Will Watkins Glen be the track that gives Pfaff Motorsports its first win in IMSA GTD?
THEY HAVE BEEN COMPETITIVE FROM THE START OF THE SEASON AND WERE MINUTES AWAY FROM A CLASS WIN AT MID-OHIO
Throughout the 2019 IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship season, Pfaff Motorsports has been a mainstay competitor in the GTD field, with the team, drivers, and car showing excellent pace, but so far without a podium result. With round four of the full-season GTD championship taking place next weekend at the Sahlen’s 6 Hours at Watkins Glen International, the team will be looking to capitalize on its untapped potential.
Returning to pilot the Pfaff-Castrol Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, the season-long driving duo of Porsche Selected Driver Scott Hargrove (CA) and Zach Robichon (CA) will be completed once again by Porsche test driver and Nurburgring production car lap-record holder Lars Kern (DE). He joins the team for this third endurance round of the championship, and his first visit to the Glen.
“Our test went well there [a few weeks ago], and the track atmosphere is very nice, so this is a great place to show what the Pfaff group can do,” Kern said. “We had great pace at Sebring and it’s time for the results, so we’re definitely aiming at a podium for next weekend.”
Both Hargrove and Robichon have previous strong performances at the upper-New York State circuit, with each driver capturing wins in the Porsche GT3 Cup series, and Hargrove clinching the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge GT Sprint team and driver’s title at the same track in the previous Pfaff-Castrol Motorsports GT3 R.
“Both Zach and I have had some great battles here,” Hargrove said. “It’s awesome to look back at those and see where they’ve brought us – and Watkins Glen is a track that’s very well suited for our car. We’ll be looking to continue the pace we’ve shown in our previous two weekends.”
“The results may not show, but I believe the Pfaff team has really shown some incredible speed and consistency this year,” Robichon added. “We’ve worked hard as a group and I’m sure as long as we continue with that momentum the results will follow. Going into our
third endurance race of the year, I think we can set ourselves a reasonable goal of finishing in the lead group of our class. If we can position ourselves there, anything can happen.”
Team manager Steve Bortolotti echoed those sentiments, with an emphasis on turning the tables on a season that’s shown so much promise.
“I’m looking forward to Watkins Glen as a way to right the ship after a difficult start to the season,” he said. “I feel our current position in the overall standings is not an accurate representation of how we have been performing as a team – and everyone here is motivated to ensure our string of bad luck stops now.”
Stay tuned for further updates closer to the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, which takes place next week from June 27 to June 30.
Text excerpt form Pfaff Motorsports media release
IMAGE: Pfaff Motorsports / Jordan Lenssen / Lenssen Photography
