Rob Ferriol To Make Long Beach Debut in No. 88 Richard Mille/GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R; Katherine Legge Returns To Site of First US Race and Victory
LONG BEACH, California (September 23, 2021) – Team Hardpoint co-drivers Rob Ferriol and Katherine Legge have two unique views of this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech Championship GT Daytona (GTD) race on the streets of Long Beach. Ferriol will make his first appearance at the famed U.S. street circuit, while Legge returns to the place that hosted her first career appearance in the United States, where she also earned a win.
The 100-minute race is scheduled for Saturday, September 25 at 2:05 p.m. PDT (5:05 p.m. EDT) and can be seen live on NBCSN for cable and satellite subscribers or via TrackPass on the NBCSN app. The temporary street race is the second of its kind on the 2021 IMSA schedule, following a 100-minute race on Belle Isle, Detroit in June.
For Ferriol, the famed 1.968-mile race through the streets of Long Beach is just his second on a temporary street circuit, following the earlier race in Detroit, in his first full season of IMSA GTD competition.
“I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel of our Richard Mille/GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R here at Long Beach,” Ferriol said. “We certainly learned a lot about street racing at Detroit, which will hopefully carry over. This is a tough circumstance for a first-time driver like myself, because there are no opportunities to test. Instead, we’ve put in some work on the simulator to get familiar with the layout. We’re much further along as a team at this point in the season and I think that will show. This is such an iconic race in the United States and we’re ready to put on a show in front of these fans.”
Conversely, Legge knows the layout well. Her first race in the United States came in what was then the open-wheel Atlantic Championship in 2005, where Legge won to become the first woman to win a major North American open-wheel race. The following season, she scored a top-10 finish at the same event in her Champ Car debut.
“Long Beach has a special place in my heart,” Legge said. “It’s where it all started for me. It was my first race in the Atlantic Championship and the start of my pro career. I won that race and have had some success here since. It’s been a while since I raced here but I’m beyond excited to be back this week with Team Hardpoint, Rob and the No. 88 Richard Mille/GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R.”
Team Hardpoint and the No. 88 Richard Mille/GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R pull onto the track for the first time at 9:45 a.m. PDT on Friday, September 24, for one hour of practice, followed by a second hour of practice at 1:20 p.m. PDT. Qualifying begins later that same day at 4:50 p.m. PDT to set the grid for Saturday’s race. Saturday’s race begins 2:05 p.m. PDT (5:05 p.m. EDT) on NBCSN.
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.
