The No. 99 GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R Improved Seven Positions In the Sprint Race on the Famed Street Circuit
LONG BEACH, California (April 9, 2022) – Hardpoint improved seven positions from start to finish of the short IMSA WeatherTech Championship Sprint Cup race on Saturday on the streets of Long Beach to take home a seventh-place finish. Rob Ferriol started the race before passing off to Katherine Legge with just over an hour to go in the 100-minute sprint at the Long Beach Grand Prix.
No. 99 GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R Event Notebook
- Hardpoint began Saturday’s Long Beach race 14th on the GT Daytona (GTD) class grid with Ferriol behind the wheel. The race distance was just 100 minutes, more than an hour shorter than the typical sprint race distance of two hours, 45 minutes on the WeatherTech Championship schedule.
- Despite the time crunch, the team was able to make up seven positions during the race. The seven positions were second most of any team in the race, regardless of class.
- The positions gained also came despite contact from a DPi-class car, which made contact with the front right of the Porsche midway through Ferriol’s stint. The contact changed the handling of the car during Legge’s run and put her in survival mode through the finish of the race.
- With the finish, Legge and Ferriol unofficially sit seventh in IMSA’s Sprint Cup championship standings.
- Hardpoint returns to action at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, April 29 – May 1. In addition to the GTD car driven by Ferriol and Legge, it will mark the return of Hardpoint’s IMSA Michlelin Pilot Challenge GS-class car, the No. 22 Racing To End Alzheimer’s Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport driven by Nick Galante and Sean McAllister.
Hardpoint Quote Board
Rob Ferriol, Owner and Driver, No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R: “We know coming to Long Beach, we’re coming for a street fight. It’s a street race and there’s no margin for error. We had a good car, I think we were one of the better Porsches. We had some contact with one of the prototypes coming through, which adjusted the handling a little bit. We stayed in it, Katherine got in and picked up a few more positions. We fought all the way to the end with a bit of a compromised car, picked up seven spots, and we’ll take that. We’ll learn some lessons and get ready for Laguna.”
Katherine Legge, Driver, No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R: “The team did a great job. We had a great pit stop and they executed perfectly. Unfortunately, we had a small issue from Rob getting hit. Rob and I were really just trying to keep it off the walls and finish the race, which is more than some others did. I think all in all it was a good result. We managed to keep it together and the team took a step forward. There are a lot of positives to take from a difficult race.”
About Hardpoint:
Hardpoint was founded by Rob Ferriol in 2018 with the vision of combining his experience as a successful entrepreneur with his passion for racing. Headquartered at VIRginia International Raceway, the team captured the 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup North America Pro-Am championship in its inaugural season and competes full-time in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship in the No. 99 GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R with co-drivers Ferriol and Katherine Legge, joined by Stefan Wilson for Michelin Endurance Cup races. In 2022, Hardpoint has added the No. 22 Racing To End Alzheimer’s Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport driven by Nick Galante and Sean McAllister in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS). More information on Hardpoint can be found at www.hardpoint.com or through its strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
