Pfaff Makes Switch to Sprint Cup With Hargrove, Robichon

Photo: Brian Cleary/PWC

Pfaff Motorsports will make the switch to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next year, having confirmed a WeatherTech Sprint Cup effort for Scott Hargrove and Zach Robichon.

The all-Canadian lineup will pilot a 2019-spec Porsche 911 GT3 R in the seven-round sprint series, which kicks off with the fourth round of the WeatherTech Championship season at Mid-Ohio in May.

The team will also make its endurance racing debut in next year’s Motul Petit Le Mans, in preparation for a targeted full-season effort in 2020.

Its move to IMSA competition comes after a breakout year in Pirelli World Challenge, which saw Hargrove claim the GT Sprint title in his rookie year.

According to team manager Steve Bortolotti, the Sprint Cup’s cost-effective nature, particularly for its Toronto-based team, made it an easy decision for 2019.

“[IMSA] hit it on the head,” Bortolotti told Sportscar365. “As soon as [the Sprint Cup announcement] came out, I said to Chris Pfaff, ‘I think that’s where we’re going next year.’

“We looked at the budgets and went through a fine-tooth comb and [it made sense].

“We’re all excited. Our partners, with their financial commitments, they’ve been really nice, to go from Porsche Cup [Canada] to PWC.

“It actually ends up being less money for us to go [to IMSA] because of where we’re based, geographically.

“We can drive to five of the seven races from Toronto. It makes a lot of sense for us commercially.”

Bortolotti said he’s also excited at putting two of Canada’s most promising sports car racing prospects together for a championship run.

Robichon, the 2018 Ultra94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama champion, capped off his season with another sweep of the weekend in GT3 Cup Challenge USA competition this weekend at Road Atlanta.

“Scott and Zach, they’ve been friends for a very long time,” Bortolotti said. “They were teammates in Formula Ford.

“Zach has always impressed us when we’ve competed against him. He’s always been a strong and fair competitor. I have a lot of respect for everything he’s done and I couldn’t be more excited.

“I think we’ll be competitive. The races are a bit longer [than PWC] but not too much longer.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John