With the Hardpoint Motorsport Porsche 911 RSR-19
Absolute Racing will return to the Le Mans 24 Hours as part of a new collaboration with Hardpoint Motorsport and Proton Competition.
The tie-up will see the team race the #99 Hardpoint Motorsport Porsche 911 RSR-19 in the GTE Am category with Andrew Haryanto, Alessio Picariello and Le Mans 24 Hour rookie Martin Rump behind the wheel.
Absolute Racing made its first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year with a Porsche 911 RSR-19, finishing P7 in the GTE-AM class. The fan-favourite Ducks-liveried 911 RSR-19 is competing in the European Le Mans Series GTE class this season, and will join the 62-car field for the 90th running of the classic sportscar race.
Absolute Racing had been on the reserve list since the day that this year’s entry list has been released, but as the Hardpoint Motorsport priority one is the business operations and their focus is on growing that, it opened up an opportunity for Absolute Racing to return to France.
The effort will be supported by the decorated German squad Proton Competition and will run under the Hardpoint Motorsport banner.
Absolute Racing drivers will sample its first taste of La Sarthe’s iconic 13.629km circuit when the China-based team heads to France for the 24 Hours of Le Mans official Test Day, which will be held this Sunday (5 June).
The Le Mans 24 Hours gets underway at 16:00 CET on Saturday 11 June.
Ingo Matter, Team Director of Absolute Racing: “We were hoping to return to Le Mans this year after our presence last year. We just didn't anticipate it to happen with less than a week until the Test-Day. We'd like to thank Christian Reid from Proton and Hardpoint Motorsport for making this possible by granting us access to their entry. We can’t wait to get started and put the experience we gained last year to the track.”
Rob Ferriol, owner/driver of Hardpoint Motorsport: “Christian and the entire team at Proton have been fantastic in helping us navigate this process, and we hope to be in a position to partner with them again very soon. Fortunately, with their help, we’ve been able to quickly integrate the Absolute Racing team who we’re confident will represent Porsche, Dempsey-Proton, and Hardpoint with a strong finish. We wish them all the luck and will be cheering them on from the U.S.”
