Moorespeed, Hardeman Gain Ground at Road America

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Road America proved to be the perfect place to show how Moorespeed driver Will Hardeman is constantly learning and improving.

 
Moorespeed spent nearly two weeks at Road America as the team took on a “double-double” with back-to-back race weekends. Prior to the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama event Aug. 7-9, Moorespeed competed at Road America with the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA. Hardeman and the team used the Cup Trophy event as a training session for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, and results showed it was well worth the time.
  
 First-year driver Hardeman was in place to have his best finish of the season during Round 9 of the championship Aug. 8. Hardeman, who started fourth, was running third and racing toward a podium finish as he held off a line of seasoned drivers. But a caution midway through the race interrupted Hardeman’s pace and focus.
 
During the caution lap, Hardeman’s No. 19 Moorespeed/ WPD Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car spun and made contact with a wall, destroying the right-rear suspension and right front steering. The damage forced Hardeman to end his race early.
 
“Everything was going great; it was my best performance this year in IMSA,” Hardeman said. “During the caution lap, your focus goes down and your attention level is diminished because you’re not really racing anymore. At that point, I’m just doing what everyone else is doing; sawing on the wheel, scrubbing the tires, swerving the car and getting it into a little bit of a slide each time.
 
“But it’s a fine line between doing that and spinning the car. It just so happened there was a wall close by where I spun out. I’ve done a lot of boneheaded things in my life and this is one more of them, letting a podium finish slip by. I’ll never do that again. I need to be more conservative and more focused even when we’re not at race pace.”
 
The Moorespeed team worked through the night to rebuild the car to racing condition for Round 10 on Sunday, Aug. 9.
 
Hardeman on falsegrid

Hardeman started the race in eighth and held his position as the leaders and others were shuffled down the field of 24 cars. During the battle to stay in the top 10, Hardeman made hard contact with the No.16 of Michael Schein on track, which bent the front steering tie rod and severely affected the handling. He continued his fight for position with the damage and held off Santiago Creel for an eighth-place finish.

 
“The team set up up the car to run fast; it ran great,” Hardeman said. “If it had not been for the mistake I made in The Kink, where I basically bounced off (Michael) Schein and barely escaped the wall before getting back on track, I might have been able to make a better run up the field. But after the contact my crew chief, Robin Hayes, told me to focus on brining it home. I think I’m a better driver now that I know how to finish the race with a wounded car, but it also gave me additional seat time to learn more racecraft in preparation for VIR.
 
“I really want to thank the team, David, Price, Robin, Hunter, Mike and Phil, Those guys put in the work and gave me the opportunity to be here. That’s what I’m most thankful for. I’m happy to be here.”
 
Moorespeed co-owner David Moore focuses on the lessons Hardeman takes from each race so together they can focus on racecraft development. Moore has assembled for Hardeman a world-class group of accomplished drivers and crew members to help him in his development, including 1990 Le Mans winner Price Cobb and IMSA standout Andy Lally, along with the Moorespeed engineers.
 
The team and Hardeman will return to their home base of Austin, Texas, and refocus and adjust to ensure Hardeman is once again in the fight for a podium finish at the next Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama event, Aug. 21-23 at VIRginia International Raceway. The event is a triple-header, with the regularly scheduled Rounds 11 and 12 and a makeup of Round 4, rained out twice this season.
 
“He’s getting more racecraft every time we go out,” Moore said of Hardeman. “Racecraft is key because he’s only been doing this a year. He’s blindingly fast in practice. But it’s when you get in those positions in the heat of battle during the race when it’s easy to forget things. Every time he goes out he’s getting more time in the seat where he can start repeating stuff. That’s the biggest hang-up he has right now is repeating his marks and being consistent. That’s just going to come with time, and he’s getting there.
 
“It was a long weekend for us doing back-to-back races. I know the crew is tired, but the crew is also ready to go to VIR. The guys are headed to Austin to get to work on the car so we can have it turned around by this Saturday.
 
“Next we’ve got the promoter test day at VIR. That’s a track Price knows very well, and Andy Lally will be there to help me, as well, with coaching. He’s also very good at that track. VIR, just like every other track we’ve been to, is a track Will hasn’t been to. We’ll probably get Will on the simulator this week and try to get him that mental image so he has something to start off with.”
 
Visit IMSA.com for VIR schedule details and more information on the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.
For updates on Moorespeed and Hardeman’s on-track performance, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. 
Adam Sinclair
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