Turner Motorsport heads to the Motor City for round four of the 2019 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on the 2.35-mile 14-turn street course of Belle Isle.
The No. 96 Turner BMW M6 GT3 of Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley will return to racing action for the first time since round three at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where the duo’s race was cut short due to early contact.
Last year on Belle Isle, the duo made their first appearance together driving the blue and yellow BMW at Detroit to mark Robby Foley’s first ever race with Turner Motorsport. Auberlen and Foley managed a strong seventh place finish from an eleventh starting position in their BMW M6 GT3.
In 2017, Turner drivers Jens Klingmann and Bret Curtis were able to make an impressive fight from a twelfth place start up to fourth place to cross the finish line just a couple seconds behind the leader.
This year, Auberlen and Foley will look to use what they learned last year on the challenging street course in hopes of producing strong results in the 12-entry GTD class.
“Detroit is always a hard race so we have our work cut out for ourselves,” said Bill Auberlen. “Last year we had a very good car and managed to make up several positions which is extremely hard on a track that does not have a lot of real estate for passing. I’m confident we have a strong package in our BMW so it’s just a matter of executing once the green flag waves.”
“We have had some difficult races so far this year, so we are very motivated to have a successful weekend in Detroit. The Turner guys are super resilient so I am optimistic for a fun a strong weekend.”
Robby Foley added, “I can’t believe it’s already been a year since my debut with Turner Motorsport last year in Detroit. Bill (Auberlen) and I had a pretty good racecar here last year so I am hoping with what we have learned together over the past year, we can dial it in to be even better.”
“This track is certainly a challenge with the different surfaces and grip levels as well as the bumps and tight corners but I am excited for the challenge and change of pace from Mid-Ohio and Sebring.”
The No. 96 BMW M6 GT3 of Auberlen and Foley will take the green flag at 12:30pm ET Saturday June 1st for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Lear and will be televised LIVE on NBC Sports Network as well as IMSA.tv.
The Turner Motorsport BMW will be showcasing primary branding for both Hengst Filter and Sachs Performance, two race partners with North American offices in Detroit.
“It’s going to be a busy weekend for us with guests from many of our sponsors including Hengst, Sachs, Pagid and Liqui Moly,” said Jay Baier Director of Marketing. “It is very cool that we are able to race in a city with so much automotive history and have partners like Hengst, Sachs and Pagid right down the street. We can’t thank all our sponsors enough for all their support including H&R Springs, Hilliard, Sonax and Ohlins.”
On track action begins on Friday at 8:30am followed by GTD qualifying at 5:20pm ET which will be live on IMSA.tv.
