Turner Set for PWC Entry With BMW Z4 GT3

Photo: John Dagys

There will be a late addition to the grid for next weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge season-opener in St. Pete, as Turner Motorsport is set to join the fray of the increasingly popular sprint-race championship.

Sportscar365 has learned the GRAND-AM stalwarts, which scored the GTD class pole in last weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, has lodged an entry for the GT division with its BMW Z4 GT3 car.

Details of the last-minute entry are still being finalized at this point, including the identity of the driver, but team owner Will Turner has confirmed they are in the process of converting the BMW to FIA GT3 specification for the event on March 28-30.

Paul Dalla Lana teamed with Dane Cameron and Markus Palttala for a seventh place class finish in last weekend’s second round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. BMW factory driver Bill Auberlen has also been a regular with Turner’s squad in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.

Dalla Lana, who largely funds Turner’s TUDOR Championship and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge programs, elected to step out of the cockpit for the CTSC race last weekend, while making a last minute decision to drive the Z4 GT3 in the 12-hour.

With Vita4One’s entry appearing unlikely, Turner is poised to be the only Z4 GT3 on the grid next weekend in St. Pete, in a field of more than two-dozen GT cars, largely running to FIA GT3 spec.

Further information on Turner’s program and its involvement in IMSA, is expected to be released on Monday.

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