Moorespeed returns to the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with the No. 18 Moorespeed/GridRival Audi R8 LMS GT4 this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, fresh off a successful debut at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) where drivers Rob Ferriol and Spencer Pumpelly led four laps and challenged for victory in Moorespeed’s series debut.
Originally entered at VIR as a single-race entry in the Grand Sport (GS) class, the team has elected to continue the run with Ferriol and Pumpelly on the west coast in a second event this weekend, September 13 — 14.
The two-hour race can be seen live on IMSA.tv beginning at 5:55 p.m. EDT (2:55 p.m. PDT) this Saturday, September 14.
“At VIR we showed the paddock we are a contender,” Moorespeed President David Moore said. “I think everyone on the team knew coming in we would be, but we had to be calm and just do our jobs. We are super pleased to be coming to Laguna to give it another shot in preparations for 2020.”
The start was the first in the GS class for Ferriol, who has two wins under his belt for Moorespeed in the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA series. Ferriol found difficult conditions early in the VIR race as rain started to fall and others made a pit stop for rain tires, while he stayed on the track and led laps.
“The team as a whole did well at VIR, but Rob was the real star of the team,” Moore said. “We asked a lot of him in the race and he delivered where others may not have asked due to his relative short career. However, we trust him and it shows. Spencer has done a great job helping Rob develop his driving skills where we are starting to see huge dividends with his first two wins in Cup the most recent two events. I know they are really enjoying driving together and the whole team is behind them 100 percent.”
Ferriol’s wet baptism by fire came in the midst of his Porsche GT3 Cup season, where he currently sits second in the Gold Cup standings. Ferriol is riding a two-weekend winning streak in Porsche GT3 Cup, scoring victories at Road America and VIR last month, in what has been a relatively short racing career.
“VIR was such an amazing experience, despite the litany of challenges thrown at us – or maybe because of them,” Ferriol said. “My biggest takeaway from our GS debut was the resilience of the Audi R8 LMS GT4 platform and the Moorespeed team. We took a brand-new platform, in a new series, with barely any test time and put it in the top 10 before a little bad luck late in the race. All the right pieces are certainly there, so we’re going to put our heads down and use these late season events to continue refining what we’ve learned.”
Pumpelly, who has served as Ferriol’s driving coach before becoming his co-driver in the Moorespeed Audi, is a multi-time winner at the track in a variety of race series. His most recent win came in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship’s GT Daytona (GTD) class in 2015.
“Laguna Seca is a track where I’ve had success in the past winning in many different series,” Pumpelly said. “I’m looking forward to helping Rob get up to speed quickly and dialing the Audi in. The track is quite low grip so tire management is always an issue but the Moorespeed guys know how to get the full life out of the tires so Rob and I should have a good chance.”
The weekend begins with a test day on Thursday, September 12 before official practice gets underway on Friday morning at 9:35 a.m. PDT. Ferriol and Pumpelly will get a 35-minute practice session at 2:10 p.m. PDT on Friday, and a final practice session at 10:05 a.m. PDT on Saturday morning, before qualifying at 10:50 a.m. PDT. The Moorespeed team will take the green flag later that afternoon at 3:05 p.m. PDT (6:05 EDT) for the two-hour race, live on IMSA.tv.
