DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Plaid Porsche will be back for the entire 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, with a new driver lineup and focus on returning to the top of the GT Daytona (GTD) class.
Pfaff Motorsports announced Monday that it will compete in the full 2021 season after the Canada-based team was limited to two events this year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3R, featuring Motul sponsorship and the popular plaid livery, will be driven by Zacharie Robichon and Laurens Vanthoor at every race, with Lars Kern returning for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup rounds and Matt Campbell added to the stable for January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.
The No. 9 Porsche won the Motul Pole Award for the GTD class at this year’s Rolex 24 and finished fifth at the Motul Petit Le Mans in its only other WeatherTech Championship appearance of the 2020 season. Steve Bortolotti, Pfaff team manager, is eager to get the team back into action.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be back in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2021,” Bortolotti said. “Obviously, we started last season showing some great promise, and we’re looking to pick up right where we left off. Primarily, I’m looking forward to our four drivers working together; in some way, Lars, Matt and Zach have all worked together. Laurens will be working with the three of them for the first time, but he obviously comes with some incredible experience and an impressive resume, so I’m sure it will be a seamless adaptation between all of them.”
Vanthoor drove the past four seasons for the Porsche GT Team’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) program, winning a total of five races and the 2019 class championship with Earl Bamber. Vanthoor was also a member of the winning Porsche team in the GTE Pro class at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“When Porsche announced the end of the current GTLM program, I was disappointed because I love racing in America,” Vanthoor said. “So to be able to continue here and build on my future in IMSA with Pfaff is something I’m very happy about. I’ve done my homework on Pfaff Motorsports and have heard a lot of good things, so I think together with Zach Robichon, we have a very good package to go for the championship. That’s clearly our goal and mine as well, so I’m very much looking forward to that.”
Robichon was a two-time winner in the No. 9 Pfaff Porsche in 2019, when he and the car finished third in the GTD championship. One of those victories came at Road America, with Campbell as the co-driver. Being limited to two races in 2020 is a frustration Robichon is eager to put behind him.
“I don’t think we can underestimate the excitement that myself and the team have just to be racing again,” Robichon said. “Looking at both our performances from (the Rolex 24 and Petit Le Mans) last season, we believe that we can accomplish a lot going into 2021.”
That includes, Bortolotti added, challenging once again for the GTD title.
“We’re really looking at the bigger picture in 2021,” Bortolotti said. “In 2019, we proved that we had the pace, but I think our downfall was that we were too focused on winning every race we attended. Going in with the mindset of maximizing points week in and week out, I believe with our driver lineup and the team we’ve built that we can contend for the championship. Within that, the wins will come.”
The Roar Before the Rolex 24 kicks off the 2021 WeatherTech Championship season Jan. 22-24 at Daytona International Speedway, with testing and the Motul Pole Award 100 qualifying race. Rolex 24 At Daytona action runs Jan. 28-31, with the green flag waving to start the 24-hour race at 3:40 p.m. ET Saturday, Jan. 30.