Driveway Porsche running second before flying wheel nut in pit lane causes race-ending damage
Early end at Long Beach after bizarre incident strikes Pfaff Motorsports

TORONTO (April 11, 2022) // After showing promise for a podium finish at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, Pfaff Motorsports fell victim to an unusual pit lane incident that ended the team’s race prematurely. 

Entering the weekend as IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro class leaders, the No. 9 Driveway Porsche 911 GT3 R qualified second for Saturday’s 100-minute race. Mathieu Jaminet held the spot throughout his stint and with an hour remaining, brought the car to the pits to swap seats with co-driver Matt Campbell.
Driveway Porsche running second before flying wheel nut in pit lane causes race-ending damage

However, midway through the stop, a flying wheel nut from another competitor flew into the Pfaff pit box and through the Porsche’s radiator housing. Still spinning quickly after having been removed by a 14,000-rpm wheel gun, the wheel nut punctured the radiator. The team quickly spotted leaking water before Campbell pulled away and was forced to retire the car. The competitor was issued a drive-through penalty afterwards.

The fifth-place finish at Long Beach moves Pfaff Motorsports to second in the championship standings, less than three weeks ahead of the fourth round of the season at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. That race, the two-hour, 40-minute Monterey Sports Car Championship Presented by Motul, is scheduled for Sunday, May 1 at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT and can be watched live on NBC Network.
Driveway Porsche running second before flying wheel nut in pit lane causes race-ending damage
Matt Campbell, Driver:
“What can I say, it was one of the weirdest DNFs of my racing career thus far. Obviously, Mathieu had a fantastic start. We were a solid P2 only a few seconds behind the Corvette and then in our pit stop, everything was going smoothly with the driver change and the crew was doing a phenomenal job once again. Every stop this year has been flawless. Unfortunately, this time a rogue wheel nut rolled down pit lane, flew up and hit our car and went into our front radiator area which caused the puncture. Once I started the engine and pressure was going through the system, water was coming out and we weren’t able to continue, which is a big shame. It was an easy loss of points there and I think we really had a chance for at least a solid P2. But nevertheless, it wasn’t meant to be and we’ll try again in Laguna Seca in a few weeks.”
Driveway Porsche running second before flying wheel nut in pit lane causes race-ending damage
Mathieu Jaminet, Driver:

“Of course, it was a disappointing end to the weekend. We had a clean run until that and the car was spot on. The team did an amazing job, it was the third race in a row where I think we really performed and maximized the performance. I guess this would’ve been a nice P2 for us without the incident in pit lane. It’s just super unfortunate, I’m really disappointed and also losing the championship lead due to that. We’ll take the positives – the car is good, the team is doing great – we’ll bounce back in Laguna Seca in two weeks.”

 

Stay tuned for further announcements from Pfaff Motorsports. For more exciting news and behind-the-scenes content, follow @PfaffMotorsports, @Pfaff_Porsche, @Porsche_Markham, and @PfaffAuto on Instagram and Facebook.  

Image credit: Pfaff Motorsports/Lenssen Photo
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