Moorespeed drivers Rob Ferriol and Spencer Pumpelly co-drove the No. 18 Moorespeed/GridRival Audi R8 LMS GT4 to a hard-earned fourth-place finish Friday in the season-ending IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Ferriol took the start in the No. 18 Audi from his sixth-row grid position in a close and competitive Grand Sport (GS) class field. Persevering through three yellow flag restarts in his opening stint, Ferriol raced to as high as fourth in the opening 75 minutes of the two-hour race.
As the race progressed, strategy started to playout. Moorespeed pitted Ferriol under green with about 45 minutes remaining to put Pumpelly behind the wheel.
Three laps later, a poorly timed fourth yellow flag of the race came out and relegated Pumpelly to 18th in the field.
Both Pumpelly and Moorespeed maintained their focus, and with a strong Audi and driver competing on his home track, began a late charge through the field. Pumpelly worked his way up the order in the race’s final 35 minutes and was in fifth place when time expired and the checkered flag flew.
“The strategy didn’t quite play out the way we wanted it to,” Moore said. “The yellow kind of killed that for us. At the pass around we were at the back of the GS field. To come all the way back and finish P4 is a hell of a drive. The team and drivers didn’t quit. Rob put in an iron man run, he did more laps than anyone this weekend, and did a great job for us.”
Ferriol also competed in the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA doubleheader this weekend at Road Atlanta. He posted second-place Gold Cup finishes in both races, hopping right out of the Porsche and over to the Audi team on Friday.
“I was telling the guys, that I don’t think I have ever driven as long and as hard during that stint on Friday,” Ferriol said. “It was a ton of fun! It is why I wanted to drive in this series. Spencer did a phenomenal job. We thought we had the strategy, then that yellow killed us. He defiantly made lemonade out of lemons for us getting back to the top five.”
A post-race penalty to another competitor moved the No. 18 up one position in the final results, giving the Moorespeed Audi team its second-straight fourth place finish. Ferriol and Pumpelly also finished fourth last month at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in addition to leading the race and finishing 13th in their Michelin Pilot Challenge debut at VIRginia International Raceway in August.
“Rob came through huge,” Pumpelly said. “We knew we had a good car coming into the race. Rob is brand new to this Audi compared to the other guys starting this race. He held onto his spot at the start, proving he can run with the front guys. Strategy, it was a flip of the coin, we just came out on the wrong end. Coming from the back up to fifth, you can’t do that without a really good car, and that is what Moorespeed gave us today.”
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network at 7:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, October 18.
