Hardpoint, WRT Team Up for Audi Indy 8H Entry

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Team Hardpoint and WRT will join forces to represent Audi in next month’s Indianapolis 8 Hour, with the German manufacturer confirming its single works-supported entry for the second round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli.

Run under the Audi Sport Team Hardpoint WRT banner, Audi Sport factory drivers Mirko Bortolotti and Markus Winkelhock will be joined by Hardpoint regular Spencer Pumpelly in the team’s Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo.

It will be the only GT3-spec Audi on the grid for the race following a scaled back program by both Audi and Mercedes-AMG for the event due to complications surrounding COVID-19.

The Rob Ferriol-owned Hardpoint team, which made its GT3 debut in this year’s IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup, is understood to be supplying the car and some crew, with the Vincent Vosse-led WRT squad bringing its engineering and operations experience to the joint effort.

“With Audi Sport Team Hardpoint WRT, we are implementing the basic idea of the Intercontinental GT Challenge in America, too, namely to realize an international program in cooperation with local teams,” said Head of Audi Sport customer racing Chris Reinke.

“Team Hardpoint is a dedicated customer, who this year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in the U.S. is relying on one GT3 and one GT4 model each from the Audi Sport customer racing model range.

“WRT from Belgium has been cooperating with us for ten years and is one of the best teams in the world.

“Together we have already celebrated victories in some of the biggest endurance races in Europe, Asia and Australia. So we have a powerful team at the start.”

With Bortolotti and Winkelhock confirmed for the Oct. 2-4 event, it means they will both miss the ADAC GT Masters round at the Sachsenring that same weekend, which has proven to be a logistical challenge for the German manufacturers undertaking both season-long programs.

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