ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (7 August 2022) – Irish Mike’s Racing rebounded in challenging conditions at Road America Sunday to better their finishing positions in Round 6 of the IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America presented by Visit Cayman Islands.

After finishing 13th in class and 22nd overall in Saturday’s race in sunny conditions, Conor Flynn finished 11th in the Pro class and 17th overall driving the No. 95 FlynnCo Cars/ Chillout Systems Porsche 992 in wet conditions on Sunday.

“All in all, it was a good weekend, and I feel like we made a lot of ground as far as learning how to drive the car,” Flynn said. “We learned a couple of tricks, and this car seems to be all about tricks. We were excited for the rain today. We had a little bit of an issue in qualifying which cost us not be able to set a second-fastest lap, so we started pretty far back, so we’re happy to have been able to crawl our way back up in the rain.”

Craig Conway placed 10th in class and 28th overall on Saturday in the No. 97 Diamond Suzuki Porsche 992. On Sunday, he advanced to ninth in class and 25th overall, missing his season-best finish of eighth in the most recent round at Watkins Glen by only one position.

“We keep making progress with the new car, and that’s what we’re trying to do every session,” Conway said. “I’ve been making forward progress, and that’s our goal, that we just keep moving forward.”

Conway was pleased with his progress racing in the rain.

“I felt like I did a pretty good job, and I was amazed with the aero on this new car and how much of an effect it had in the rain– that took me a while to get used to that. But I was able to build up my level of confidence to keep the speed up,” Conway explained. “I had a couple of good races with a couple of guys. We ended up a little bit ahead of where we started, but at least we didn’t go backwards or go off or do anything to hurt the car.”

Rain or shine, both drivers managed to avoid incidents in the two races, including the Sunday round that started in light rain and ended on a drying track. Both Irish Mike’s Racing drivers recorded their best laps of Sunday’s event on the final lap.

“All in all, both of our cars are clean in terms of not having body damage, although they are really dirty from running in the rain! ” Flynn said. “Our guys are going to be busy cleaning them up and getting them looking great for our upcoming races.”

Next up for the Porsche Carrera Cup North America will be historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sept. 1-3. The season concludes at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta during the Motul Petit Le Mans weekend on Sept. 29-30.

“We’re excited to be going on to Indy, which is a track I’ve raced at,” Flynn said. “We like Indy and then Road Atlanta is another of my favorite tracks. I think we’re in a good spot in terms of learning about the cars to finish the season on a high note.”

For the second race in a row, contact with the No. 36 entry undermines a strong effort by the SCM team

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (7 August 2022) – After getting caught up in another driver’s mistake, Sean Creech Motorsport (SCM) saw a solid result go by the wayside midway through the IMSA Fastlane SportsCar race at legendary Road America on Sunday.

Drivers João Barbosa and Malthe Jakobsen combined to keep the No. 33 SCM Exelixis/Focal One/Alta Equipment Ligier JS P320 in the top three despite rapidly changing weather conditions early in the two-hour and 40-minute event. But midway through the race, the Andretti LMP3 in second position went off course between turns 13 and 14 and came back on track directly in front of Jakobsen, who was unable to avoid. Jakobsen slid into the tires, ending the promising race early for the team. The two cars had tangled on lap one in the previous event, with the No. 36 sliding into the No. 33, ending the day early there as well.

The day had begun with a great deal of promise, after Saturday’s record-setting pole lap by Jakobsen – whose pole time of 1:59.434 was the quickest LMP3 lap of the entire weekend. But with Sunday dawning gray and cloudy, with a significant chance of rain, teams knew that tire strategy and pace in wet and dry conditions would be key – as would staying out of trouble.

Jakobsen took the green under cloudy and cool conditions and within two laps, paced right on the rear wing of the LMP2 car ahead. The pair swapped positions back and forth, with Jakobsen deciding that preserving his Michelin tires – and his car – was the better idea. 25 minutes into the race and with a light rain starting to fall, a full course caution came out for a car into the turn eight gravel. With rain on the radar, the team took the opportunity to change to rain tires, taking on fuel and making the change to Barbosa.

