, Dickinson made his way around the championship leader for third early in the race. Once clear, Dickinson gapped the rest of the field and came home comfortably in third place.
That result allowed Dickinson to close within one point of fourth in the season-long point championship.
“The race result was definitely what we needed, especially after race two at Road America,” Dickinson said. “I had a good fight at the beginning with myself and another driver. That set the tone for us for the way the rest of the race went, because it created a big gap for the rest of the race and that result was set in stone. I can’t thank the Team Hardpoint EBM guys enough for the work they’ve done this weekend. We’ve kept our heads down and continued to refine our 992 Porsche Austin Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. I’m looking forward to race two and race three, we’ll see how that plays out tomorrow morning. It’s going to be a little bit cooler, and we’ll see how the day plays out, go from there, and keep on pushing.”
Dickinson will start Sunday’s race fourth overall on the grid.
Ferriol qualified 10th with a time of 1:25.813 (93.887 mph) for the GT Daytona class of the WeatherTech Championship race at Laguna Seca. Legge was one position higher in the “pro” portion of qualifying, which awards championship points.
Sunday will be a busy day for the Team Hardpoint line-up. Dickinson, Castro and the Team Hardpoint EBM contingent race at 8:45 a.m. EDT and again at 3:30 p.m. EDT on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ferriol, Legge and the No. 88 Richard Mille/GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R run a two-hour, 40-minute race at Laguna Seca beginning at 1:10 p.m. PDT (4:10 p.m. EDT). The Porsche Carrera Cup races can be seen live on Porsche Motorsport North America’s Youtube page, while the WeatherTech Championship race can be seen on NBCSN for cable or satellite subscribers or via TrackPass on the NBC Sports app.
About Team Hardpoint:
Hardpoint Motorsports was founded by Rob Ferriol in 2018 with the vision of combining his experience as a successful entrepreneur with his passion for racing. Team Hardpoint EBM is a joint venture between Team Hardpoint and Earl Bamber Motorsport formed in late 2020 for Team Hardpoint’s Porsche Carrera Cup North America program to utilize the resources of EBM and co-owners Earl Bamber and Will Bamber and the early success of Team Hardpoint. Headquartered at VIRginia International Raceway, the team’s 2021 plans include a full-season effort in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship in a Porsche 911 GT3 R and a multi-car effort in the IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America. More information on Hardpoint Motorsports can be found at www.hardpoint.com or through its strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
