The Debut of Porsche Carrera Cup North America is also the First Podium for Team Hardpoint EBM
SEBRING, Florida (March 18, 2021) – Team Hardpoint EBM’s Efrin Castro scored a Pro-Am class podium with a Porsche Carrera Cup North America runner-up finish and teammate Riley Dickinson held on for sixth place in a competitive Pro Class at Sebring International Raceway on Thursday.
The podium finish was the first for Team Hardpoint EBM as an organization following the merging of Team Hardpoint and Earl Bamber Motorsport last November, and came in the debut for the IMSA-sanctioned Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
Castro started his No. 65 Fine Fare Supermarkets/GoDominicanRepublic.com Porsche 911 GT3 Cup on the class pole but had to take evasive action on the opening lap to miss a Pro class car that spun near the front of the field. That maneuver dropped Castro back to second place behind eventual winner Alan Metni and put him in chase mode through the 45-minute race.
His opportunity came with five minutes remaining following a late full-course caution period. Now directly behind the class leader, Castro took the lead momentarily on the final lap. The pair rand side-by-side through several corners before Castro ultimately finished second.
“I have to give thanks to my team here at Team Hardpoint EBM,” Castro said. “They’re getting me up to speed very quickly. This is just the beginning; I feel like I can improve a lot more. I couldn’t be happier with the result that we got today. I’m really proud of the team and myself for accomplishing it. I have to give credit to Metni. He fought and fought clean. We fought to the end. I thought I could get a good run on him through 17 on the last lap and get a photo finish, it was that close.”
Dickinson’s No. 53 Porsche Austin/Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche 911 GT3 Cup started the race in fourth position overall and in the Pro class and chased the leaders until the full-course caution with 15-minutes remaining. On the restart, a tire issue slowed Dickinson and cost him two positions.
“The end result doesn’t tell the whole story,” Dickinson said. “I’m happy with my performance and happy with what I did. Ultimately outside factors, what I call ‘B Factors,’ just got in the way. I’m happy for the team. They did a great job with Efrin and with me, we just didn’t quite put it together with the Porsche Austin car. But I’m very confident we’ll be able to put it back together and make a run at it tomorrow.”
The debut of Porsche Carrera Cup North America was the first IMSA podium for Team Hardpoint EBM. The team is a venture between Rob Ferriol’s Team Hardpoint and Earl Bamber and Will Bamber’s Earl Bamber Motorsport, which has and continues to field teams in Australia and Asia, among others. In addition to Carrera Cup North America, the team has a pair of Porsches in the GT Daytona class of the top-level IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
“It’s really cool,” Earl Bamber said. “Everyone has put a lot of hard work in. Efrin did an amazing job and almost got our first win as a team. That would have been a great accolade. We’re improving week by week, it’s a bit rushed to get everything together in a short period of time. Considering where we are operational and performance-wise already and we’ve got a lot way to go, it’s quite exciting for the future.”
Castro, Dickinson and Team Hardpoint EBM’s Carrera Cup effort return to action with a second 45-minute race from Sebring on Friday morning at 10:10 a.m. ET. Dickinson will start fourth overall and in the Pro Class, with Castro once again on the Pro-Am pole based on their second-fastest lap times in Thursday’s qualifying session. The race can be seen live at IMSA.tv.
About Team Hardpoint EBM:
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 to combine 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 Team Hardpoint EBM can be found at www.hardpoint.com or through its strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