Coming back out in third position, Barbosa did the best he could to manage the rapidly changing track conditions, as the racing line quickly began to dry. A full course caution with an hour and 20 minutes remaining offered the chance to change back to slick tires – and to Jakobsen, who would take the car to the finish.

But shortly thereafter, the No. 36 LMP3 ahead went off in turn 14 and collected a sign, undoubtedly obstructing his view. He came back on track and came across the track as Jakobsen crested the hill and approached at full speed. With the No. 36 careening across the track, Jakobsen had nowhere to go – he attempted to pass on the left but once he hit the wet grass, it was a quick ride into the tires and out of the race.

It was a disappointing end to the day for the entire team, particularly after showing strong pace in the race to follow on the impressive speed that both Barbosa and 18-year-old Jakobsen showed all weekend long.

“The team did a great job with the strategy,” said Barbosa. “But I went out on rain tires with the DPi cars who were still on sticks and got into the wrong position a couple of times and lost some track position. But I knew conditions were changing, I just needed to bring the car back and give us a chance for a good result. But unfortunately, we were involved in someone else’s mistake that really cost us. It’s so disappointing: the team did a great job all weekend, we had a strong car – but unfortunately, we couldn’t show it at the end where it mattered. Hopefully all the bad luck is gone now, on to Petit.”

“It was a good start, though I was struggling with a P2 car in front,” said Jakobsen. “I couldn’t get any free laps but it was okay since we were still in the LMP3 lead. Joao did a good job in his stint, it was tough with the rain ending so quickly. I went out back on slicks and I was getting closer to the No. 36 and he made a mistake and went off in the grass. I thought he was going to continue in that direction but somehow he made it back on track and I went off trying to avoid him. A really disappointing ending, the team did such a great job all weekend.”

“Joao really got the ugly stint, with all the rain,” said team principal Sean Creech. “Not a full wet nor a full dry track, but very slippery. Malthe did a great job but unfortunately, for the team, the crew, for Lance (Willsey, who had been unable to compete at Road America this weekend), it was unfortunate that we were put off by another car for the second race in a row. So now, we get ready for testing at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and hopefully, we can bring home a win at Petit le Mans.”

SCM thanks partners Alta Equipment Company, Focal One and Exelixis for their continued support.

Next up for Sean Creech Motorsport will be Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s season finale – and race four of the Michelin Endurance Cup. The 10-hour endurance classic, set for Saturday October 1, will be broadcast live in the U.S. on PeacockTV, with NBC and USA Network splitting the broadcast coverage. International viewers can watch the entire race via IMSA.tv. IMSA Radio will also be available at IMSA.com.

About SCM

Team leader Sean Creech has competed in a multitude of sports car series from 1990 until the present day, including Group C, IMSA GTP, WSC, Grand-Am, SRO World Challenge, and IMSA. SCM will contest the full WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2022 with João Barbosa and Lance Willsey. http://seancreechmotorsport.com/

About Alta Equipment

An industry-leading material handling and construction equipment company, Alta Equipment is an innovator of solutions, delivering diverse products and unrivaled support centered on building lasting customer relationships. Alta Equipment began in 1984 with a single location in Detroit and has grown to 57 locations throughout the Midwest, Northeast, and Florida.

https://www.altaequipment.com/

About Focal One

One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime in the United States. The Focal One® HIFU Prostate treatment offers patients a non-invasive outpatient procedure to target prostate tissue while avoiding the common side effects such as loss of urinary continence and sexual function. The Focal One treatment uses high performance, high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to precisely target and ablate the prostate, allowing patients to quickly return to normal activities.

http://www.focalone.com/

Challenges with weather, pace work against Garcia and Taylor in GTD PRO

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. (Aug. 7, 2022) – Corvette Racing came home third in class Sunday at Road America in the IMSA Fastline SportsCar Weekend. Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor finished on the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO podium in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R for their second straight top-three finish at the circuit in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Garcia started third and drove the first 40 minutes in mostly dry conditions, although track conditions grew more treacherous on his slick Michelin tires toward the end of his stint.

