Riley Dickinson, Efrin Castro Take First Steps Toward Pro, Pro-Am Class Championship Efforts on a Track Where Both Have Seen Past Success
SEBRING, Florida (March 18, 2021) – Team Hardpoint EBM steps into Porsche Carrera Cup North America for the first time this week at Sebring International Raceway, with drivers Riley Dickinson and Efrin Castro competing for the season-long championship in the newest generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.
The doubleheader weekend is the championship debut in North America, with 45-minute sprint races on Thursday, March 18 (5:30 p.m. ET) and Friday, March 19 (10:10 a.m. ET). Both races can be seen live at IMSA.tv.
Sebring International Raceway is a track where both drivers hold race wins in Porsche’s previous generation single mark series, and have experience in the 992-generation cars following a series-wide test at the track less than two weeks ago.
Dickinson, who will drive the No. 53 Porsche Austin/Team Hardpoint Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the Pro class, won overall a season ago at Sebring on his way to a second-place finish in the season-long IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Platinum Cup championship.
“This weekend all eyes will be on the North American market since we are the first series to race with the all-new 992 GT3 Cup Car,” Dickinson said. “I’m very excited to get the season underway with Team Hardpoint EBM, and also extremely proud to fly the Porsche Austin colors this weekend and throughout the year. Porsche has produced an unbelievable car for us to compete with.”
Castro was also the runner-up in his class of the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA a season ago, but ended the season with a win at Sebring in Gold Cup. He’ll climb behind the wheel of the No. 65 Fine Fare Supermarkets/GoDominicanRepublic.com Porsche 911 GT3 Cup this weekend and throughout the 2021 season.
“This new Porsche Carrera Cup cars are amazing and a lot of fun to drive,” Castro said. “I’m most looking forward to working closely with a teammate like Riley and everyone at Team Hardpoint EBM so that I can get faster and hopefully compete for a championship. But I really like how challenging and fast Sebring is, and I’m looking forward to racing once again.”
Practice got underway on Wednesday afternoon with a short 30-minute session. Dickinson was fourth in the Pro Class and overall, with Castro second in Pro-Am.
The full week-long schedule, which includes Team Hardpoint EBM’s two-car effort featuring the No. 99 GridRival/Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche 911 GT3 R and No. 88 Richard Mille/Champion Porsche 911 GT3 R, begins at with Carrera Cup practice on Wednesday, March 17 and carries through the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday. The No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R will be driven by team co-owners and full-season competitors Rob Ferriol and Earl Bamber, joined by Trenton Estep, while full-time drivers in the No. 88 Porsche Katherine Legge and Christina Nielsen will be joined at Sebring by Bia Figueiredo. In addition to watchmaker Richard Mille, the program recently picked up the support of Champion Porsche based in Pompano Beach, Florida.
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.
