Turner Planning Multi-Car BMW M4 GT4 Effort for 2018

Photo: Sam Cobb/BMW

Turner Motorsport is set to re-enter IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge competition next year, while also expanding its effort in Pirelli World Challenge, with multiple BMW M4 GT4 entries planned in both series for the longtime BMW outfit.

Team boss Will Turner has confirmed that he’s placed an initial order of two cars, with more likely in the months to come, as the Massachusetts-based squad ramps up its customer racing program to fully embrace the new GT4 car.

“I said, ‘Give me as many as I can get!'” Turner told Sportscar365. “There’s multiple series we want to run in and that car has been a long time coming.”

While currently campaigning a BMW M6 GT3 in the GT Daytona class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and having recently run a pair of M235iRs in the PWC round at Lime Rock Park, Turner said he already has “very interested” clients for GT4 programs, both in the sprint and endurance series.

It would mark the team’s return to GS class competition in Continental Tire Challenge for the first time since 2014, when it ran self-built BMW M3s, which claimed multiple championships.

“It would be natural if we did some World Challenge with the M235iRs and the M4s, and in [IMSA] we’d do the M4 and some M6 [GT3s],” Turner said. “It would be nice to double up.

“The interest is there. Of course I haven’t given people budget numbers yet because I don’t know what the exact run costs will be. But hopefully it will be less than the last time we ran GS, because that was getting crazy [expensive].”

The car, which made its competition debut in January’s Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai, has recently completed additional races, including the Nürburgring 24, ahead of customer deliveries later this year.

It made its North American public debut during last weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, with a car on display in the paddock.

Turner has given high marks to BMW for its entry into the GT4 market, with a car he believes could be a game-changer.

“BMW has been a late adapter in the GT4 push but people have been waiting for the BMW,” he said.

“It’s more of the stable platform. When you think of the specs of the car, it’s not a McLaren that has uber horsepower and a different engine design. It’s classic BMW.

“It could very well be the benchmark of all the other cars.

“I also think it’s going to be a good car for the gentlemen drivers because of the paddle shift, which will mean less wear and tear on the gearboxes.

“Hopefully the maintenance and running costs will be lucrative to funded drivers to make the season go.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John