Castro Scored a Pair of Runner-Up Finishes in Pro-Am, Dickinson Earns Pro Class Podium at His Home Track
AUSTIN, Texas (May 3, 2021) – Team Hardpoint EBM scored three Porsche Carrera Cup North America podiums on Sunday, with Efrin Castro earning a pair of second-place finishes in the Pro-Am class and Riley Dickinson scoring a third-place finish overall and in the Pro Class.
Rounds Three and Four of the 16-race championship both took place on Sunday at the 3.4-mile Circuit of the Americas, opening the day on a very slick, wet track and finishing in the heat of the Texas afternoon. The grid for the morning race was set based on championship points after qualifying was washed out on Saturday.
Electing to start the morning race on slicks, both Dickinson and Castro skated through the early stages as the track continued to dry throughout the 45-minute race.
Castro was running second in the Pro-Am class in the No. 65 Fine Fare Supermarkets /GoDominicanRepublic.com Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, but couldn’t hold onto the position in the final lap. He crossed the line in third, but was elevated to second-place by race officials following the race when the unofficial winner was moved to the rear of the field for a technical infraction.
Dickinson started the No. 53 Porsche Austin/Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in fourth position overall and in the Pro class, then held serve for the duration at his home race to finish fourth. Perhaps more importantly, Dickinson ran the second-quickest lap of the race in 2:15.901 (90.065 mph) to start the afternoon race on the outside of row one.
The starting position allowed Dickinson, with the track dry in the afternoon and the hot Texas sun beating down, to hold steady in third place on the opening lap and get clear of any challengers from behind. Dickinson made a strong run at the runner-up position in the closing laps, but ended the day with his second podium position of the young season.
“Overall, we are pretty pleased with this weekend even though we were aiming for better results,” Dickinson said. “Sunday morning’s race might have been the most difficult conditions I’ve ever raced in due to the combination of dry tires on a wet track. Sunday afternoon was the opposite with regards to the track conditions. The circuit was completely dry and in true Texas fashion, extremely hot. This made the second race all about tire management. I had a great car at the end of the race, but it was too little too late on my end. While we are striving to earn better results, a positive from the weekend is that we continued learn even more about the all new 992 Porsche GT3 Cup Car. Essentially building from where we left off at Sebring, and steadily improving. In that sense, I’m very much looking forward to what the rest of the season has in store. I also had the opportunity to spend time with my partners at Porsche Austin, both at the their facility and at the track, which was great and I can’t thank them enough for coming out this weekend and all of their support. Huge thank you as well to everyone at Team Hardpoint EBM for all their hard work and effort behind the scenes this week, it was a mammoth effort day in and day out.”
Castro gave chase to the Pro-Am leader throughout the race, holding steady second in class for the race distance after starting in the same position.
The double podium weekend elevated Castro to second early in the season-long championship. Dickinson holds at fourth in the point championship but has elevated Team Hardpoint EBM to third in the Entrant Championship standings.
The Porsche Carrera Cup North America returns to action June 24-27 at Watkins Glen International for another doubleheader in conjunction with the IMSA Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen weekend. The next challenge for Team Hardpoint EBM is with the IMSA WeatherTech Championship GT Daytona Porsche 911 GT3 R program at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, May 14-16.
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.
