The heat is on for IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge championship leader CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing amidst the tight summer schedule.
The temperature and tension are rising for the championship-leading No. 39 Audi R8 GT4 EVO as it heads to VIRginia International Raceway for the 120-minute VIRginia is for Racing Lovers Grand Prix, Aug. 21-23. The team sits three points ahead of second place, a gap it needs to expand upon this weekend with the second half of the season approaching quickly.
Drivers of the No. 39, Tyler McQuarrie and Jeff Westphal dominated the 2019 VIR weekend, earning the Motul Pole Award and finishing second overall. The pair look to make this domination a tradition of sorts by repeating their performance in 2020.
“Our Audi R8 GT4 LMS has been pretty strong at VIR the last couple of years and I’m confident this year will be no different,” McQuarrie said. “Having said that, I think the Aston Martin and Mercedes will be very strong as well so it’s going to be a battle to capture the top step of the podium. Honestly, the only part of the VIR track that concerns me is that long back straight but that won’t be enough to slow us down.”
The 3.27-mile, 17 turn track offers a range of passing opportunities for the Audi R8 GT4 EVO so long as its drivers can maintain pace with the Balance of Performance favored competition. What the No. 39 lacks in straight-line speed on VIRginia International Raceway’s long straights must be rectified in the tight and technical turns. While the crew must still practice perfection throughout the weekend, the results will boil down to McQuarrie and Westphal’s meticulous racecraft and unwavering ability to push the car to its limits.
“VIR is typically a track that works really well for our CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing Audi R8 GT4 EVO, so naturally Tyler and I are looking forward to visiting,” Westphal said. “It really is a personal favorite of ours. I have not seen a BOP document or any change relative to the rest of the field, so I expect the Aston Martin to be quite strong as it’s been in a favorable BoP position for a while now. Kyle and Nate will surely do a great job, so the 60 car should be strong next week in my opinion so we’ll just have to push.”
CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing unloads at VIRginia International Raceway Friday, Aug. 21, with Practice One at 4:15 p.m. ET. The team returns Saturday, Aug. 22, for Practice Two at 9:35 a.m. Finally, Sunday, Aug. 23 sees Qualifying at 8:55 a.m. and the 120-minutes VIRginia is for Racing Lovers Grand Prix at 2:55 p.m. go green. For additional schedule and tune in details visit https://www.imsa.com/events/michelin-gt-challenge-at-vir/.