Porsche Motorsport Weekly Event Notes: Monday, August 5, 2019

Porsche Profile.
Event Story Lines.
Pfaff Pyramid. Canadian Team Wins Road America for Second GTD Victory.
Pfaff Motorsports claimed its second consecutive victory of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD season at Road America on August 4. The first year customer team paired full-season driver Zach Robichon (Canada) with Porsche Young Professional Matt Campbell (Australia) in the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R to charge to the front of the Pro-Am style class on the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin-area track to add a second victory this season for the GT3-spec Porsche.

Like his team, the win is Robichon’s second career IMSA WeatherTech victory. The Porsche Young Driver Academy graduate paired with Porsche Young Professional Dennis Olsen (Norway) at Lime Rock Park two weeks ago for the plaid-liveried car’s first win. The back-to-back victories gave further credence to the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid for drivers and teams. Pfaff Motorsports, owned by Canada’s largest Porsche dealer, has prepared cars in each of the stepping-stones for customer teams in North America. The Toronto-area dealer has prepared track day cars for customers as well as entered – and won titles in – the one-make IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama series before moving into the SRO Blancpain GT World Challenge America series where it won a championship with Scott Hargrove (Canada). The Steve Bortolotti-managed program took on the task of a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport in early-season Michelin Pilot Challenge races in 2019 as well as the highest step on the customer pyramid, the IMSA WeatherTech GTD class.

The drivers of the No. 9 Pfaff machine are both products of the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid as well. Campbell turned heads in 2016 winning the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia before moving into international GT3 competition. Robichon is defending IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama champion and added a string of victories last year in the GT3 Cup Challenge USA as well before moving up to GTD this year. Hargrove, who stepped out of the No. 9 race car for the last two races, also worked his way through Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada, SRO GT World Challenge America and into WeatherTech GTD. Hargrove plans to return to the cockpit for the next round at VIRginia International Raceway later in August.

In other Porsche 911 GT3 R entries, Porsche Young Professional Dennis Olsen (Norway) shared a cockpit with Anthony Imperato (Brooklyn, New York) to finish in eighth-place with the No. 91 Wright Motorsports car. The No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche was involved in an accident not of its own making and was forced to retire from the event. Porsche works driver Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California) and Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, California) were classified 15th in the GTD class.

The GT-only Round Nine of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will present the Porsche GT Team the opportunity to go for an overall victory. The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for August 23 – 25 at VIRginia International Raceway.

Matt Campbell, Driver, No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“We had to work for it in the middle and the end of the last stint. Zach brought it in P2. He did a fantastic job bringing it from fourth [on the grid]. The Pfaff Porsche had really good pace at the start of my first stint. We knew when we caught the Lambo we just needed to conserve fuel so we could jump them on the pit stop. That is what we did and that is what really won us our race today.”

Zach Robichon, Driver, No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“The team at Pfaff have done a fantastic job, first with Dennis and now with Matt joining us. It is a whole new set of information for us to learn from. We have capitalized on those opportunities with them on the team. For me, I just keep learning and do what the team wants from me on the first stint.”

Porsche Podium. Factory Teams Earns Eighth-Straight IMSA Podium.
The Porsche GT Team continued its string of podium results at the eighth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Earl Bamber (New Zealand) finished third in the GTLM class after a strong drive in their Porsche 911 RSR at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The podium – which marked a Porsche 911 RSR on each of race this season including five-straight victories – extended their lead in the drivers’ championship.

In the two-hour and 40-minute race, Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) ultimately finished in seventh-place in the sister 911 RSR factory car. In the Manufacturers’ classification, Porsche holds a convincing lead with three races remaining.

The GT-only Round Nine of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will present the Porsche GT Team the opportunity to go for an overall victory. The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for August 23 – 25 at VIRginia International Raceway.

Steffen Höllwarth, Program Manager IMSA SportsCar Championship.
“We knew that Road America would be one of the most difficult races of the year for us. So we’re very pleased with this podium result. Porsche has managed to defend its lead and Laurens and Earl have extended the gap to their pursuers even further in the drivers’ championship. The team now has two weeks off. Then we’ll be back in full force in Virginia.”

Earl Bamber, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Third-place on this racetrack is a great result for us. We haven’t been particularly successful here in recent years. Still, we managed to further extend our lead in the drivers’ classification. That was a tremendous effort from the whole team. Pitting as late as possible proved to be the key to success today.”

Laurens Vanthoor, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Road America is not our strongest circuit. We didn’t have the pace to win. In this regard, we’ve achieved the maximum here. We came third on what is allegedly our weakest racetrack and finished in front of our toughest rivals. What’s more, we have further extended our lead. That almost feels like a victory.”

Patrick Pilet, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Over the last six years, we’ve encountered on average four caution phases at this race in Elkhart Lake. For this reason, we had to split the timing of the pit stops to be ready for all eventualities. Unfortunately, our strategy didn’t work out. Seventh-place is disappointing. We lost several points in the drivers’ standings to our teammates at the top, but we’re still in second. Now it’s time to take a vacation. We’ll strike back in Virginia.”

Nick Tandy, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Both of our cars were on different strategies. Unlike our teammates, we pitted early in anticipation of a safety car phase, which never happened. I think that must have been the first time we’ve competed here without a single caution.”