It was a day of firsts at Lime Rock Park as Pfaff Motorsports earned its inaugural IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory on Saturday, July 20. The date, so famously remembered as the day 50 years ago man first walked on the moon, will also go down as the first IMSA GTD class victory for the 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Porsche Young Professional Dennis Olsen (Norway) and 2018 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama Champion Zach Robichon (Canada) charged the No. 9 Pfaff Porsche to the debut win for the Canadian team, both drivers and the newest iteration of the customer GT3 machine in the Pro-Am style class. While its streak of GTLM class wins came to a stop at five, the Porsche GT Team continued its string of podium finishes with the Porsche 911 RSR as the No. 912 of Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) finished in second-place at the Lakeville, Connecticut-track.
The factory team successfully defended Porsche’s lead in the GTLM manufacturers’ championship by virtue of the podium result, its seventh in seven races. The two-hour, 40-minute race for the two GT classes only nearly continued the record-setting streak of victories in the GTLM class for the 911 RSR. However, despite taking both front row starting spots on the tight 1.5-mile road course and running one-two much of the event, Bamber and Vanthoor would fall to second-place in the closing laps after a brilliant battle with the Ford GT factory entry. Their colleagues Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) claimed fourth-place in the No. 911 sister car. Porsche retains a 24-point lead in the manufacturers’ championship. Bamber/Vanthoor have extended their lead in the drivers’ championship, with Pilet/Tandy in second-place.
The GTD class delivered suspense to the flag. The Porsche 911 GT3 R run by Pfaff Motorsports, a division of Canada’s largest Porsche dealership, qualified in fifth-place on the gird. Robichon (Canada) gained one position during his stint, with Olsen following up with an inspired drive. The Norwegian systematically worked his way up the field to second-place. In the final two laps, he made repeated attempts to get past the leading Acura. He finally succeeded and won the class by a slim 0.01-second margin. The identical 500+hp car fielded by Park Place Motorsports and driven by works driver Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach California) and Germany’s Marco Seefried finished in fourth-place despite a punctured tire. Directly behind was Porsche Young Professional Matt Campbell (Australia) and his American teammate Anthony Imperato (Brooklyn, New York) who debuted the No. 91 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R in fifth-place.
Steffen Höllwarth, Program Manager, IMSA SportsCar Championship.
“That was quite literally a hot contest. We opted for a different strategy than Ford. The difference was minimal over the total distance, but unfortunately we lost out this time. Congratulations to the winner for a clever performance. Second-place for our number 912 car means we’ve managed to maintain our lead in the manufacturers’ championship and further extend our top spot in the drivers’ championship. All things considered, we’re pleased. Congratulations to the Porsche customer team Pfaff Motorsports on their maiden win in the GTD class. It was fun to watch the gripping duel for victory.”
Dennis Olsen, Driver, No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“What an awesome race! I took over the car in fourth-place and fought my way to the front. Our Porsche 911 GT3 R was fast over the entire event. Towards the end, the tires were pretty worn, but I still managed to make the decisive move in the battle for first-place. It was close, tough and successful – just the way I like it.”
Zacharie Robichon, Driver, No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“It was sensational how Dennis fought for the lead shortly before the end and defended it in the fierce duel to the flag. At long last, we’ve secured the first victory for Pfaff Motorsports. The entire team has been working hard for months to at least claim a podium spot. Something always hampered us, but not this time – we even finished on the top podium step. This achievement means a great deal to me.”
Earl Bamber, Driver, No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR.
“Ford gambled with three pit stops and won this time. I can only congratulate them. We’re satisfied with second-place because this position earns us critical points towards the championship. The race was fantastic, on the whole. There were fierce fights from start to finish, with several changes at the front and spectators were treated to a great show.”
Laurens Vanthoor, Driver, No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR.
“Of course you’re always wiser in hindsight. Had we adopted a different strategy perhaps we could have won. Still, our focus is on the championship and for this reason we didn’t want to take any tactical risks. Based on this, we’ve achieved the maximum. We still lead all the classifications, and that’s the most important thing.”
Patrick Pilet, Driver, No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR.
“Ford had a slightly better strategy today. It was difficult for us to maintain the high pace over the long stints that would have been necessary to win. Porsche is leading all of the championship categories at the moment. With this in mind, it was a successful weekend.”
Nick Tandy, Driver, No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR.
“Every fan would have loved watching this race. It was motor racing at its best. At times we were in the lead with our number 911 car – still we’re satisfied with fourth. Porsche earned a lot of points again from this race. The championship continues. We’ll produce better results again.”
