Current president and CEO of Pfaff Automotive Partners Chris Pfaff, who assumed control in 1986, is the son of the founder Hans J. Pfaff, who created the Volkswagen dealership H.J. Pfaff Motors in 1964, adding Porsche in 1966.[1] General Manager Steve Bortolotti held a role in Pfaff Tuning before assuming his current role as GM of Motorsport.[2]
The team joined the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championshipin2019, following a more than 50 year history in North American Cup-class racing.[3] The Pfaff Group brought Pfaff Motorsports in-house in 2014[2][3] and appointed General Manager Steve Bortolotti in February 2015.[4] In 2016 President and CEO of Pfaff Automotive Partners Chris Pfaff was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame for the role he has played in the development of a long list of notable Canadian racers.[5]
Pfaff Motorsports relationship with Porsche includes the use of factory drivers at international level in IMSA competition.
Pfaff joined the Pirelli World Challengein2018, with factory drivers and support from Porsche Motorsport NA, including reigning Cup Challenge Canada champion of 2017 Scott Hargrove moving across to that entry. The team also fielded an entry in the supporting GT4 class.[8]
Pfaff have appeared in a "Plaid Porsche" livery from 2019 to 2023. The idea started as a joke in the workshop;[13] the car for the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona arrived late, forcing the team had to work over the Christmas holiday period in order to meet logistics deadlines. In the workshop many of the crew wore plaid shirts and marketing director Laurence Yap suggested wrapping the car in plaid too.
On Oct 9, 2023, Pfaff Motorsport announced a switch to McLaren, campaigning a 720S GT3 Evo as an official manufacturer nominated entry to the GTD Pro class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. This included a switch away from the full plaid livery, instead creating a "ghost plaid" within a livery aligned with McLaren's "papaya and blue," according to designers Dakins Design.[14]
Note: the Pfaff businesses have a more recent McLaren relationship in addition to the founding Porsche relationship, and have previously campaigned McLaren GT4 chassis with IMSA.[1]