Amesbury, MA - July 5, 2011 --- In preparation for this weekend’s GRAND-AM races at Laguna Seca Raceway, in Monterey, Calif., Turner Motorsport has named Raphael Matos to co-drive with Paul Dalla Lana. Longtime Turner Motorsport team member and driver Don Salama will co-drive with Michael Marsal, substituting for Joey Hand.

"Finding substitutes for Bill and Joey is quite a challenge," said Will Turner. "Both have years of BMW racing experience and have become an integral part of Turner Motorsport. Paul Dalla Lana is in the championship hunt in both the GT and GS classes and with five Rolex and only three CTSCC races remaining every lap becomes increasingly important. Rafa is familiar with the GRAND-AM series and we believe he is up to the challenge of supporting Paul. Pairing Don with Michael was a very organic decision. He is proof positive of the depth we have at Turner Motorsport."

Matos, a 29-year old Brazilian, now living in Miami, Fla., has most recently competed in the Izod Indy Car series, but is no stranger to GRAND-AM competition. He has experience in both GT and Daytona Prototype classes, co-driving for SpeedSource in 2008 to a Rolex 24 GT class victory. He tested with Turner Motorsport earlier this season at Carolina Motorsport Park in both the GT and GS cars.

Don Salama is well known to Turner Motorsports fans not only as one of the best race strategists in the paddock, but also an excellent driver and knows the twisty California circuit well. He put the Turner Motorsport BMW 328i on the pole and co-drove with Turner to the ST class win at Laguna Seca in 2009. Salama also co-drove with Will Turner to the ST class driver’s title in 2006.

Reaching the CTSCC podium in each of the first five races, including a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Auberlen and Dalla Lana added two more top-10 finishes at Watkins Glen and Road America to give Dalla Lana a 15 point lead GS driver points. Marsal is 13th in GS driver points, a top-five finish at Virginia International Raceway the best result of the season to-date with Hand. Turner Motorsport leads the GS team standings.

In Rolex competition, Dalla Lana stands third in driver points, only seven markers from the leaders. In the seven races with Auberlen the pair reached the podium three times, winning at Homestead-Miami and Barber Motorsports Park and adding a third at Virginia International Raceway. Turner Motorsport is third in the team championship.

Follow the Action
Turner Motorsport’s Facebook page will be updated from the track with information from practice, qualifying and both races on Friday and Saturday, July 8 and 9. Tune into SPEED at 4:00 p.m. ET Sunday, July 10 for broadcast of the Rolex race.

Television Broadcast
The Rolex Race at Laguna Seca will be broadcast on SPEED TV Sunday, July 10 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

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About Turner Motorsport
Turner Motorsport is the leading BMW tuner in North America, bringing technology and expertise from the racetrack to the street. Turner Motorsport is not about clever marketing tricks or gimmicks. Racetrack results speak themselves. The Turner Motorsport team has won six professional racing championships in two different series since 2003. This storied success is passed into every component that Turner Motorsport designs and sells through their website catalog. Our race team, R&D engineers and Sales team work together, allowing practical knowledge and state-of-the-art engineering to flow in both directions. Few companies in North America can claim such a close relationship to what they sell and what they race.

2011 ROLEX SERIES SCHEDULE

Television coverage by

July 8-9 | Laguna Seca, Salinas, CA
July 22-24 | New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, NJ
August 12-13 | Watkins Glen, NY
August 19-20 | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, QC
September 16-17 | Mid Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, OH

The SPEED Channel will provide LIVE TV broadcast for all Rolex GT races, and tape delay coverage for Continental Tire Challenge races throughout the year. Stay tuned to TMSRacing.com or SPEEDTV.com for broadcast dates and times.

Links

TurnerMotorsport.com - Parts, Performance & Service Parts for BMWs
H&R Springs - Premium Quality Suspension Components
StopTech Brakes - Experts in High Performance Brakes
MOTUL Lubricants - Race-proven Oil and Lubrication Products
Borla Exhaust - The World's Most Winning Exhaust
Escort - Radar Detectors & Laser Detectors
Spy Optic - Sunglasses, Snow and MX Goggles

Grand-Am Road Racing Homepage