No. 19 CAG/Moorespeed Audi Team Sees Unfortunate Early End To Sebring Race 17.03.2019: Drivers Will Hardeman, Alex Riberas and Andrew Davis were steadily moving through the field before the day was cut short A promising start to the 12 Hours of Sebring ended early for the Moorespeed team on Saturday from damage t

Drivers Will Hardeman, Alex Riberas and Andrew Davis were steadily moving through the field before the day was cut short

 


A promising start to the 12 Hours of Sebring ended early for the Moorespeed team on Saturday from damage to the No. 19 Bardahl/Moorespeed Audi R8 LMS GT3 in the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.


Will Hardeman, starting the race, improved seven positions to run as high as ninth in the GT Daytona (GTD) class during the first 90 minutes of the race as the opening round of pit stops cycled through. Co-drivers Hardeman, Alex Riberas and Andrew Davis steadily improved the pace as the race went on and looked poised to gain more spots in the race’s second half.


Riberas made a stop to pass the car to Davis at the six-hour, 26-minute mark of the race while running in 12th place. Davis left the pit to start his second stint of the race, but came back to pit lane just eight minutes later. Less than 20 minutes later, Davis was slow on course and came back to the garage.



"We had extensive damage to the car, not of our own accord, that we're still trying to understand," David Moore, Moorespeed team principal, said. "It's really tough, because the team put in a super human effort after sustaining damage yesterday and only had a two-hour nap overnight before this morning's warm-up. We were poised to challenge for a podium with our strategy playing out but sometimes it's just not meant to be. Obviously, I feel really bad for our guys and sorry for our partners at Bardahl, Audi Genuine Parts and Continental Automotive Group that it didn't happen today."



Until that point, the driver trio was making up ground in what is known as a very difficult and grueling race.



“It’s unfortunate,” Davis said. “My first stint, I had a lot of fun out there. We ran well, and consistent, and just tried to meander through the first part of this difficult event. Will and Alex had both done a great job out there. We hadn’t made mistakes, we hadn’t run into anything. My second stint, I had gone right out of the pits and noticed something was wrong in the rear of the car. I had to come right back in and put another set of wheels on. I went back out and the car felt pretty good. I was stuck in a little bit of traffic, but I was gaining the same pace that I had the last stint. Unfortunately, something happened and I had to limp it home.”



 Hardeman’s opening stint came in some of the toughest conditions. The race officially started under a full course yellow for rain and standing water, and he stayed behind the safety car for forty minutes. Hardeman ran a double stint, all on rain tires, as the track finally began to dry.



“We started off with a pretty good pace,” Hardeman said. “Everything was looking really encouraging. We were making a lot of the right moves and things were running smoothly, especially in the rain. Our team is strong, and our car is strong. Our spirits were really high after the first three or four hours.”



Instead, the team turns its attention to the rest of the season. Hardeman and Riberas will continue during round three at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with Davis rejoining the team later in the season for the Michelin Endurance Cup races at Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta.



“We were pushing, all the pit stops were perfect, the guys did a fantastic job, and the car was getting better and better,” Riberas said. “Especially in the last stint, I was able to recover some time to the cars ahead of us.

Everyone on the team did a fantastic job. I think we should all be proud of the effort that went into this race. Mid-Ohio starts tomorrow, so we’ll try to get ready as soon as we can and as best as we can. That’s all we can do.”



The No. 19 CAG/Moorespeed Audi R8 LMS GT3, with support from Bardahl, Audi Genuine Parts and Continental Automotive Group, returns to action May 3-5 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with the rest of the IMSA WeatherTech field.



David B. Moore- photos Moorespeed