Following two successful IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS races, Moorespeed returns to competition with the No. 18 Moorespeed/GridRival Audi R8 LMS GT4 this week at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in the season finale for the series. Co-drivers Rob Ferriol and Spencer Pumpelly return for the team, which finished fourth the last time out at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The two-hour race can be seen live on IMSA.tv, beginning at 1:25 p.m. EDT this Friday, August 11th and will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network at 7:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, October 18.
Moorespeed’s Michelin Pilot Challenge team came together late in the season on what was originally scheduled as a one-off performance at Ferriol’s home track of VIRginia International Raceway (VIR). That strong outing led to an encore performance at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and, finally, the season-ending race at Road Atlanta.
“Road Atlanta is my favorite track, and one we have a lot of respect for,” Moorespeed President David Moore said. “We’re really looking forward to getting the band back together one last time for the season for one last performance before offseason testing begins. We have a special group that work well together, both on and off track. They are brothers who all have the common goal of competing for the top step. We know Rob and Spencer will do their best with the cars the guys hand them and give it 110 percent.”
Ferriol is competing in a Moorespeed car in both Michelin Pilot Challenge and IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA this weekend, so there will be no shortage of seat time as he moves from one session to the next throughout the week.
“My first time driving Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta was a track day event four years ago in my street car with way too much horsepower and not enough aero,” Ferriol said. “At the time I thought for sure Turn 12 was put in place to scare the daylights out of anyone who drove it – but now it’s one of my favorite turns in the U.S.! I’ve grown to love those circuits on the IMSA schedule with rolling elevation, blind apexes, and what I call ‘commitment turns’ – and Road Atlanta has them all in spades. It should be a great finale to the 2019 season!”
The Moorespeed team led in their series debut at VIR in August, then followed that up one spot from the podium in September at Laguna Seca.
Road Atlanta is just minutes from Pumpelly’s home in Atlanta, and a track where he’s won IMSA races in the past. Combined with a test session in the last week, the co-drivers are ready to race.
“The Audi is a great all-around car so Road Atlanta should be a good track for us,” Pumpelly said. “Rob has raced and tested there extensively, and I’ve been racing here since 1999 so I know the place well. We had a great run at Laguna Seca, just missing the podium, so we will be working hard to find a way to improve and finish higher up the order.”
The first official session for the No. 18 Moorespeed/GridRival Audi R8 LMS GT4 is a one-hour practice at 8:45 a.m. EDT on Thursday morning to open a busy day. Practice sessions continue at 12:35 p.m. EDT and 4:10 p.m. EDT, followed by qualifying at 4:55 p.m. EDT. Friday’s race begins at 1:25 p.m. EDT, live on IMSA.tv.