The Corvette Racing crew got the No. 3 Corvette and Taylor out at the head of GTD PRO after the first stop. Unfortunately, Taylor had the worst of the conditions as he rejoined the race on wet-weather tires. Even more frustrating was the No. 3 Corvette’s lack of straight-line speed also started to rear its head as Taylor went from first to third on the restart in a matter of two corners.

He fell down to fourth behind the No. 23 Aston Martin, but more than once he took back the position into one of Road America’s brake zones only to fall back again on the long runs between corners. Meanwhile, the rain was somewhat consistent at the start of Taylor’s stint but moved to drying conditions as the second of three full-course yellows flew with 78 minutes remaining. Garcia got back in on slick tires and restarted fourth in class.

He finally got the No. 3 Corvette back onto the podium with less than hour to go while a number of GTD cars were in a fuel-savings mode to try and make the end in case the race went green the rest of the way.

That didn’t happen as a third yellow came out with 54 minutes to go. Corvette Racing engineers elected to keep Garcia out to try and gain an advantage in track position, but a number of GTD cars had the same idea – including the eventual race-winning Lexus.

The race went green with 36 minutes to go but Garcia was swallowed up and passed by two more lapped GTD cars on the run from the final corner to the start-finish line. He was able to hold on to the third position in GTD PRO before a final yellow ended the race with eight minutes left.

Corvette Racing’s next event is the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR from Virginia International Raceway on August 26-28.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED THIRD IN GTD PRO:“The way to you get laptime in our car is completely different to everyone else. On every restart we lost at least one or two positions. So you feel helpless and frustrated. There’s nothing we can do to make our car faster. Hopefully the next race at VIR is better.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED THIRD IN GTD PRO: “It was a frustrating day as a whole. It seems our pace over a lap isn’t too horrible, but where our pace is made against everyone else makes it almost impossible to race anyone. It’s the same story on a different weekend from the last five or six races. It’s frustrating overall, so hopefully we can go to Virginia and be a little more competitive than this.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 80 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Nos. 02 and 01 Cadillac DPi-V.Rs finish second and third in 2-hour, 40-minute race

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 7, 2022) – Cadillac Racing claimed two spots on the podium in the IMSA Fastlane SportsCar Weekend in a drama-filled 2-hour, 40-minute race at Road America.

Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber co-drove the No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R to a runner-up finish – its fourth podium of the season – after starting second. The No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R co-driven by Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande earned its fourth consecutive podium, which includes two victories, with a third-place finish.

The ninth race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season included mixed weather conditions that played with strategy and tire choices on the 4.048-mile natural-terrain road course, four full-course cautions and hard racing late between the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R and the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R that benefitted Bamber in the end as the race ended under caution.

“That was a mixed race and pretty difficult up and down the whole way,” said Bamber, who drove around both Cadillac DPi-V.Rs that went wide while braking in the Kink. “We had the pace and had the fuel to do it at the end. It’s just a shame we didn’t get all the laps.”

The pole-sitting No. 10 Acura won the race.

“I think it’s a really good podium,” added Bamber. “It shows we have a really good car and pace. It’s so close in this championship, a little bit of strategy, a little bit of track position and you win.”

The No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R, co-driven by Tristan Vautier and Richard Westbrook finished fifth after leading Laps 20 through 45 rain-soaked laps. The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, co-driven by Olivier Pla and Pipo Derani, placed sixth.

Cadillac Racing teams conclude the 2022 season and the DPi era at the Motul Petit Le Mans on Sept. 28-Oct. 1 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Five Cadillac Racing DPi-V.R entries will contest the 10-hour race on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn natural-terrain road course.

In 2021, Cadillac Racing locked up its third Manufacturer Championship since 2017 while the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R earned the Team and Driver championships with a runner-up finish at the racecourse in Georgia.

