After the first half of the season that failed to live up to team expectations, the second half of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech championship has turned around for Pfaff Motorsports. The team heads into round eight at Virginia International Raceway riding the coattails of two consecutive race wins.
Coming off a sizzling 0.01-second victory at Lime Rock and a dominant win at the series’ longest track at Road America, Pfaff sits just seven points back of second position, and 33 behind first in the championship with three rounds remaining. Season-long driver Zach Robichon (CAN) sits third in the overall driver’s championship, and holds a five-point lead in the sprint championship with just two sprint rounds remaining.
For VIR, the team welcomes co-driver Scott Hargrove (CAN) back to the #9 Castrol-sponsored Porsche after missing two rounds, re-uniting the two drivers as the only Canadian pairing on the IMSA WeatherTech grid.
“VIR is a highlight from the driver’s seat, so I’m definitely excited to be back racing here with the team,” Hargrove said. “I’m fortunate to be returning to the track for the second time this season, coming off a podium last time out. It’s also home to my very first car race back in 2011, so I have a lot of great memories here.”
Robichon, who has raced here only once last season, took back-to-back victories in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA series, and will be looking to capitalize on the team’s strong performances of late to continue that streak.
“Although I’ve only been to VIR once before, I had some good success there, and it really is one of the most fun tracks to drive,” he said. “The team has been performing incredibly well, so I’m excited to get there and see what our Castrol Plaid Porsche can do.”
For Pfaff Motorsports manager Steve Bortolotti, the GT-only event presents a unique opportunity for the team to score vital points for the team and driver championships.
“VIR is a beautiful track, and these GT-only events feature some incredible racing and a little more room to battle,” he said. “We’re excited to have Scott return alongside Zach. Both drivers have had success here over the last two years and they work well together, so that’s an added bonus going into the weekend.”
He added: “As a team, we’re always focused on executing at the highest level each race, and our main goal for the rest of the season is consistency in our results. We’ve had a good last couple of good races, so we obviously want to build on that to finish things off.”
Practice one gets underway at the 5.26-km (3.27 mile) circuit on Friday at 12-noon ET, with qualifying on Saturday from 12:25 to 12:40 pm. The two-hour and 40-minute Michelin GT Challenge race goes green on Sunday, August 25 from 1:35 to 4:15 pm ET. Viewers can catch the action live starting at 1:30 pm on the Discovery Velocity channel in Canada, and on the NBC Sports network in the USA (subscriptions may apply).
