The Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 of Robby Foley and Bill Auberlen took the green flag at Virginia International Raceway carrying the momentum of four podiums in the last four consecutive races in the 2019 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Foley started the race from sixth position to quickly move up to fourth place in the opening lap on the 3.27-mile 17-turn road course. In the opening laps, Foley pushed the No. 96 BMW M6 GT3 to chase down the third place Lexus.
On lap nine, Foley was able to close the gap on the Lexus to attempt to make a pass for third when contact from the fifth place Lamborghini caused Foley to spin in turn four. As a result, a tire puncture forced Foley into pit lane for an emergency stop.
Foley continued on to make a scheduled pit stop before finishing his stint to hand the car over to Bill Auberlen. Auberlen pushed to complete the final stint of the race to move up one position to eleventh.
“From the start of the race it was clear no one was going to give an inch. I got a decent start and was able to gain two positions,” said Robby Foley.
“We went into turn 4 and the Lexus in front of me unexpectedly checked up a bit slowing me down giving the 48 the opportunity to try to go around the outside and get to my right rear wheel. At the exit of 4 turning into 5 my exit was slightly better and I was on a trajectory for the apex of 5 and I got hit directly in the right rear wheel. This sent me into a spin and ultimately cut down the tire. We eventually had a suspension failure as a result of the impact.”
Will Turner added, “What a rough day for the entire team. We had such a well-balanced car in practice and qualifying and were looking forward to the race today to walk away with valuable championship points. Robby had a super solid start with quick pace and we were in a great position so it was disappointing to be knocked out so early. It’s too bad the 48 raced us the way he did so early on in the race, it ended up costing us a position in the championship standings.”
The disappointing result comes after the team recorded four podium results at Watkins Glen International, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Lime Rock Park and Road America.
The eleventh place puts the No. 96 Turner BMW third place in the GTD-class WeatherTech Championship points standings.
With round nine of the GTD season in the record books, the team prepares for round ten out west at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on September 12-14th.
