(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)
Turner Motorsport Races For GS Title at Road Atlanta;
Auberlen, Foley, and Read To Ride BMW M6 GT3 “Last Rodeo” at Petit Le Mans.
November 9th, 2021 --- Newton, NH. ---
The 2021 Petit Le Mans weekend and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will set the stage for two major Turner Motorsport events. Over the course of its more than two decades as a top privateer BMW racing team in North America, Turner Motorsport has played a part in many significant races and had significant success at Road Atlanta.
Friday, Oct. 12 – The Race For The Michelin Pilot Challenge GS Title.
On Friday, the team will be racing the BMW M4 GT4 for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge title in the Grand Sport class. At present, No. 95 BMW M4 drivers Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern hold a 30-point advantage over second place, while No. 96 BMW M4 co-drivers Vin Barletta and Robby Foley stand third – only 40 points behind their teammates. Of course, it all comes down to who scores the best finish in the two-hour Fox Factory 120. If past performances are indicative of future results, watch both Turner Motorsport BMWs. Auberlen and Machavern have two wins this season (Watkins Glen and Road America) in their strong season and Barletta and Foley won this race last year.
Saturday, Oct. 13 – BMW M6 GT3, The Last Rodeo
The 2021 season began with Turner Motorsport celebrating its 400th race with BMW at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and a BMW M6 GT3 victory in the first-ever 100-minute qualifying race to determine the pole sitters for the race. Season highlights include two more BMW M6 wins at Mid-Ohio and the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, and a strong second-place at Road America in August to retain the GT Daytona class points lead. A 16th place finish at Long Beach and robbed of certain victory by a GTLM class(less) act in the closing stages of the race at Virginia International Raceway has effectively eliminated the M6, Auberlen, and Foley from any year-end titles. Despite that, you can be assured that the Turner Motorsport M6 GT3 is sure to figure in the Petit GT Daytona podium.
Turner Motorsport has raced the BMW M6 GT3 for six seasons now and it is fitting that the team will be among the last in the world to ride the car in its “last rodeo”. Of course, fans will remember Auberlen’s inspired BMW M6 drives (with Alexander Sims and Kuno Wittmer) in the BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GTLM to win Petit Le Mans in 2017 as well as the 2019 GT Daytona Petit victory in the Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 (with Foley and Machavern) for his 60th IMSA victory and tie for the lead in all-time IMSA wins. Since then, Auberlen’s tally has grown to 64 - all four of those the wins coming in the Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3.
This year, Petit Le Mans will be the final race for the BMW M6 GT3 and will write the last words in another successful chapter of a Turner Motorsport BMW program.
Will Turner – “We have been racing the BMW M6 GT3 for 6 seasons , I want to thank BMW of North America and BMW Motorsport for their support. We have shared much more success than heartache and hope we can end the M6 story in the US with an exclamation point. We may not be in contention for the GT Daytona title this year, but we are in a strong position to deliver BMW another championship with the BMW M4 GT4 in the IMPC GS class. I also want to thank all of the Turner Motorsport team and our family of sponsors. Here’s to one more season with BMW.”
Bill Auberlen – “Most of my best BMW M6 memories happened at Petit Le Mans and the car has been an integral part of my career – the 2017 win in my 400th race with BMW and equaling Scott (Pruett) for the all-time win record in 2019. This weekend we’ll ride the M6 one more time and look to send it off in a big way – of course, after Dillon and I win the GS title on Friday.”
Robby Foley - “Heading to Road Atlanta we carry a mixed back of emotions as a team, but we all have the same one motivation - winning! We’ve had a few disappointing races in GTD, with wins/podiums taken away by things out of our control, but Petit Le Mans gives us a great opportunity to close the season with a strong result to give the M6 the proper send-off it deserves. We know the recipe for winning Petit, we have done it before, now let’s do it again! In GS we have to be smart and do our best to capture the championship for one of our two cars. A one-two finish would be amazing with hopefully the 96 on top.”
Aidan Read - “After success at the Glen we will be looking for more at Petit Le Mans. I am confident that the Turner BMW package will be fast at Road Atlanta. I’m excited to be back in the car and working with everyone at Turner. I will be aiming to complete my first IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup off with a strong performance. Being in contention for the win on race day is the target.”
The final weekend of the season takes place at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, in Braselton, Ga., Nov. 10 – 13. The Michelin Pilot Challenge finale – the Fox Factory 120 – takes the green flag on Nov. 12. NBC’s live coverage of Motul Petit Le Mans will start at noon ET Nov. 13 and go until 3 p.m., when NBCSN takes over the coverage until the checkered flag.
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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 for over two decades. Since 1993 the Turner Motorsport Team has competed in over 380 professional races, winning seven professional racing championships in four different series since 2003. The most recent being the 2014 Team Championship in the GTD-class of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. 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.
