| Co-Drivers Rob Ferriol and Spencer Pumpelly Return To the Site of Team Hardpoint’s Beginnings For IMSA WeatherTech and Michelin Pilot Challenge Weekend |
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DANVILLE, Virginia (August 20, 2020) – Team Hardpoint returns to its spiritual home this weekend for IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge racing, heading to VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR. Drivers Rob Ferriol and Spencer Pumpelly co-drove together for the first time a year ago at the track during the Michelin Pilot Challenge race, leading early in the rain and finishing 13th. During the off season, Ferriol started Team Hardpoint, and one year later the team is competing in two different championships. Team Hardpoint will race the No. 30 Team Hardpoint/GridRival.com Audi R8 LMS GT3 at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday in the two-hour, 40-minute Michelin GT Challenge at VIR in the GT Daytona (GTD) class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the No. 31 Team Hardpoint/GridRival.com Audi R8 GT4 in the two-hour Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix in the Grand Sport (GS) class of Michelin Pilot Challenge on Sunday at 2:55 p.m. ET. Both races can be seen live with TrackPass on the NBCSN app.
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“Going to VIR is going to be a really special weekend for me, for my family, and for the team,” Ferriol said. “About five years ago I drove a sports car on a track for the first time, and it was at VIR. Going back is going to be really cool. From starting out as a fan attending races there, and now going back not only in the GS car for a support race but in the GTD car for the WeatherTech Series.” Team Hardpoint continues to improve in its first year of operation as it learns the characteristics of both Audi platforms. The team can eliminate one variable at VIR, as it is the track that Ferriol, from Fayetteville, North Carolina, has the most miles on. “VIR is one of my favorite tracks,” Ferriol said. “It’s a beautiful venue. It’s a really neat piece of property. The track is really awesome. The uphill esses are world-famous. It’s just a great race track. It’s got a little bit of everything. It’s fast, it’s got some high-speed sweepers, it’s got the uphill esses. It’s got some low-speed stuff. It really tests you in the car in a lot of different ways.” The race weekend is unique as the GT classes take center stage, without the prototypes that traditionally adorn the WeatherTech field. For the team, the trip to VIR holds a lot of potential in Pumpelly’s mind. “VIR is my favorite track, and just a lot of fun to drive,” Pumpelly said. “I’m always excited to go there. I know the place well, and it’s Rob’s home track. The team is doing a really good job and getting a better handle on the car. Hopefully with all of that, we’ll be really competitive there this weekend.” The race weekend begins for Team Hardpoint on Friday at 8 a.m. ET with WeatherTech GTD practice, followed by a second practice session at noon and qualifying at 5:35 p.m. ET. The Michelin GT Challenge is Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. The GTD Audi is put away at the end of the day on Saturday, but the GS Audi remains. Michelin Pilot Challenge practices once on Friday afternoon, once on Saturday morning, and qualifies and races on Sunday. An 8:55 a.m. ET qualifying session sets the grid for Sunday’s two-hour race.
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About Hardpoint Motorsports: 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. The Hardpoint brand brings together three distinct entities into one motorsport ecosystem. Team Hardpoint is the brand’s racing arm, providing its partners and customers opportunities to compete, brand, and promote in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona class and the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Hardpoint Outfitters helps other teams and drivers extract more value from their motorsport investment by bundling branding, activation, and digital marketing services into customized turnkey packages, including design, apparel, hospitality, and social media management. The Hardpoint Paddock Foundation is the newest element of the ecosystem, created as a charitable foundation to support out of work paddock workers through the COVID-19 shutdown. As the shutdown comes to an end, the 501(c)3 Foundation is expected to grow into a more sustained model of providing vocational and educational support services to the professional sports car paddock community. More information on all of the Hardpoint Motorsports enterprises can be found at www.hardpoint.com or through its strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
