Racing News Article #524 | Turner Motorsport

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Racing News Article #524

Turner Motorsport Scores Big at Sebring with Smart Salama Strategy

Sebring, Fl. - March 21, 2023

Turner Motorsport had a very good St. Patrick’s Day weekend at Sebring International Raceway, finishing 1-2 in the two-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race and scoring a second-place GTD class finish in the headlining 12 Hours of Sebring.

Vin Barletta and Robby Foley scored the IMPC win in the No. 96 ZEBRING split-liveried BMW M4 GT4, completing 41 laps of the 3.7-mile, 17-turn circuit in the two-hour race, finishing .601 seconds ahead of the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 of Cameron Lawrence and Robert Megennis. The victory was the very first IMPC win for the all-new BMW M4 GT4.

Saturday’s 12-hour checkered flag saw the No. 95 LIQUI-MOLY BMW M4 GT3, of Michael Dinan, Robby Foley, and Patrick Gallagher finish second in the GTD class, benefiting from the smart strategy calls from Don Salama during multiple caution periods in the final hours of the race to maximize track position. Unfortunately, the No. 95 McIntosh BMW M4 GT3 of Bill Auberlen, John Edwards, and Chandler Hull did not enjoy the luck of the Irish, running strongly but ultimately scoring a seventh-place GTD PRO class finish.

Will Turner - “It’s every team owners dream to have a 1-2 finish so my excitement is real. After our tough start at Daytona, I think I would have been pleased to finish both IMPC cars in the top-10. A 1-2 is a well-deserved result for a fantastic team effort. On Saturday, we did not have the strongest car in the race, but we certainly had a strong team effort. In some races you have the strongest cars, and in some races you have the strongest team. This weekend Turner Motorsport showed both.”

Michael Dinan, driver No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 - “A second-place finish shows that anything can happen. We had some issues with the brakes through the race, but we stayed on the lead lap and smart strategy calls at the end earned us this podium.”

Robby Foley, driver No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 - “If you asked me a few hours ago if we’d be on the podium at the end I would have said probably not, but Don (Salama) had a great strategy and the team executed it flawlessly.”

Patrick Gallagher, driver No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 - “I’m thrilled to finish second today with Turner Motorsport. I don’t think we were the strongest car today, but we had to be one of the strongest teams.”

Long Beach, California is up next for the Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 program and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on April 15. The Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 cars will return to action on May 12 – 14 at Laguna Seca Raceway.

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