Turner Commits to Daytona; Confirms Rolex 24 Lineup

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Turner Motorsport has entered next weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, confirming Wednesday that Maxime Martin, Jens Klingmann, Jesse Krohn and Justin Marks will drive its BMW M6 GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener.

BMW factory drivers Martin and Klingmann, along with BMW Junior Krohn were all part of the Will Turner-led squad’s 2016 Daytona assault, which featured two cars.

Martin and Krohn teamed with Michael Marsal and Markus Palttala for a fifth place class finish in GT Daytona and will be looking to improve on that result.

Former Rolex 24 class winner Marks, meanwhile, completes the lineup alongside the BMW-supported pilots, in his first time back with the team since 2005.

“We are looking forward to being back at Daytona for our eighth race start for the Rolex 24,” Turner said. “Although we had a strong finish last year, Daytona has still remained that one race that we dream about winning.

“I think that with a full season under our belts with the M6 GT3, we have enough experience and familiarity with the car to do really well if we can avoid trouble and any mechanical issues.”

Turner admitted the Daytona-only deal came together late, following the withdrawal of the team’s two 2016 funded drivers, Marsal and Bret Curtis, who have both put their racing programs on hold.

Its plans in the WeatherTech Championship beyond Daytona have still yet to be defined.

The Turner BMW will be one of an expected 27 entries in the GTD class at Daytona, which will feature a record nine different manufacturers.

The full entry list for the race is due out later today.

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