In a wild two-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race, Winward Racing capitalized on misfortune for the No. 39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO to score its first GS victory of 2026. Bryce Ward and relief driver Phillip Ellis, who substituted for Daan Arrow this weekend at Watkins Glen International, shared the win.

With less than 20 minutes remaining, Jeff Westphal sustained damage to his BMW after striking the curbing at Turn 5, an area of the track that became infamous throughout the weekend. The damage forced Westphal to make a late pit stop, handing the GS lead to Ellis.

One final caution flew minutes later after the No. 21 Victor Gonzalez Racing Cupra VZ TCR stopped on track, but Ellis held on through the final restart to secure the victory.

In TCR, the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic FL5 TCR went from last to first to claim the class victory, with Rocco Pasquarella and Tim Lewis Jr. earning the team’s first win with Honda.

Fuel strategy proved key as Lewis emerged from the pit stops in podium position behind HART’s No. 89 Honda Civic of Chad Gilsinger before taking the lead with 32 minutes remaining. Celso Neto then passed Lewis into the Bus Stop with 20 minutes to go, but his stint out front was brief as Lewis and Eddie Gou in the No. 55 Gou Racing with Stallion Audi RS3 LMS TCR moved back by four minutes later.

Mason Filippi then charged the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR to second past Gou, securing another strong finish for himself and championship co-driver Bryson Morris.

“I think it comes down to teamwork,” Bryce Ward said to IMSA. “Having Phillip as a co-driver this weekend helped me so much during practice. The 39 car jumped us in the pit stops. Ours were great, but theirs were better because they needed less fuel. I was sad to see them go out … but the racing gods were in our favor today.”

“It was a tough start to the weekend, but we knew we’d be strong going forward from the back,” Pasquarella said to IMSA. “Last-to-first wasn’t what we expected for our first win, but it’s pretty memorable.”

The series now has a week off before returning north of the border for Round 6 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.