Pfaff aiming to paint Petit plaid with IMSA swansong

Petit Le Mans is always an emotional event for the IMSA paddock. It's a time to crown champions, celebrate anniversaries, and reflect on programs and careers coming to an end. This year's running is no different, with titles on the line in every class in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and a set of key teams set to say farewell.

One of those is Toronto-based team Pfaff Motorsports, which will step away from IMSA racing as part of a "pause", announced over the summer by team owner Chris Pfaff, who is shifting his focus to his new role as part of the ownership group in charge of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

This change doesn't necessarily mean the Pfaff name will disappear entirely from IMSA, as branding opportunities will remain and CTMP remains a key stop on the schedule. But the team has sold off all its kit and its Lamborghini Temerario GT3 ahead of its withdrawal at the end of the season. Its staff have also been working on what’s next in the weeks and months since.

"Chris deserves credit for giving all of us a lot of notice,” team general manager Steve Bortolotti notes. “We're appreciative, we're respectful, because that has given the majority of the team a chance to find work for next year. That's all you can ask for."

Petit Le Mans then represents the final dance for the fan-favorite outfit, which has achieved race and title-winning success since it joined IMSA's top level in 2019, and in the second half of the 2026 season, found form with the fast-maturing Temerario platform.

For Bortolotti, it's going to be a challenging event, balancing the emotions of the program coming to a close with the title fight that the team's No. 9 Temerario GT3 car is in the thick of, with a 53-point deficit to overturn.

"I feel like we're reaching our potential every week and maximizing our results," Bortolotti tells RACER. "There have been some gratuitous bounces that have come our way, but I'm proud that we've been in position to take advantage of some of those opportunities.

"Nobody looks at us for the championship, but we're here, and we're as close as we could be, right behind Paul Miller, and we have the belief we can do it."

Pfaff's Road America win in August helped vault the team into title contention as it enters its last-ever IMSA round at Road Atlanta this weekend. Brandon Badroui/Getty Images

That belief stems from past performances. The team won the GTD title in 2021 and GTD Pro in 2022 during its tenure with Porsche, and Bortolotti feels that it has a real shot to go out in style with a third championship.

"We've won two championships, and come to this race at two very different times to win them," Bortolotti explains. "In 2021 we had a lot more buffer to win it, and it wasn't as stressful; then in 2022 we had to just start the race, and then this year we get to go hunting. We can do everything right and just not win, and that's OK. But we'll give it our best and see if we can get lucky one more time.

"It's all about trying to go out on top and win. We've taken relatively low risk all year in terms of strategy, and now we get to kind of go all-in. We're playing with house money as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't matter if we finish second or seventh. We'll take whatever risks we need to try and achieve our ultimate goal."

Since Chris Pfaff notified the team of his decision just before the Endurance Cup race at Road America, it has been on a tear. Now fully up to speed with the car and reaping the benefits of a key update to the car's brake package, the team has two wins and a third-place finish in three races.

Bortolotti says this run has given him some of the best moments and memories of his time with the team. 

"We've won races with 17 drivers across our history, across all series. That's something I'm proud of," Bortolotti says, reflecting on his time with the program. "Whether we've run with Porsche, McLaren or Lamborghini factory drivers I feel like we've always given those people a chance to win.

"And we've taken a lot of pride in the fact that we're Canadian, and we've brought more Canadians into the sport than anyone besides Multimatic, who we've always idolized. To do this our way is something I'm proud of; it matters to me that we are a Canadian team and the majority of our team is Canadian.

"And this season has been the best one on the journey. We were really good, like in 2021 and 2022; we took it for granted. We won so many races, and then in 2023 we had a bad Daytona, but then we won in Sebring. But from then until Road America, we hadn't won a race. We lost people. We were down in the dumps. So to rebuild that, to win, to be in contention for the championship, is the coolest thing we've ever done.”