CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing rang in the new year at the annual ROAR Before the 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
The No. 39 Audi R8 GT4 took to the track for the first time in 2020 during the three-day intensive test at the World Center of Racing in Daytona Beach, Florida. The weekend served as the shakedown for the first IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge race of the year, the Endurance Challenge at Daytona on January 24. With six featured on-track sessions the team was able to isolate set-up components for each session maximizing its learning time.
The No. 39 Audi R8 GT4 remains technically unchanged since last year’s race at Daytona giving the team a strong foundation to build on. Team veteran and 2019 IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge champion Jeff Westphal took on the task of running solo this weekend due to a conflict in teammate Tyler McQuarrie’s schedule. Westphal ran all scheduled sessions around the 3.56-mile, 12 turn road-oval dialing in a set-up he found suitable not only for himself but for his co-driver as well. Westphal is confident their strong synergy from last season will carry over to the high-speed, high-downforce track making it easy to settle back into a rhythm come the first race.
“This weekend was fun,” Westphal said. “Anytime you get the chance to run a ton of laps in a racecar you take it. It was definitely a lot of driving bouncing between running solo in the CarBahn car and then running in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as well. Both Tyler and I have known each other for quite a while. Last season was our first full season driving together but we’ve worked together in the past. The easiest part of our relationship is we have similar preferences in the car. I continue to think about what he would like while setting up but generally it will be as small as one shock click. With that in mind, I’m walking into the first race weekend cautiously but optimistically. We took a big hit from Michelin with a camber change that only affects Audi’s which really affects the grip of the car. I think everyone is going to speed up come race weekend so I can’t say where we’ll fall in the lineup. It looks good now but you can never be certain.”
The CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing crew returns to Daytona International Speedway Wednesday, January 22 for the Endurance Challenge at Daytona. The No. 39 will have three more practice sessions and qualifying before taking the first green flag of 2020. The race starts at 1:00 p.m. ET Friday, January 24 live on NBC Track Pass. For more event details visit http://imsa.com.
