LEXINGTON, Ohio – Team Hardpoint is expanding its efforts in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to include the Petit Le Mans and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
The team originally planned to compete in just the Sprint Cup events on the IMSA schedule this year in the GT Daytona class.
First, the No. 30 Team Hardpoint/GridRival.com Audi R8 LMS GT3 returns to action for the two-hour, 40-minute race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend on Sept. 25-27. Co-drivers Rob Ferriol and Spencer Pumpelly will once again pair up for the Sprint Cup race.
The team’s remaining plans will then take them to the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, the 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the season-ending 12 Hours of Sebring.
“We said from the start that our primary goal for the 2020 season was to establish a solid foundation by which we could build a relevant, long-term team in this paddock,” said Ferriol, the team principal. “To paraphrase a saying from my former life, ‘no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.’ This process doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and 2020 has certainly brought its fair share of surprises. I believe the key is to remain agile, evaluate opportunities as they come – not only for the present, but how they may shape the future as well – and make the best move possible. We followed that philosophy when we expanded into the WeatherTech Championship after the extended break, and now is the right time to continue building on that program for Team Hardpoint.”
The endurance race driver lineups will feature Ferriol, an Audi Sport works driver and a third driver to be announced later. In the meantime, Ferriol and Pumpelly will continue to drive during all sprint races, including at Mid-Ohio.
This will be the first IMSA visit to Mid-Ohio for Team Hardpoint, though not for the drivers. Ferriol stood on the podium twice during the 2019 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA doubleheader at Mid-Ohio, while sports car veteran Pumpelly has won numerous times at the track.
“The GTD class of the WeatherTech Championship is, in my mind, the most difficult class in the paddock,” Ferriol said. “We have to be flawless each and every time out to compete, and if we can be successful there, we can be successful anywhere. The refinement of our GTD program has progressed considerably since VIR, so I look forward to seeing the team’s efforts translate into results at Mid-Ohio.”