Cadillac Racing from the cockpit

No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R (finished second)

Earl Bamber: “That was a mixed race and pretty difficult up and down the whole way. We were at the front; we were at the back. Tire choice was difficult. The last stop we went to the back and were just trying to make our way forward. The 01 got together with the 5 and we went to third and we were racing the 60 when it went in narrow (in the Carousel) and went off. We had the pace and had the fuel to do it at the end. It’s just a shame we didn’t get all the laps. I think it’s a really good podium. It shows we have a really good car and pace. It’s so close in this championship, a little bit of strategy, a little bit of track position and you win.”

Alex Lynn: “Crazy race with the weather, starting on slicks, then going to the wets and back again. Difficult one, but a good one for the fans. Happy with second.”

No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R (finished third)

Renger van der Zande: “We all race hard in IMSA. I wanted to win this one really bad, so I gave it all. We made one mistake on the class split – the last one – and that was the important one, so we lost (position) to the 5 car. I got behind him; that’s out own mistake. Then I had to just barge through to get by. He braked on the wet and we stayed wide and lost a position. It’s another podium, so we should be happy with that.”

Sebastien Bourdais: “I had to make up for my mistake yesterday. It’s shame that we can’t put ourselves back in the championship mix. We were behind the 10 car and the rain started to fall, and at that point the team made the call to stay on slicks with the information they had. Unfortunately, the 5 car was on wets, so we lost track position there. From there, the race kind of unfolded in a bit of a weird way. We gave ourselves a chance, though we didn’t quite execute everything strategy-wise. We’ll just keep digging and try to win Petit.”

No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R (finished fifth)

Richard Westbrook: “We’re obviously disappointed with the result. We showed again that we can fly at the front and made some great calls, particularly tire-wise, and had good pace in the wet. The car was awesome. The yellows didn’t help us. We had a nice, healthy lead and it wasn’t to be. Tristan did a great job keeping everyone behind him, but then we got stuck in the pit stop and went down to fifth. Tough day, but it was good for bits and pieces.”

Tristan Vautier: “We were in the fight for a podium with Renger (van der Zande) and it was a tough battle. Eventually, he got a run on me when I got behind a GT entering the Kink. We raced really hard, knowing it was for a podium spot. He squeezed me quite hard on the inside to brake on the damp side of the track and we both broke really late and that got us off-line and allowed the 02 to go through. No regrets. The team worked really hard and had a great strategy. We gave it a fight; it just didn’t play out our way today. It was good to be in the lead in mixed conditions. We showed as a team that we could be in the lead and manage it. It was good to be at the front, but only the result counts. We have to move forward to the next one because this one hurts.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R (finished sixth)

Olivier Pla: “From the beginning of my stint there was a drizzle all the time. Overall, we were missing speed this weekend for some reason. We were expecting much more and Pipo and I are not happy. We need keep our heads down, keep working going to Petit Le Mans. I think it’s going to be a good place for us.”

Pipo Derani: “It wasn’t an easy race. Unfortunately, we were caught up in all sorts of situations. Unlucky in most of them. Eventually, when we were going to be really close to the other DPis on the restart, a P3 moves and I had to take avoiding action hitting the board. So, just before the restart I had to come in and clear the board that was stuck to the front of the car. Difficult race for us. Never really getting a break to try something. It’s been a difficult season, so we’re going to regroup and we have one more chance to finish on a high. Despite a difficult season we never give up and see if we can have a good race next time around.”

About Cadillac

A leading luxury auto brand since 1902, Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio that features distinctive design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com.

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (August 7, 2022) — Having eluded the team for 17 years, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team won at Road America for the first time and retook the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship lead in dramatic fashion. The team now has a 19-point lead in hand over its sister car and season-long rival, the No. 60 MSR Acura DPi. Next up, the series heads to MOTUL Petit Le Mans, the season finale and final endurance race of the year.

Filipe Albuquerque started the race from pole position after yesterday’s impressive qualifying run. He built a one-second gap over the first few laps and maintained it as rain began to sprinkle and track conditions steadily worsened.

