Pfaff Motorsports On the Verge of Folding Due To Financial Downturn

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We had to pull out the dictionary to properly convey the feelings we had upon hearing this news drop as we sit just 8 days out from Petit Le Mans - shock, dismay, confusion, bewilderment, stupefied? SAD NOISES.

According to Marshall Pruett of Racer.com, Pfaff Motorsports - one of the most popular and closely followed teams in the entire IMSA circuit - are facing a financial downturn that could force them to fold as a program if they are unable to secure an outside financial investment into the team.

The timeline is so narrow that Pfaff could close their doors immediately following the season finale at PLM on October 12 if the additional funding is not secured. An alternate scenario - which would still require an infusion of cash to the program - would see Pfaff move back to the GTD ranks as they onboard a bronze-rated driver to the lineup.

(Also, full disclosure, Pruett doesn't exactly bat 1.000 when it comes to covering motorsport news, but we're going to assume that he has a good idea of what's going down in this case).

In December of last year Pfaff made the controversial announcement that they were breaking up with Porsche to partner with McLaren, a move that puzzled everyone due to the amazing partnership they had built and maintained over the last 30 years with the German brand. They also saw their iconic plaid livery take a backseat to McLaren papaya and a 'carbon plaid' on their new No. 9 702S GT3 Evo. The car earned a pair of second-place finishes at Long Beach and Watkins Glen but have mostly struggled to maintain their usual high level of performance on track and go into the last race of the year eighth overall in the Pro standings.

Pruett's report delivers a good amount of shock and dismay for any IMSA fan that couldn't imagine a world where Pfaff Motorsports aren't racing around a track near you. Their program began in the mid-1980s and took them through various iterations of Porsche-specific competitions in Canada and the US before ultimately making the leap to IMSA in 2019 where they won the GTD title in 2021 and the GTD Pro title the following season, both with the 911 GT3 R.

It's easy to wonder what role McLaren is playing (or not playing) in terms of financial support for the program as the reputation McLaren has from fans and media is that the British-based manufacturer doesn't support their customer programs the same way other top brands do, no matter what circuit the cars are running in. It's no coincidence there's only a handful of teams that run with a McLaren GT machine; we have just Pfaff in IMSA and United Autosports in the WEC, but United is based in the UK just three hours away from McLaren's HQ in Woking. McLaren doesn't have a single car running in Fanatec GT World Challenge or World Challenge America, although they do have the strongest representation in the...British GT Championship. Go figure.

Let's hope that someone or some people come out of the woodwork and put their dollars behind Pfaff because no one wants to see them fade away and left to die in the graveyard of defunct racing teams of yesteryear. 









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