Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley’s journey to claiming the Pro-Am championship title in Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS was nothing short of a wild ride. It truly came down to the very end for the Turner Motorsport pairing, as they overcame a sizable points deficit in the last round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Going into the Indy 8 Hour, they had a big task at hand as the odds were not in their favor. However, as time went on, they continued to fight and the advantage eventually swung in their direction. As the checkered flag waved, they finished the season finale race as champions.
“My initial emotions and thoughts after we crossed the line was just pure elation,” said Robby Foley. “I have such an appreciation for the whole team for getting us to this point, through all the ups and downs of the season. We had many ups, and really only one big down, and it was nice to overcome that together. From Justin, to our team members, to our partners, I’m just so grateful for everybody that gave us this opportunity.”
For Foley, he felt as though he could finally take a sigh of relief following the outcome of both the race and the championship. Although they remained strong under pressure, he admitted it was like a breath of fresh air as he crossed the line.
“I was in pure disbelief,” echoed Justin Rothberg. “Robby completed the final stints, and I was on the sidelines just trying not to get ahead of myself. Everybody on the team was trying to do the math while not fully believing it was possible to win the title. The clock kept ticking down, but we didn’t want to say anything out of fear of jinxing ourselves.”
When going back to the very beginning, well before the championship crown was at stake, the Turner Motorsport teammates always had the belief that they could accomplish big objectives.
“I always drive with a big picture approach,” explained Foley. “I do treat every race as a singular event and try to score maximum points, but beyond that, the championship is always my number one goal. I didn’t necessarily expect us to win it, but I just went into this season with an open mind. I knew that if we did our job well, and scored good points throughout the season, then we would have a shot and that's really all you need.”
Rothberg, who made the move up to GT3 machinery for the first time, had a lot to adapt to this year, but he took it all in stride. Additionally, he completed double duty as he competed in the GT America series as well, which only further helped him tackle the learning curve.
“This was a year of growth for me,” he stated. “Everything was new for me – the car, the team, the series, it was all totally different from what I was used to. I was looking forward to hopefully scoring some podium finishes, and at the beginning of the season I was even happy to finish in the top 5. The championship was not in my mind, but we only continued to progress, and soon enough we were fighting for wins and it was amazing.”
The improvement came quickly, and it wasn’t long before the duo were in the mix for top results. By the time they reached the race weekend event at Sebring International Raceway, they proved that they were top contenders. They secured their first win of the year, and it felt like an early turning point.
“It was a moment where I definitely thought he made a real transition into a GT3 racing driver,” Foley recalled about his teammate. “He was really starting to contend with the leaders in GT America, and we reached the top step of the podium in GT World Challenge America. For me, Sebring sticks out as an amazing weekend we started to get on a roll. We began firing on all cylinders and his progression as a driver just kept improving throughout the year. It was the start of a good streak of really positive races and results.”
“Sebring felt like a turning point,” Rothberg agreed. “Not only because we got our first win, but also because in GT America I couldn’t rely on Robby to help me out in the car. I had to figure it out for myself and navigate through traffic and manage my pace. It was a weekend where I really started to feel at one with the car as I got more comfortable."
It wasn’t always smooth sailing, as they had to push through setbacks and moments of misfortune as well. The capacity to reset and refocus following times of bad luck proved to be vital in their championship pursuit. Even moreso, the ability to lean on each other and turn negatives into positives made all the difference.
“We had two main situations that were both out of our control where we lost a lot of points,” Foley remembered. “One was a flat tire that took us out of contention at Road America, and one was a rather big crash following contact with another car at VIR. Looking back on those things, I couldn't be sort of more grateful for the people I had around me at that time. Everybody in the team was very supportive, and it helped a lot.
“It put a lot of pressure on everybody for the rest of the season, but we were able to bounce back really well,” he went on. “Justin and I kept our heads in the game the whole time and we had a good streak of podiums, a couple of wins, and the rest is history. I’m just so proud of how everybody responded to that sort of adversity.”
“In hindsight, only having those two bad days, it speaks to how good the season was overall,” Rothberg concurred. “We definitely had an awesome year, we’re still enjoying and celebrating everything we were able to accomplish, and looking forward to what’s to come.”