Ricky Taylor assumed his position behind the wheel under yellow with two hours remaining. As the clock ticked below the two-hour mark, unpredictable weather began to define the day. Initially expected to pass quickly, the rain intensified over the course of the caution period and Taylor fell two positions at the restart. He did well to manage a challenging situation, navigating a wet circuit on slick tires before he pitted for wets 20 minutes later. Another 20 minutes passed, and the entire field dove back down pit lane for slicks once more.

In the ensuing pit stop, the team opted to put Filipe Albuquerque back in the car, and he emerged in fourth place. Albuquerque made an electric move into Turn 1 shortly after, taking third place away from the No. 10 Konica Minolta team’s championship rivals.

The No. 60 Acura jumped the No. 10 in the pits during the final round of stops, and another long yellow set up a 35-minute sprint to the finish. Albuquerque, free to push to the maximum, made a brilliant move out of Turn 7 with two wheels on the grass to get by the No. 60 again. This time, the pass was for the lead, and with 23 minutes to go, Filipe never looked back.

With eight minutes remaining, an unfortunate incident amongst traffic for the trailing car ensured the victory for Albuquerque and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05. The race finished under caution, setting up a thrilling finale come October.

“My job was to survive the conditions during my stint today,” said Ricky Taylor. “We were looking on for an Acura 1-2 towards the end which would have been great and the strategy seemed strong. It’s the first win for the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 at Road America. Finally, crew member Bill Mullen got a win after 36 years of coming here, so congratulations to him. On top of everything, that feels the best—Bill Mullen got his win. I can’t say enough about Filipe’s drive.”

“What a crazy race,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “We started in first place and we led the first stint, and then the drizzle came. Ricky had a really tough time with a slick track and new, cold, slick tires. He did a hell of a job keeping the car on the track. We were almost last and were nearly lapped by the guys that took a gamble on rain tires, which was the right choice. At that point, our championship was completely over, but the beauty of IMSA and endurance racing is exactly this: it can shuffle unpredictably. I went back in the car even though I would’ve trusted Ricky to go to the end. I had driven in qualifying, so I was confident, and it was dry again. We pushed again—maximum attack—dragging the championship fight to the last race. It came off perfectly for us. Another win, our fourth of the season is just brilliant. We set the goal to win. So far, so good.”

“I’m extremely happy,” said team owner Wayne Taylor. “We came in behind in the championship and now lead the championship heading into the final round. It’s still going to be a race. 19 points is not enough to clinch it. To have four wins makes it a great year. Everybody has done a great job. Filipe was outstanding today and both he and Ricky are so selfless. I’ve never seen two teammates that close. Now, I can relax again.”

The 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season concludes in seven weeks’ time with the 2022 MOTUL Petit Le Mans. Practice 1 begins on Friday, September 29th at 9:50 a.m. ET. Green flag for the ten-hour championship finale will wave at 12:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 1st. Partial television coverage airs on NBC starting at 12:00 p.m. ET, with second-half coverage airing on the USA Network from 7:00 p.m. ET onwards. Full coverage is available to stream on Peacock beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET.
ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future. The company guides and supports its clients’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), intelligent information management, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been included on CRN’s MSP 500 list nine times and The World Technology Awards recently named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for fourteen consecutive years, and received Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year Award and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Award for its bizhub i-Series. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent four years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. Konica Minolta partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and works to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 effort and Wayne Taylor Racing is supported by an outstanding lineup of partners including Harrison Contracting, Acura Motorsports, Hammer Nutrition and CIT.

Galante, McAlister and Capestro-Dubets Ran With the Leaders for the Four-Hour Race, with Owen, Gibbons and DeBoer Leading Bronze Cup Before Early End to the Day

ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin (August 7, 2022) – Hardpoint was in the mix for the four-hour IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Road America on Saturday afternoon, with the No. 22 Racing to End Alzheimer’s Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport ultimately finishing ninth while the No. 9 Valkyrie Intelligence/Phoenix Global Health Porsche Cayman leading the Bronze Cup before an early end to its day.

