Pfaff Motorsports finishes seventh at Road America
August 5, 2024
Elkhart Lake, WI – A long-time favourite track for Pfaff Motorsports, Road America initially seemed to be where the Canadian McLaren GT3 squad would continue its push up the IMSA WeatherTech GTD Pro standings. But an early penalty, and a race riddled with full-course cautions meant the team could do little more than settle for seventh position.
Pfaff has claimed victory twice on the longest circuit on the IMSA calendar since joining North America’s premier sportscar series in 2019. While the team managed sixth position in qualifying in their first visit with the new driveway.com McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, there was full expectation that a podium was in the cards – especially given the team’s reputation for its strong race strategy.
Driver and 2024 Le Mans class winner Oliver Jarvis (UK) took the green flag for Sunday’s two-hour and 40-minute sprint, and as has become custom, immediately gained positions after a first-lap yellow, placing fourth by lap three.
It was a very brief period of green-flag racing until the race was stalled again on lap seven, which is where the race began to unravel for the 2021 and 2022 IMSA GT champions. Coming in for a strategic pit stop on lap 10, the team was penalized for entering the pits above the speed limit, forcing a drive-through penalty and shuffling them to the back on lap 14.
Clawing back from ninth place, McLaren factory co-driver Marvin Kirchhöfer (GER) jumped in on lap 23, but it wasn’t long before his progress was halted with an eight-lap caution on lap 28, and again with a five-lap caution on lap 38. Through it all, the German driver was able to jump positions on each caution, moving the driveway.com McLaren up to seventh position.
The delays continued with another eight-lap caution on lap 46, limiting the race to just 61 laps and sealing the team’s position in seventh – a result the Pfaff team hadn’t expected given the promising progress throughout the weekend.
Marvin Kirchhöfer (driver):
“Obviously this was not the result we wanted. We got unlucky with the drive-through penalty after Ollie brought us into a really good position from the start. With the drive-through, it made our strategy very difficult, especially with our track position and the high number of full-course yellows throughout the race. I think we were in a good position to jump positions if it weren’t for that, but the team did a great job on the pit stops today – their execution was very positive. As well, we made some great improvements on the car side, though with some of our competition being incredibly fast on the straights it made passing a bit more difficult given the circumstances of the race. Still, it was a step in the right direction and we look ahead to get it the next time at VIR.”
Oliver Jarvis (driver):
“From my side it was hugely disappointing not to get a result – the weekend was largely positive; we made some really good progress with the car in understanding what it needs to go quick. The team did a fantastic job throughout the race with clean pit stops, and we did what we could with the strategy after the drive-through.”
Taking home 265 points from Road America, Pfaff stays at seventh in the GTD Pro standings, just 28 points back of the factory Corvette program. The team returns to action at the GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway, taking place August 23 to 25, 2024.
For event information stay tuned to Pfaff Motorsports web and social media pages, and IMSA.com.
For further news, announcements and behind-the-scenes content regarding Pfaff Motorsports and the 2024 IMSA Weathertech season, follow @PfaffMotorsports on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and @PfaffMotorsport on X (twitter).
About Pfaff Motorsports
Pfaff Motorsports has established itself as one of the most successful sportscar racing programs in North America over the past decade. A professional team in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), it has established long-term partnerships with premium brands such as Lithia & Driveway, Motul, and the Automotive Owned Brands of Canadian Tire Corporation, and is one of the top-performing teams in the sport.
Pfaff Motorsports’ competition résumé includes historic victories and championships across multiple series. Since joining the top-tier IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2019, the team has won the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona and twice at the 12 Hours of Sebring, in addition to being crowned the 2022 WeatherTech Championship GTD Pro class and 2021 GTD class champions. It has also won the 2018 GT World Challenge America championship and is a three-time Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada champion. For more information, please visit www.pfaffmotorsports.com.
Contact: Jordan Lenssen // info@pfaffmotorsports.com