CarBahn BMW Wins 250th GS Race at Sebring

CarBahn with Peregrine Racing took victory in the landmark 250th GS race by defeating RS1 in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge round at Sebring International Raceway.

The No. 39 BMW M4 GT4 EVO, shared by Sean McAlister and Jeff Westphal, finished 15.951 seconds seconds ahead of the No. 28 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS of Luca Mars and Jan Heylen.

It marked a landmark result for the Californian squad, taking victory in the 250th race for the GS class since coming under Grand-Am sanction in 2001.

Notably, it also marks the maiden victory for the new-for-2024 M4 GT4 EVO, which made its competitive debut at January’s Pilot Challenge season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

McAlister started the race from the outside of the front row, losing out on the opening lap to the No. 28 RS1 Porsche of Luca Mars while the polesitting No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Evo of Paul Holton led the early stages.

However, Holton began to feel the effects of incorrectly high tire pressures towards the end of his opening stint, which caused the No. 46 Aston Martin to lose ground.

That opened up opportunities for cars behind, with Westphal crucially able to gain the upper hand by beating Heylen out of the pits when they came in together during the second and final round of pitstops.

Westphal took over after a strong recovery drive from co-driver McAlister, who had lost positions early on after he had been tagged into a spin by McCumbee McAleer Racing’s Sam Paley.

While Westphal then was able to stretch a gap that eventually grew to 15 seconds, Heylen soon found himself in the crosshairs of the charging No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.

Daniel Morad, having taken over from Bryce Ward, took the Mercedes-AMG into contention and closed in on Heylen ahead of a multi-lap battle between the Belgian and the Canadian.

However, Morad’s podium challenge ended in tears when contact with the No. 54 Panam Motorsport Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO of Caio Chaves resulted in a right front puncture.

That, in turn, allowed the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW of Dillon Machavern and Francis Seldorff to pick up the final spot of the podium.

The Will Turner-led squad benefited from an off-sequence strategy that saw them make their first stop within the first 30 minutes of the race, after which that also led a chunk of the race as the opening round of stops cycled through.

Stevan McAleer and Austin Krainz finished fourth in the No. 27 Auto Technic Racing BMW, with Jenson Altzman and Sam Paley rounding out the top five at the wheel of the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4.

The No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin of Holton and Matt Plumb faded to sixth at the flag after leading early on, crossing the line in front of the No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 that won the Daytona season opener in the hands of Moisey Uretsky and Michael Cooper.

Morris, Wilkins Lead Dominant Bryan Herta Autosport 1-2 in TCR

Bryson Morris and Mark Wilkins converted pole position into victory in TCR, leading a Hyundai 1-2 after a commanding run.

The No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR finished 1.617 seconds clear of the No. 98 sister machine of Harry Gottsacker and Mason Filippi.

Morris and Wilkins faced off an early threat from the No. 7 Precision Racing LA Audi RS3 LMS TCR of Celso Neto and Ryan Eversley, which later dropped back after suffering from refueling issues.

Karl Wittmer and LP Montour finished third in the No. 93 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR, ahead of the No. 89 HART Honda of Chad Gilsinger and Tyler Chambers.

William Tally and Tim Lewis completed the top five in class for KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering.

RESULTS: Alan Jay Automotive 120