Hardpoint Race News and Notes

Nick Galante, Sean McAlister and John Capestro-Dubets combined for the ninth-place finish in the No. 22 Racing to End Alzheimer’s Porsche. Sam Owen, Sean Gibbons and Derek DeBoer drove the No. 9 machine in a Hardpoint partnership with OGH Motorsports.

Owen qualified and began the race for the OGH Motorsports program 17th overall in the GS class and second in the Bronze Cup subclass for cars with a full line-up of Bronze-rated drivers. McAllister started the No. 22 car 12th overall and in class.

Owen took the lead in the Bronze Cup under yellow with a fuel-only stop for both Hardpoint cars. Unfortunate contact with a barrier just past the 35-minute mark ended the day for the No. 9 Porsche Cayman, with Owen treated and released from the track medical center.

As the opening driver in the No. 22 Porsche Cayman, McAlister held serve from his starting position before passing the car over to Galante following a 65-minute stint.

Galante again held his position through the ebb and flow of a variety of fuel strategies and lengthy full-course caution periods.

With two hours to go and Capestro-Dubets in the car, the team found themselves in the mix. Despite running on old tires, Capestro-Dubets was holding tight in fifth position with a line of established drivers behind him. He was squeezed off the track to drop four positions, but immediately came to pit lane for fresh tires and a full tank of fuel with just over 90 minutes to go.

The No. 22 Racing to End Alzheimer’s Porsche cycled back to the lead battle and climbed as high as second before diving to pit lane with 50 minutes remaining in the race for enough fuel and a fresh set of Michelin tires to get to the finish.

A final lengthy full course caution squeezed the pack together with under 15 minutes remaining, with Capestro-Dubets finishing in a solid ninth place. That possibly cost a few positions, as others near the top would have had to pit for fuel without the slower safety laps.

Hardpoint returns to action with IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship No. 99 GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R at their home race of Virginia International Raceway, August 26-28. Hardpoint’s shop is located in the Motorsports Technology Park on the grounds of VIR.

Hardpoint Quote Board

Nick Galante, Driver, No.22 Porsche Cayman: “People rising to the occasion was exactly what happened this weekend. The whole team dug in, the pit stops were great, Hardpoint was awesome, the engineer side was awesome and working with JCD really helped in our car development. Having the courage to try something new with the setup and have it work out was just great. The confidence Sean is showing, he did an amazing job in qualifying with all the heavy hitters out there for the four-hour race. The car is filling up, we’re getting close to our goal of 222 names on the car. Everyone is coming through, and that’s what Team Hardpoint does.

Sean McAlister, Driver, No. 22 Porsche Cayman: “It was a great weekend. We moved up three positions throughout the race. The car felt much better than it’s ever felt, so that was a big bonus. We were able to execute a good plan to move up a couple of positions. We got caught out by some yellows at the end that probably cost us a couple more spots because people didn’t have to pit again. Some people got lucky and we didn’t but it was a great weekend.”

John Capestro-Dubets, Driver, No. 22 Porsche Cayman: “It’s an absolute honor to drive for a cause like Racing to End Alzheimer’s and be in a family of such good people and unity. We all came together this weekend and made some big changes to the car and we saw the reward in the times. That last stint, we caught the yellow and we knew we were running out of tire on the front axle. I gave it my all and we lost one spot on the restart but we were able to get it home without anything else happening, which was a win. It was a hard fought battle that whole two hours and 20 minutes for me.”

Derek DeBoer, Driver, No. 9 Porsche Cayman: “it wasn’t the ending that we wanted, of course. The 22 car had a nice top-10 finish, but our No. 9 was running first in class when Sam had his incident. Most importantly, he’s back at home, he’s ok. It’s a testament to how safe these Porsches are. We’ll come back fighting the next time.”

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), as well as the No. 428 TradeCentric Porsche 911 GT3 Cup driven by Brady Behrman in International GT. More information on Hardpoint can be found at www.hardpoint.com or through its strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.