Hardpoint Rebuilds For Eighth Place Finish At 12 Hours of Sebring in No. 99 GridRival/GNARLY Jerky Porsche 911 GT3 R

Rob Ferriol, Stefan Wilson and Katherine Legge Brought the Porsche Home After the Hardpoint Crew Rebuilt The Car On Friday
SEBRING, Florida (March 19, 2022) – After the Hardpoint crew rebuilt the No. 99 GridRival/GNARLY Jerky Porsche 911 GT3 R on Friday, drivers Rob Ferriol, Katherine Legge and Stefan Wilson co-drove to an eighth-place finish in a challenging Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, Round Two of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship GTD class. 

An incident in Thursday’s night practice caused damage to the frame of the Porsche GT3 R and forced the crew to pull out a spare chassis. Under championship rules, the team had to essentially strip everything from the damaged car and place it on the backup chassis. Conceding Friday morning’s practice and qualifying, the crew stripped the damaged car by working until midnight on Thursday night and returned to the track early on Friday morning. A full day of rebuilding the car ended at 11:30 on Friday night, where the team pushed the No. 99 Hardpoint Porsche to the front of technical inspection at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning to make the 20-minute morning warm-up and the 10:10 a.m. green flag. 

Starting from the back of the 17-car GT Daytona (GTD) class grid, the team persevered to an eighth-place finish in class and 32nd overall in the field of 53. 

The finish is the second-consecutive top-10 to open the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship and the Michelin Endurance Cup season for Hardpoint following a 10th-place finish at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Hardpoint was the top-finishing Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD class, and third overall in the race.
Hardpoint Quote Board

Rob Ferriol, Team Owner and Driver, No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R: Just 48 hours ago, we didn't have a race car. We had a pile of parts and two bare chassis. The Hardpoint crew put in a Herculean effort to effectively build a new race car. We had time for one warm-up session to shake the car down and make sure it worked this morning, but no setup time. We went into this race blind. While it's not our best finish here at Sebring, it's a testament to the team, crew and drivers to be able to go out with an unproven race car that, frankly, turned out to be a bit of a handful on track, start last, and pick up nine spots to finish inside the top 10. We'll take that."

Katherine Legge, Driver, No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R: "It’s a testament to how hard the guys worked to give us a car that would last the full 12 hours. It was less than ideal, but that’s probably because we didn’t have a chance to do setup on the car. We struggled a lot, but I think everybody at Hardpoint did a great job to bring it to the finish with no damage. It was disappointing from a speed perspective because it was a long, hard race when it was so difficult but the positive is the team and their heart and how much they put into it."

Stefan Wilson, Driver, No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R: "We battled through adversity this weekend, that's for sure. The car was so difficult to drive. It really is just a testimony to the whole crew and how hard they worked yesterday. As drivers, we worked really hard today but nowhere near as hard as they worked yesterday. I can't thank the crew enough for getting the car back together, getting us out there, and having a car that ran for 12 hours. That's what's impressive here. We'd have liked to have been a lot more competitive, but when things changed we had to reset our expectations and I'm really proud of what Hardpoint did."
Noteworthy

- Hardpoint made their 2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge debut on Thursday with the No. 22 Racing For Alzheimer’s Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport with drivers Nick Galante and Sean McAllister. An electrical gremlin arose in the brand-new race car, limiting the team to a 20th-place finish in the GS class. 

- The Racing To End Alzheimer’s Porsche Cayman carried the names of 65 loved ones who have or are currently suffering from Alzheimer’s on the purple livery. More names will be added throughout the year, and those wishing to contribute to the cause can do so via donation at R2EndAlz.org.  

- Hardpoint returns to action with the No. 99 GridRival/GNARLY Jerky Porsche 911 GT3 R on the street course during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 8 – 10. The next appearance for the No. 22 Racing To End Alzheimer’s Porsche Cayman is during the Monterey Sports Car Championship, April 29 to May 1. 
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. More information on Hardpoint can be found at www.hardpoint.com or through its strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Reece White
reece.white@hardpoint.com
(831) 383-9426