Pfaff Motorsports is a Canadian sports car racing team based in Toronto that currently competes in the GTD Pro class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
 | |
| Nation |  Canada |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Chris Pfaff |
| Former names | Pfaff Motor |
| Base | Toronto, Canada |
| Team principal(s) | Steve Bortolotti |
| Current series | IMSA Sportscar Championship |
| Former series | |
| Current drivers | IMSA SportsCar Championship: 9. |
| Website | https://pfaffmotorsports.com |
Background
Current president and CEO of Pfaff Automotive Partners Chris Pfaff, who assumed control in 1986, is the son of the founder Hans J. Pfaff, who created the Volkswagen dealership H.J. Pfaff Motors in 1964, adding Porsche in 1966.[1] General Manager Steve Bortolotti held a role in Pfaff Tuning before assuming his current role as GM of Motorsport.[2]
The team joined the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2019, following a more than 50 year history in North American Cup-class racing.[3] The Pfaff Group brought Pfaff Motorsports in-house in 2014[2][3] and appointed General Manager Steve Bortolotti in February 2015.[4] In 2016 President and CEO of Pfaff Automotive Partners Chris Pfaff was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame for the role he has played in the development of a long list of notable Canadian racers.[5]
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Pfaff Motorsports relationship with Porsche includes the use of factory drivers at international level in IMSA competition.
History
Pfaff Motors campaigned a Porsche 944 in the inaugural Rothmans Porsche Challenge[6] in 1986, and remained with the series until it ended in 1990, with Scott Goodyear winning the championship for the team in 1988.[7]
Pfaff entered the one-make series Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Canada from 2012 until the series ended in 2019. However, when that series was replaced by Porsche Carrera Cup North America in 2021, Pfaff had already moved to international racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Pfaff joined the Pirelli World Challenge in 2018, with factory drivers and support from Porsche Motorsport NA, including reigning Cup Challenge Canada champion of 2017 Scott Hargrove moving across to that entry. The team also fielded an entry in the supporting GT4 class.[8]
From 2019 on, Pfaff have campaigned in the IMSA Sportscar Championship, including the 24 Hours of Daytona, with a Porsche 911 GT3 R.[9] Pfaff's North American racing in 2020 was heavily affected by the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Pfaff ran in that season's 2020 24 Hours of Daytona but were otherwise only able to enter the Petit Le Mans round, and missed the remainder of the rearranged rounds.[10] The team, and commercial partners, competed in the domestic Canadian Touring Car Championship instead, using the experienced IMSA driver Zacharie Robichon in a coaching role with young driver Zach Vanier.[11] The 17-year old secured the championship title with Pfaff.[12]
Pfaff have appeared in a "Plaid Porsche" livery from 2019 to 2023. The idea started as a joke in the workshop;[13] the car for the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona arrived late, forcing the team had to work over the Christmas holiday period in order to meet logistics deadlines. In the workshop many of the crew wore plaid shirts and marketing director Laurence Yap suggested wrapping the car in plaid too.
On Oct 9, 2023, Pfaff Motorsport announced a switch to McLaren, campaigning a 720S GT3 Evo as an official manufacturer nominated entry to the GTD Pro class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. This included a switch away from the full plaid livery, instead creating a "ghost plaid" within a livery aligned with McLaren's "papaya and blue," according to designers Dakins Design.[14]
Note: the Pfaff businesses have a more recent McLaren relationship in addition to the founding Porsche relationship, and have previously campaigned McLaren GT4 chassis with IMSA.
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
(key) Races in bold indicates pole position. Races in italics indicates fastest lap.
References
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