Pfaff readying new Lamborghini Temerario GT3 for Daytona test

Pfaff Motorsports will run the new Lamborghini Temerario GT3 during the IMSA Sanctioned Test at Daytona in November, while also confirming James Hinchcliffe for the 2026 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

12 months ago, Pfaff Motorsports faced the prospect of having run its last race at the 2024 Petit Le Mans. A year later, the fan-favorite Canadian team is heading into the IMSA offseason knowing it will be the first to race the new Lamborghini Temerario GT3 in official competition.

Before its race debut, Pfaff will run the new Temerario GT3 for the first time in next month’s IMSA Sanctioned Test at Daytona International Speedway, as confirmed by General Manager Steve Bortolotti. “We'll be doing the November sanctioned test with the car at Daytona,” Bortolotti said to RACER “After that, we'll be conducting the Sebring endurance test for the car, and then, right now, the plan is to debut it at Sebring in GTD PRO.

“The goal is to really learn to understand the car and really help them develop the car from a reliability standpoint. So, you know, an endurance test is all about understanding and developing the reliability side of the car. And we'll do our best to help them, along with the performance. Shake it to bits and we'll see what happens!”

The No. 9 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 will race at next year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, before the Temerario GT3 makes its world premiere in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March in the GTD PRO class.

Following a one-year run with McLaren, Pfaff Motorsports faced an uncertain future until Lamborghini stepped into the picture, giving them a car and the support needed to run the 2025 season.

"I try not to dwell on the past. 12 months ago, it was a very difficult place that we were in as a team and myself personally,” Bortolotti said. “But looking ahead to the future, it's been, ultimately, a blessing in disguise, I guess you could say, because we found a great home with Lamborghini.”

“It's exciting, for sure. I’m proud. It's been no shortage of hard work. But I'm honoured to work with a great manufacturer like Lamborghini, and a brand that I have a lot of affinity for, because that's just as a fan of the automotive world and cars, and I had that Lamborghini Countach poster and a Diablo poster on my wall growing up.”

And now with a concrete future for 2026, Bortolotti wants to bring Pfaff back to contending for wins and championships after a frustrating 2025 season that showed plenty of promise, yet yielded just one podium finish at Detroit.

“We're not where we want to be in the standings. I know that that's no secret,” Bortolotti reflected. “I want to get back to contending for podiums on a regular basis and getting our fair share of wins when the cards fall our way.

“We've had some chances this year. As a team, we haven't got the job done, and as a group, we know we've had some issues with drive-through penalties, and we've had some issues with some mechanical things, but this is a learning year. It's a stepping stone, and we have to build upon this for next season."

Bortolotti has already confirmed that former NTT INDYCAR Series driver and current broadcaster James Hinchcliffe will return to the team for the 2026 Rolex 24 At Daytona, scaling back from his three-race Michelin Endurance Cup campaign in 2025.

The rest of the driver line-up in the No. 9 Pfaff Lamborghini is expected to be announced before the November test at Daytona.

“It’s ultimately up to Lamborghini,” Bortolotti explained. “Hinch will do Daytona with us next year, so he won't be doing Sebring or Atlanta.

“And then the rest of the lineup is ultimately up to Lamborghini. We're having conversations about that now. We should be able to finalise before the sanctioned test as to who our driver lineup is going to be.

Despite the difficult season they’ve had, Bortolotti has been very complimentary of his 2025 full-season duo of Andrea Caldarelli and Marco Mapelli, as well as Hinchcliffe, saying: “They're professionals in every right and they're three very different personalities, and I think they actually get along quite well, so I couldn’t be happier with the three of them.”