AMESBURY, MA. April 4th, 2014 - Turner Motorsport returns home after competing in the Pirelli World Challenge season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida. The team had made a late decision to enter the Grand Prix of St. Pete, going back to its roots in sprint racing, entering a Pirelli World Challenge race for the first time since 2006. The race set a new World Challenge entry record with over fifty cars, attracting many new GT3 spec cars including the BMW Z4 GT3.
Dane Cameron piloted the blue and yellow Turner BMW to the top of Fridays first practice session time sheets. Cameron was able to set into a comfortable and consistent pace in Fridays time on track, qualifying the No. 94 BMW Z4 P3 for Saturdays race.
The weekends first fifty minute sprint race scheduled for Saturday afternoon was cancelled due to heavy rain, the decision was made by Pirelli World Challenge officials to call the race to prevent any unnecessary incidents.
Will Turner commented, We were really looking forward to running our BMW Z4 in the rain for Saturdays race. We have actually never raced our new Z4 in the rain but have heard they are phenomenal. We understood the officials call but would of loved to get Dane in the car to run the race.
In Sundays race Dane Cameron started on the second row in P3 for the standing start. Due to a technical issue with the starting lights at the front of the grid, Cameron and several other top qualifying cars were passed instantly. As a result, Cameron fell back to P16 by turn one of the 1.8 mile, 14 turn street course.
By Lap 13 Cameron was able to fight back into the top ten, grabbing seventh place. Following a full course caution Cameron battled in the top seven, most notably with the Lamborghini Gallardo of Prince Albert Won Thurn Und Taxis. As a result of the intense battle, light contact caused suspension damage in the BMW of Cameron, preventing him from finishing the race, ultimately finishing P18.
Dane Cameron Said, Racing the Turner BMW in the Pirelli World Challenge was a lot of fun, the car was very competitive and a blast to drive, especially with the variety of competing cars in the GT class. Unfortunately we did not get the start we wanted but we were able to battle back and run inside the top ten for much of the race.
Be sure to TUNE IN on Sunday, April 6th at 5:30pm ET on the NBC Sports Network to watch the full race coverage from St. Petersburg. Dont miss the first round of the 2014 Pirelli World Challenge and all the new and exciting cars.
View a full gallery of photos from the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of St. Pete here.
2014 Partners:
Stay connected. Follow us on Facebook & Twitter to get up to the minute updates from the race track.
About Turner Motorsport
Turner Motorsport is the leading BMW tuner in North America, bringing technology and expertise from the racetrack to the street for over two decades. Since 1993 the Turner Motorsport Team has competed in over 280 professional races, winning six professional racing championships in three different series since 2003. The most recent being the 2011 Continental Sports Car Challenge. Their success is passed into every component that Turner Motorsport designs and sells through their comprehensive website and performance showroom. 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.
###
2014 Pirelli World Challenge GT/GT-A/GTS Schedule
April 11th-12th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
April 25th-27th - Barber Motorsports Park
May 30th-June 1st Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix
June 19th-21st Road America
July 18th-20th Honda Indy Toronto
August 1st-3rd- Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
Friday August 22nd-24th Sonoma Grand Prix
Septemeber 12th-13th Miller Motorsports Park
| Television coverage by |
 |
|
Please check your local listings for NBC Sports in your area.
|
|
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
Escort - Radar Detectors & Laser Detectors
