Katherine Legge will return to active competition at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, joining Team Hardpoint EBM alongside Christina Nelsen.
Legge and Nielsen will team up with Rob Ferriol and two-time Le Mans winner Earl Bamber aboard the team’s #88 Porsche 911 GT3 R.
The team is a partnership between Ferriol’s Team Hardpoint and Earl Bamber Motorsport.
For the British driver, it marks the first team she has taken part in a race since she suffered leg injuries in a crash while testing an ORECA LMP2 car at Paul Ricard in July 2020.
“I am excited on so many levels to get our season kicked off with Team Hardpoint EBM,” Legge said. “Last year was one to forget for me, but my legs are 100 percent race ready and I am champing at the bit to get back in a race car.
“I am very grateful to the team and to Porsche for this opportunity, and for helping in my quest to showcase female talent.
“I believe we will be the first-ever equally diverse team to have competed at Daytona 24,. I’m looking forward to working with Rob and Earl, and learning how to wheel a Porsche, as it will be my first time with the marque.”
Legge and Nielsen join Bamber, who has three podiums out of six starts in the Florida endurance classic. The New Zealander will be back in GTD for the first time since 2014, when he made his debut in the championship.
Ferriol, meanwhile, will be making his first start in the Rolex 24 after his first season in IMSA’s top tier series in 2020.
“So much has been written and said about Daytona over the course of its history, to be able to debut Team Hardpoint EBM at this storied event is just an amazing and humbling opportunity,” Ferriol said. “We’ve been hard at work since the checker dropped not long ago at Sebring, bringing together two organizations to create what we hope will be a lasting presence in the IMSA paddock for years to come.
“We’ve put together a wonderful team for the 24 Hours, both on and off the track. It’s no secret that Earl, Katherine and Christina have all had success in IMSA, but to be able to bring all that experience together into one entry, and then join them on track as a driver, is the icing on the cake. I can’t think of a better way to start 2021.”
The team also unveiled the livery of its GT3 Porsche, decked out in a white, blue and yellow colour scheme.
