(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)
Turner Motorsport Stands Third on GTD Podium at Laguna Seca. Barletta and Foley Post Fourth Place Michelin Pilot Challenge Finish.
May 3, 2022 – Newton, NH
The No. 96 Turner Motorsport LIQUI-MOLY BMW M4 GT3, driven by Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley, finished third in Sunday’s Monterey Sports Car Championship to score the team’s first podium of the 2022 IMSA season with the new BMW M4 GT3. Third is certainly not second or even first, but until the closing laps of the two-hour-and-forty-minute race it looked like a finish on the higher steps of the GTD class podium was in the cards. In fact, up to lap 97 of 107 raced it was all Turner Motorsport.
Beginning with Foley’s start from the outside of the front row after a fine qualifying effort, the fast Floridian jumped to the point as the green flag waved. He led the first 25 laps around the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Laguna Seca circuit. The Turner M4 would add 44 laps at the front over the balance of race to make it a race-high total of 69. With 20 minutes to go it appeared that Auberlen, the all-time IMSA win leader, would add one more to his record total. Unfortunately, the BMW veteran was struggling with a loss of grip and fell from first to third as the race came to a close. Auberlen and Foley now stand third (provisionally) in GTD driver points in both the Championship and Sprint standings.
On Saturday, in Michelin Pilot Challenge action, Vin Barletta and Robby Foley just missed the Grand Sport podium with a fourth place finish in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4. The pair’s best result of the season moves the duo to ninth in driver points. Following a strong performance in the No. 95 BMW M4 GT4, a late pit stop to replace a cut tire dropped Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern from a possible win to 20th at the checkered. The duo stands sixth in driver points.
Will Turner - “Our first podium finish for the team this season with the BMW M4 GT3 almost feels like a win. BMW M Motorsport delivered a great car, but you still have to learn what it needs and how to do that. Our streak of fourth place finishes before this podium meant our learning curve was bending in the right direction and the rest of the season looks promising.”
Bill Auberlen – The Taco Warriors are back in action April 29 – May 1 for the IMSA Monterey Sports Car Championship at WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway. Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley will compete in the two-hour-and-forty-minute race that will take the green flag at 3:10 p.m. ET Sunday, May 1. Coverage on NBC will begin at 3:00 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio also provides a flag-to-flag broadcast. On Saturday, the Turner Motorsport co-drivers Auberlen and Dillon Machavern as well as Vin Barletta and Robby Foley will wheel the Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 machines in Round 3 Michelin Pilot Challenge action. Auberlen and Machavern currently stand third in GS points standings.
Robby Foley – “We led a lot of the race and managed the gap for the first three-quarters. The competition seemed to have a bit more over the long run. We learned a lot today and we should be very happy with our first podium of the season.”
The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course hosts the next IMSA weekend for Turner Motorsport May 13 – 15. The two-hour Mid-Ohio 120 goes green at 4:05 p.m. ET Saturday, May 14. The two-hour-and-forty-minute Lexus Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio race will take the green flag at 2:10 p.m. ET Sunday, May 15.
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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.
