A Strong Fight for the CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Teams at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey, Calif. (May 4, 2026) - The CarBahn with Peregrine Racing stable of drivers returned to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the 120-minute race in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. For their third race of the season, both the No. 37 and No. 39 BMW M4 GT4 EVO’s were on the hunt for redemption after an unfortunate on-track incident during the opening lap of the last round of competition at Sebring International Raceway ended both teams' race before it could start.
An impressive qualifying performance from Sean McAlister, co-driver of the No. 39 Peregrine Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO, secured him a fifth-place starting position for Saturday's lineup. Stephen Wetterau managed 23rd on the grid behind the wheel of the No. 37 Peregrine Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO, with every intention of fighting his way to the front of the pack.
As the green flag flew for the two-hour IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at the historic California circuit, Wetterau pushed his way up the field in the opening laps of the race, gaining three on-track positions. Unfortunately, McAlister’s opening lap saw him spin out on track, ultimately forcing him to the back of the pack. Before the race could get into full swing, the field saw a full course caution - halting any forward progression for the two teams. While under the extended caution, bodywork on the No. 37 came loose, forcing an early pit stop for Wetterau to repair the issue for the duration of the race.
After going nearly a quarter of the race under caution, McAlister and Wetterau took a strong stance on the restart, with both drivers gaining positions on the return to race pace. Having completed over 40-minutes of drive time, McAlister handed the reins of the No. 39 BMW over to his co-driver, Jeff Westphal, with a smooth driver change and pit stop putting him in a prime position to challenge forward. With just over an hour to go, debris on the track saw the field under another full course yellow, bringing Wetterau and the No. 37 BMW into the pits to hand over driving duties to Cameron Shields.
With the caution lending to a shuffle in the pit cycle, Westphal was in a prime track position - having pitted directly before the yellow - to bring the No. 39 BMW to the front of the pack of GS contenders. On the restart, Westphal charged forward to fourth position, while Shields prepared to work his way through the field with just under an hour to go. Westphal worked skillfully behind the wheel to maintain his position, while working to conserve energy in hopes that a timely yellow would enable him to see the end of the race without another pit stop. Unfortunately, that yellow did not come, forcing Westphal to pit for energy and two-tires with just under 30-minutes to go. Westphal and Shields challenged to the very end, ultimately securing a 13th place and 18th-place finish, respectively.
The CarBahn with Peregrine Racing team will next head to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for their fourth round of competition, and second four-hour endurance race of the season, on June 5-7, 2026.
What They're Saying: CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Quotes
Stephen Wetterau, co-driver, No. 37 BMW M4 GT4 EVO: “New car for us for the weekend coming out of Sebring. So good to build back from some good momentum earlier on in the season.
Not the result we were looking for, but we've got some good solid points, and look forward to Mid-Ohio.”
Cameron Shields, co-driver, No. 37 BMW M4 GT4 EVO: “A fantastic race today with the Peregrine CarBahn crew. We had to start towards the back, and unfortunately went even further back when our door didn't close on the start, but we battled from last place up to 18th to finish the day. The crew did a really good job.
Very happy with the car speed as well, and hopefully at Mid-Ohio we can start from the front.”
Sean McAlister, co-driver, No. 39 BMW M4 GT4 EVO: “Ultimately a bummer. It sucks to get spun on the first lap there.
I really wish we could have seen what could have played out because we were in front of the No. 95 for qualifying and everything. We probably could have won that race if I hadn't gotten spun out and then obviously made that little mistake tapping the Aston and getting a penalty, but yeah, ultimately we salvaged what we could.”
Jeff Westphal, co-driver, No. 39 BMW M4 GT4 EVO: “A tough day for the No. 39. It looked promising at the start, but an error at the beginning caused a spin. There was then a drive-through penalty for a subsequent contact, so we got shuffled to the back twice, which is so hard to recover from in a series like this - a championship full of good drivers and lots of cars. The team did their best, and we tried to have a strategy where if a yellow came later in the race, we would be vaulted back up to the front, but the yellow never came and we had to stop under green. So we persisted and we fought hard. The Peregrine Racing BMW was handling really well for me today, but unfortunately it just wasn't our day.”
Mark Siegel, team owner, CarBahn with Peregrine Racing: “Today wasn't the best finish for either car that we would like, but I think both cars were driven very well. Certainly, for the No. 37 we finished considerably better than where we started. We’ll take this forward to the next race weekend and try to do better in Mid-Ohio. This race just didn't fall our way, but that's racing.”
About Peregrine Racing
Founded by two venture capitalists in 2018, Peregrine Racing is a title-winning organization competing in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class and the VP Fuels SportsCar Challenge. Champions of the former category in 2019, Peregrine stayed true to their ideals of growth and innovation by making the jump to GT3 racing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2021. After achieving success with multiple podiums and a GTD championship challenge in two years in IMSA's top series, Peregrine Racing has refocused their efforts on GT4 racing and winning championships.
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Media Contact:
Nicole Welsh
nw@coforce.com
