Turner Motorsport is a name synonymous with success in the world of professional motorsports. Following SRO Motorsports America’s most recent event at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, the team completed their 561st race, the most out of any BMW team in the world.
The team competes in both the Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS and the GT America powered by AWS championships with the No. 29 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3, co-driven by Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley in the former, with Rothberg running solo in the SRO3 class in GT America.
The Pro-Am pairing added yet another podium to the team’s long running tally, with a second-place finish in Race 2 at COTA, accompanied by a third-place finish for Rothberg in GT America’s Race 2 as well.
In this year’s GT World Challenge America season, the new teammate pairing has gotten off to a very strong start, with one win and three podium finishes so far, putting them third overall in the Pro-Am class standings and well within striking distance in the championship fight.
“It’s a pretty impressive, great milestone for Will and everyone that has been here for a long time,” expressed Pro driver Robby Foley. “Will has had a lot of the same people for almost 20 years, so we’re thankful to have a great core group of people around us. It’s nice to be a small part of it over the last six years. It’s been my home and I feel very lucky to be a part of this group, and I hope for many more races in the future.”
Meanwhile, in GT America, Rothberg has seen great progression in his first year racing in GT3 competition, with two podium finishes in his rookie season currently putting him fourth in the SRO3 class championship.
The team has held a strong presence in the SRO America paddocks for a significant amount of time, including 15 seasons competing in GT World Challenge America. Over the years, the team has raced a diverse lineup of BMW models, beginning with the E36 and progressing through the E46, E90, E92, E89, E63, F13, F82, and now the G82.
It all began back in 1998 when Team Owner Will Turner made his professional racing debut in Topeka, Kansas, driving a BMW E36 325 in SCCA World Challenge. Since then, the team has exclusively raced BMWs, securing nine championships in the process over its 26-year history.
“Thinking back to 1998, our first World Challenge race, it seems like so long ago in some ways, but it also seems like just yesterday,” said Will Turner. “If you had asked me then what my plans were for the future, I never would’ve told you that we’d still be racing BMWs 26 years later!”
Turner remains as dedicated as ever, and attributes the success and accomplishments to the hardworking team members that have contributed their time and effort over the years; “I’m very fortunate to have a lot of great people working with me. Everybody says that they have an awesome crew, but I truly have had the best and still have the best team I could imagine.”
When looking ahead, Turner made it clear that the future remains bright for the team; “The competition over the years has just gotten more and more competitive, it’s harder to win a race now than ever, but there’s something about that challenge that’s going to keep me racing for another 500.”
The team will return on track for the upcoming rounds at VIRginia International Raceway from July 19th to 21st.
