Riley Dickinson, Efrin Castro Earn Porsche Carrera Cup Podiums for Team Hardpoint EBM at Road America 08.08.2021: Rob Ferriol and Katherine Legge Ready For Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech Championship Race Following Saturday’s Qualifying Team Hardpoint EBM drivers Riley Dickinson

Rob Ferriol and Katherine Legge Ready For Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech Championship Race Following Saturday’s Qualifying

 

Team Hardpoint EBM drivers Riley Dickinson and Efrin Castro each earned Porsche Carrera Cup North America podium finishes on Saturday at Road America, while Rob Ferriol and Katherine Legge will start Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race on row six at the same track.



With Friday’s qualifying session rained out, the Porsche Carrera Cup grid was set by championship points. That left Dickinson’s No. 53 Porsche Austin/Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche 911 GT3 Cup fifth overall and in the Pro class, with Castro’s No. 65 Fine Fare Supermarkets/GoDominicanRepublic.com Porsche 911 GT3 Cup second in the Pro-Am class.



Dickinson got the jump at the green flag of the 40-minute race, moving immediately to third place and holding off an aggressive challenge through the opening lap when the race’s lone full-course caution came out. Dickinson held the position once again on the restart, keeping third place through the duration of the race to the checkered flag.



The podium finish, his third of the season through seven rounds, moved him unofficially to fourth in the standings. His best lap during the race means he will start third in Sunday’s contest.



“It was an unbelievable race from my perspective,” Dickinson said. “That’s the first time we’ve actually moved forward and held it, so from my standpoint that couldn’t have gone any better. We’re not complacent with third place, we want to get two more steps up on the podium but I’ve very happy with that effort.



To me it’s a bounce back from what we had at Watkins Glen, and it’s relieving to say the least. We have a few more things we need to work on with the car, but I can’t thank the Team Hardpoint EBM guys enough for their work this weekend. We were thrown a curveball with qualifying getting canceled but we made the most of it today and are starting third tomorrow.”

 


Castro started second in the Pro-Am class and, like his teammate, held that position to the finish. Coming on late, Castro finished less than two-seconds behind the leader but was never close enough to post a challenge.



It’s the sixth podium in seven races for Castro, who will start Sunday’s race second in the Pro-Am class.



“Overall, I’m happy today,” Castro said. “The team worked really hard. It’s very sad for me to say this, but I’m kind of disappointed in second place. It took a while to get the car underneath me and I was prepared for a better result. But I can’t complain, it was a lot of fun. These guys are driving the tires off these cars. It’s very competitive and that’s a very good finish.”



Ferriol will start the No. 88 Richard Mille/GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R 11th in the GT Daytona class in Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute WeatherTech Championship race on Sunday. His qualifying lap of 2:10.173 (111.979 mph) came on slick tires as the rain began to fall during the 15-minute session. Ferriol turned just two full laps before the track was too wet to continue to improve, likely costing the team a handful of starting positions but leaving them in a strong position for Sunday’s race.



“We felt pretty good going into qualifying and thought we had a good car that was going to put us higher than maybe we’ve been in the past,” Ferriol said. “It’s all part of those incremental gains up the starting order that we continue to work on. Unfortunately, the rain came a little quicker than we expected and the tires weren’t up to pressure yet, so we really didn’t get that peak lap before the rain. But I feel like we’ve got a good race car and looking forward to the race tomorrow.”



Dickinson and Castro return to action on Sunday morning with a second 40-minute race at 9:45 a.m. CDT. That race can be seen live online at IMSA.com/tv. Ferriol and Legge take to the track at 1:40 p.m. CDT in a race that can be seen live via TrackPass on the NBC Sports app, and delayed on NBCSN at 8 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. CDT.

 


Reece White - Sideline Sports Photography