MONTREAL – Moorespeed is expanding its IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama program to include two cars.
Rob Ferriol, currently third in the Gold Cup driver point standings, joins Moorespeed for the remainder of the season in IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge competition beginning at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this weekend in Montreal. He’ll be a teammate to full-season Moorespeed driver Riley Dickinson.
Dickinson sits third in the Platinum Cup driver point standings following doubleheaders at Barber Motorsports Park and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to open the season. Ferriol comes to Moorespeed after opening the season running with TPC Racing.
The addition fulfills a stated goal from last fall, adding an experienced hand to pair with the 16-year-old Dickinson as he strives for a Platinum class championship for cars built between 2017 and 2019.
“The work began on Montreal almost immediately following post-race debriefing and reflection of Mid-Ohio,” Moorespeed President David Moore said. “We had a very successful test a week ago at Watkins Glen, where we continued to make strong progress developing Riley’s raw talent. Rob is the perfect fit for Moorespeed and for Riley, as Rob can help mentor a great young man in Riley and they will be able to help each other with data. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.”
This weekend’s doubleheader at Montreal is part of the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. The event is unique on the schedule. Not only is it included on the Formula One calendar, but also is a dual event for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge including the Canadian field. The trip north of the border is the first to the track for Moorespeed.
“It’s going to be an unbelievable experience that I am very anxious to be a part of this coming week,” Dickinson said. “However, I’m there to execute the job at hand regardless of the atmosphere of the race. At the end of the day I’m going to treat it like any other race. The field is going to have a few different names in the running order with the Canadian series running in conjunction with ours which I think is going to provide even better racing throughout the weekend.”
Ferriol will drive the No. 5 Moorespeed/GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the Gold class, which is for 911 GT3 Cup cars built between 2014 and 2016. The change in teams is amicable for Ferriol, who worked closely with TPC Racing and Moorespeed in a collaboration to make the move for 2019.
“I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Mike and Harris Levitas and the entire TPC Racing team,” Ferriol said. “As I make a charge for the Gold championship this year, and TPC’s paddock continues to grow, they knew it would take a laser-focused, whole-team approach to really maximize my chances at finding that elusive top step at the end of the year. David has proven that his program at Moorespeed is designed to produce champions, so Mike, David, and I collectively put our heads together and came up with a plan.”