When Chris Green isn’t travelling across the country promoting and growing awareness for the McLaren Automotive brand with Pfaff McLaren as their brand ambassador, he’s busy navigating high-speed tracks in a Porsche for Pfaff Motorsports. The GT3 Cup racer, originally from Montreal, was just in Toronto, where he’s now based for the 2015 Honda Indy from June 12 to 14. TractionLife caught up with Green right before the event to ask him a few questions about his 22-year career, current projects, and, of course, Indy.
TractionLife: Tell us about your racing history.
Green: So, 22 years ago, when I was nine years old, I began go-karting as a young kid. Before that, I used to follow my father to the racetrack where he did recreational style racing. He’s an automotive mechanic, so I spent a lot of time growing up being surrounded by cars. In 2001, i moved into Formula 1600, or Formula Ford as it’s more commonly known.
TractionLife: What was the last race you competed in?
Green: Close to a month ago I was in the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Porsche GT3 Cup Cup Series. I won both those races — obviously a very good start to the season.
TractionLife: You’re getting ready for Honda Indy this weekend. Any goals?
I used to follow my father to the racetrack where he did recreational style racing. He’s an automotive mechanic, so I spent a lot of time growing up being surrounded by cars.
Green: A little bit of redemption. I took pole position both races and was very, very dominant when it came to lap times, but in the first race I ended up clipping the wall on the apex. I was sitting in the car, flat spotting my tires, and falling down to last place before making my way back to seventh. Second race I was leading in second place and got pushed into the wall in turn two, and once again fell back to last place with half a lap to go. This year the ultimate goal is to get first place, bring the trophy home and do it in front of my home crowd and Pfaff Automotive fans.
TractionLife: Can you talk a bit about your relationship with Pfaff?
Green: They found me back in 2012 when I was racing in the GT3 Cup with a different team. They put me in a car with them at the time in the last two races of the season. Winning those races, that was just over three years ago, and now we have a rich and successful history. I’ve been racing the Pfaff Castrol GT3 Cup car, a brand new Porsche 991.
TractionLife: What’s involved with your role as brand ambassador?
Green: From east coast to west, we cover the entire country doing promotions for the McLaren brand. It’s a lot of travelling — I was in Vancouver for the Diamond Rally (driving rally from Vancouver to Whistler exclusively featuring high-end luxury and supercars). We had 18 cars, which was phenomenal. I do all the auto shows and really expose and promote the brand to the public and educate them on why they’re such impressive machines.
TractionLife: What’s next for you?
Green:Â My next race is at the Calabogie track just outside Ottawa after Canada Day. After that, there will be the Grand Prix at Three Rivers in Quebec.Â
