Cameron to Drive Turner BMW Z4 GT3 at St. Pete

Photo: IMSA

Turner Motorsport announced Tuesday that Dane Cameron will drive the team’s BMW Z4 GT3 car in this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge season-opener at St. Pete.

Revealed last week, the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship squad made a late decision to join the sprint-race GT championship after fielding the GT3-based BMW in the opening two rounds of the IMSA-sanctioned series.

“After completing two races with the IMSA run series, our partner, NorthWest Value Properties, has given us the freedom to explore an alternative series that is more established,” team owner Will Turner explained.

“World Challenge has always been a great racing series for Turner, so it was decided to try the sprint racing format to see if it’s something we want to pursue on a more full time basis.”

It marks Turner’s return to the SCCA-sanctioned series, having campaigned its iconic blue and yellow BMWs in PWC from 1998-2004, which included titles in 2003 and 2004, as well as ten victories, 40 top-fives and seven pole positions.

Cameron will pilot the same BMW Z4 GT3 the team contested the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Twelve Hours of Sebring. The car was converted back to FIA GT3 spec last weekend, which included changes primarily to the electronics, rear wing, dive planes, brakes and tires. 

“I am eager to get into any Turner BMW, so this will be a fun change of pace,” Cameron said. “I know that Turner began their professional race program in World Challenge, so it will be good to get the blue and yellow BMWs back into the series.”

Will Turner confirmed to Sportscar365 they currently have plans to contest the next TUDOR Championship GTD round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May, while they are taking a wait-and-see approach on the potential of a full-season PWC effort.

“We’re just looking at this race and seeing how it goes,” Turner said. “I want to do the series that’s right.

“If World Challenge is awesome and we get a lot out of it, and it’s as good as it theoretically could be with all these GT3 cars, it might be the place to seriously consider to try and make an effort to do all of the races.”

The team does, however, have two Z4 GT3s, which could help from a logistical point of view should they decide to continue in both championships.

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