The 991.2 Porsche 911 GT3R racer has continued the legacy of Porsche’s phenomenal lineage of street-car-based grand touring machines in proper winning fashion. While 911 race cars have certainly experienced a series of dominant finishes in the past, it has typically been a story of strength in numbers and reliability in the face of adversity. With the 991.2 generation example, however, Porsche has selected very few customer teams to work with, but has chosen some of the best teams, drivers, and crew that could possibly be asked for. In fact, in IMSA competition, the 991.2 GT3R currently only has one team in GTD Pro and another in GTD to uphold its winning record. That one of them is the all-dominant Pfaff Motorsports, and the other is Ohio’s own historic team Wright Motorsports, proves just how strong this lineup is.
And win is exactly what this car has done over the course of its three seasons in IMSA competition. Since the start of the 2019 season the 911 GT3R has amassed fourteen victories on track and nine championship titles, an incredible amount. In 2019 it was Pfaff grabbing the WeatherTech Sprint Cup Driver Title with Zacharie Robichon, and as a result of his efforts Porsche won the manufacturer’s crown for the Sprint Cup as well. That’s two in the car’s debut season. 2020 was a strange year for more things than Porsche race cars, because none of the championships fell their way that year, despite best efforts that saw them just a handful of points shy of more than one. 2021 turned things around, however, as Pfaff took home the Driver, Team, and Manufacturer GTD titles last year, while Wright won the Driver, Team, and Manufacturer titles in the Endurance Championship rounds. Racer Rob Ferriol drove a Porsche to the Bob Akin Award title, which is a trophy for most points scored as a Bronze-rated driver.
As it stands in 2022, Porsche and the 911 GT3 R is going to add quite a few more championships to its tally. The Pfaff team is well on its way to scoring Driver, Team, and Manufacturer GTD Pro titles in 2022, having won five rounds of the season so far, and podiumed in three additional events. Pfaff, more or less, only has to show up and start the Petit Le Mans round next month in order to bring those championships home. There is also an outside chance that the Wright team could rebound to win the endurance race at Road Atlanta to take home the GTD championship, but it’s going to mean a lot more focus and work from the team in the coming weeks. Either way, it’s pretty much guaranteed the 991.2-generation GT3R will go down in history as one of Porsche’s best.
To make things all the better, Pfaff have been using the same exact car for every race it has entered since 2019. Four seasons of professional motorsport on the same chassis is practically unheard of. And to think that a car with nearly 35,000 miles on it at the end of its racing life is set to win yet another championship this year. It’s practically unfathomable in modern motorsport.
“Our 991.2 GT3 R, chassis 05, has been a very special car for us as we had virtually all of our ‘firsts’ in IMSA with it,” reflected Steve Bortolotti, Pfaff Motorsports Team Manager. “I was never one to have an emotional attachment to inanimate objects, however, I am proud to know that we will be hanging on to this car for the foreseeable future. The pedigree it has amassed is incredible, and I’m proud of the job both our staff and Porsche have done to keep a chassis with over 55,000 racing kilometers (34, 175 miles) on it still running in tip-top shape at the sharp end of an extremely competitive field. Hopefully we can send it off with a twelfth IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory.”
Goodbye and farewell, dear friend. We can’t wait to meet your successor, the 992 GT3 R makes its mark on IMSA competition next year!
History of the “Plaid Porsche” Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R
Total race wins: 11
Total pole positions: 5
2019. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champions, GTD class.
Lime Rock Park. Win
Road America. Win
VIRginia International Raceway. Class Pole Position.
2020. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champions, GTD class.
Limited schedule due to Covid restrictions. No race wins.
Rolex 24 At Daytona. Class Pole Position.
2021. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champions, GTD class.
12 Hours of Sebring. Win
Road America. Win
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Win
VIRginia International Raceway. Win
2022. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champions, GTD Pro class.
Rolex 24 at Daytona. Win
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Win and Class Pole Position.
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) Win and Class Pole Position.
Lime Rock Park. Win (overall) and Pole Position (overall).
VIRginia International Raceway. Win (overall).
History of the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R
Total race wins: 3
Total pole positions: 3
2020. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champions, GTD class.
12 Hours of Sebring. Win and Class Pole Position.
2021. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champions, GTD class.
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Class Pole Position.
2022. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champions, GTD class.
Rolex 24 at Daytona. Win.
12 Hours of Sebring. Class Pole Position.
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Win.