Team Hardpoint EBM Scales Back to Single Porsche

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

Team Hardpoint EBM has scaled back to a single-car Porsche 911 GT3 R effort for next weekend’s Acura Sports Car Challenge presented by the TLX Type S as the team works through sponsorship details on its planned all-female driven GT Daytona entry.

Announced in the build-up to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Katherine Legge and Christina Nielsen were due to complete the season in the No. 88 car, although the Rob Ferriol and Earl and Will Bamber-owned team has experienced a “delay in finalizing the remaining full-season partner.”

Ferriol, who was due to team up with Earl Bamber for the full season in the No. 99 Porsche, has moved over to the No. 88 Porsche for Mid-Ohio alongside Legge, leaving both Earl Bamber and Nielsen on the sidelines. 

“When I committed Team Hardpoint EBM to the Women’s Initiative program, I did it because I believed in the merits of the program, what it means for the next generation of drivers, and what it means for the sport as a whole,” said Ferriol.

“As we continue to work through year two of COVID, some of the outside commitments we expected to have in place have not fully come to term.

“That said, with key support from Richard Mille and Champion Porsche, we’ve decided the best demonstration of our commitment to those merits is to keep Katherine in the car full-time while we continue to work toward funding the 88 as an all-female entry for remainder of the season.”

Legge currently sits ninth in the season-long driver’s championship, with Ferriol in 11th.

“This was not an easy decision,” Ferriol added. “Earl remains a significant part of our team, both on and off track, and I was really looking forward to our first Sprint Cup race together.

“Likewise, after such an exciting performance at Sebring, I hate to pull back on the momentum created by Katherine, Christina, and Bia with their near-miss of the podium.

“As a young team I knew there would be speed bumps along the way, and this is just one of those challenges to overcome.

“I’m grateful that, even at our early stage, we’re in the fortunate position to blend support from my partner GridRival with that of Richard Mille and Champion Porsche to continue demonstrating the power of diversity in IMSA.”

Legge added: “Due to COVID these are bizarre times in racing, and as such you have to adapt.

“We are really grateful to Rob, Earl and Team Hardpoint EBM for helping with this hiccup and whilst I will miss Christina and Earl in Mid-Ohio, I’m sure they will be back on track with us soon, and I will just focus on getting the best result possible for the team.

“We will continue to work with the stakeholders on putting all the jigsaw pieces in place for the remainder of the season.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John