Moorespeed Gets Ready For Season With COTA Test

AUSTIN, Texas -  The No. 19 WPD/Moorespeed Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama team recently finished a very productive two-day test at its home track, Circuit of the Americas.

Will Hardeman tested the team's 2016 Porsche GT3 Cup 991 that he will race in his second season with Moorespeed in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. The 2016 season starts March 16-18 at Sebring International Raceway.

"It was the best test of my life," Hardeman said. "Our two-day winter test home at COTA could not have gone better. The team hasn't been together since the (2015) finale at Laguna. I needed a break.

"The program team owner Dave (Moore) and the team put me through last year was super intense. I was still a little worried I might come back at a sub-par level. This winter I thought a lot about the bad habits I'd developed and really worked on eliminating them mentally, and it seemed to have paid off."

Team owner David Moore was pleased with Hardeman's progress.

"I think we reached another milestone, maybe the most important to date," Moore said. "Last year we saw some signs late in the season that he was getting close, but today after doing two race simulations back to back and he wasn't sweating, no red face, fresh and the fact that he decided not to use a cool suit or helmet blower just showed how far he's come. I know it’s cheesy, but he's finally become 'one with the car.' 

"I told him one day it would just click and everything would slow down in his mind; then he could get on with racing instead of just focusing on his driving. I could not be more pleased. We ran some very quick laps right out of the gate and he shattered his personal best on the Yokohama tires."