CarBahn with Peregrine Racing finished in sixth place after a red flag thwarted its podium pursuit.
The No. 39 Audi R8 GT3 LMS took to the bullring for Round 4 of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Sprint Cup, the Northeast Grand Prix. Lime Rock Park is traditionally kind to Steve Dinan prepared cars and this weekend was no exception. Unfortunately, after fighting for a win for the first half of the race a red flag and early checkered flag would cause the team to finish in sixth place.
Driver Richard Heistand showed strength and speed this weekend qualifying the No. 39 in third position. A hectic start put Heistand on the defense causing him to use fancy footwork to pull away from the behind competitors. He remained in the top-three for the entirety of his stint pitting with 110 minutes remaining.
From there co-driver Jeff Westphal buckled in for what the team hoped would be a triumphant drive to the front. However, mother nature had other plans bringing rain and lightning, causing the second red flag of the season. Persistent lightning made it unsafe for the race to resume forcing the event to conclude early providing the team with a sixth-place finish.
The No. 39 now head back to San Jose, California, in preparation for the IMSA Sportscar Weekend at Road America, August 5-8.
QUOTE BOARD
Richard Heistand, Driver of the No. 39 Audi R8 GT3 LMS
“We were running third all day but then had an issue in the pit stop which caused us to drop back,” Heistand said. “It’s disappointing because I think we could have had a podium, but we’ll learn from this. We’ve been up front every weekend now and we’re just getting started. I think we had the pace and we’ll just learn and get better and hopefully get on the box at Road America.”
Jeff Westphal, Driver of the No. 39 Audi R8 GT3 LMS
“This weekend highlighted that we continuously are improving the No. 39 Audi R8 GT3 LMS and the gap to the leading pack of competitors is shrinking in our first year,” Westphal said. “The team is working well together, and I feel like the momentum is headed in the right direction. It’s such an honor to be a part of this program with such dedicated and talented individuals up and down the team roster.”
Source. CarBahn with Peregrine Racing
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