Amesbury, Mass. April 4th, 2012 --- At the end of a long GRAND AM doubleheader at Barber Motorsports Park Turner Motorsport netted a top-five GT class finish in the Rolex Sports Car Series race, but came away from the afternoons Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race with only two damaged M3s.
Defending race winners Bill Auberlen and Paul Dalla Lana finished fifth in the two-and-three-quarter-hour Porsche 250 for the duos first top-five finish of the young Rolex Sports Car season. Dalla Lana started the race from the 19th position after an off in the qualifying session the previous day denied him of a spot closer to the front of the 19-car GT field. He drove a strong opening stint before handing off to Auberlen who pushed the No. 94 M3 up to fifth at the checkered flag. Billy Johnson was suited up for the race, but did not drive.
Joining Rolex Sports Car GT competition in 2010, Turner Motorsport drivers finished sixth in their first race at Barber. Last year Auberlen and Dalla Lana took their second consecutive victory of the season at Barber in the No. 94 BMW M3.
The afternoons two-and-one-half-hour Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race was over for the Turner crew almost as soon as it started. The combined field of 72 CTSCC cars confined within Barbers tight 2.3-miles found trouble immediately after the green flag waved. Dalla Lana, starting from 13th, and Marsal, starting from 20th after getting hit in qualifying, were right in the middle of the mess. Both Turner machines were involved, but only Dalla Lana had to pit for repairs to the right rear of the No. 96 M3. Five laps later, as the race went green, Marsal was caught up in a wreck that saw his No. 97 M3 take a huge impact as it was hit from behind and spun hard into the wall. He was taken to the infield care center and released. Boris Said did not get a chance to drive.
After replacing Dalla Lana in the No. 96 M3, Auberlen raced forward, reaching the third spot by lap 29. Sensing something amiss in the suspension he pitted on the next lap. The crew looked over the car, but nothing was seen in the short stop allowed by Barbers one-minute-forty-second lap times and not lose valuable track position. Auberlen charged back through the field, but with some 30 minutes remaining a tie rod end (damaged in the first lap of the race) broke forcing him to the pits for repairs and a disappointing 20th place finish.
While one transporter heads north with Marsals No. 97 machine, the Turner Motorsport team will stay at Barber for a test on Monday, April 2 in preparation for the next rounds of Grand-Am competition.
The CTSCC race will be televised on SPEED television on April 8 at 12 p.m. ET.
Round three of the 2012 Grand-Am season will be held at Homestead Miami Speedway, in Homestead, Florida on April 27 29.
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About Turner Motorsport
Turner Motorsport is a 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 three 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, ensuring practical knowledge and state-of-the-art engineering flow in both directions. Few companies in North America can claim such a close relationship to what they sell and what they race.
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2012 ROLEX SERIES SCHEDULE
| Television coverage by |
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LIVE! Grand Prix of Miami April 29th @ 1:00pm ET | Homestead Miami Speedway, Homestead, FL
LIVE! New Jersey May 13th @ 1:00pm ET | New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, NJ
LIVE! Chverolet Grand-Am 200 June 2nd @ 5:00pm ET | Belle Isle Park, Detroit, MI
LIVE! Mid Ohio June 9th @ 4:30pm ET | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, OH
LIVE! Road America June 23rd @ 12:00pm ET | Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI
LIVE! Sahlens Six Hours of The Glen July 1st @ 11:00am ET | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen. NY
LIVE! Super Weekend at the Brickyard July 27th @ 4;30pm ET | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, IN
LIVE! Watkins Glen International Short Course August 11th @ 6:00 ET | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen. NY
LIVE! Circuit Gilles Villenueve August 18th @ 7:00pm ET | Circuit Gilles Villenueve, Montreal, Quebec
LIVE! Continental Tire Sports Car Festival September 9th @ 3:00pm ET | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Salinas, CA
LIVE! Lime Rock Park September 29th @ 3:00pm ET | Limerock Park, Lakeville, CT
Links
TurnerMotorsport.com - Parts, Performance & Service Parts for BMWs
H&R Springs - Premium Quality Suspension Components
StopTech Brakes - Experts in High Performance Brakes
Recaro -The best in high quality automotive seats.
MOTUL Lubricants - Race-proven Oil and Lubrication Products
Borla Exhaust - The World's Most Winning Exhaust
Intercity Lines - America's Premier Enclosed Automotive Transport
Escort - Radar Detectors & Laser Detectors
Spy Optic - Sunglasses, Snow and MX Goggles
Grand-Am Road Racing Homepage
