Straus, Bloum to Team Up in Turner BMW GT4 Entry

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Aurora Straus and Connor Bloum will team up for a full-season IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign with Turner Motorsport.

The pairing have been confirmed in the team’s No. 95 BMW M4 GT4 for the ten-round season, which kicks at Daytona later this month.

The 21-year-old, who made national headlines in 2018 by taking a gap year from Harvard University to race in Pirelli GT4 America and work full-time at a digital healthcare startup, is set for her first full season in IMSA GS competition.

It comes after previous starts with Bloum in BMW and Porsche Cayman machinery in both IMSA and SRO America.

Straus took part in the full 2017 Pilot Challenge season alongside Bloum in a RS1-entered Porsche in the now-defunct ST class.

“I only have a few races under my belt in IMSA’s GS category, but I am confident that with the expertise of everyone at Turner and the reliability of the BMW, we will be incredibly competitive this year,” Straus said.

“I am also thankful for the gracious support of Richard Mille and Arch Capital Group, and I am looking forward to representing them throughout 2020.

“Turner Motorsport has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most accomplished teams on the grid, and I’m looking forward to learning from them as I take the next step into IMSA.”

The Straus/Bloum entry is one of two GS-class BMWs entered by Turner for the four-hour season-opener, with the team’s returning WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pairing of Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley joining Vin Barletta in the No. 96 entry for Daytona and other selected Pilot Challenge events.

Turner has also confirmed Dillon Machavern as the team’s third driver of its BMW M6 GT3 for the Michelin Endurance Cup races, with former BMW factory driver Jens Klingmann completing the lineup for the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“Our shop has been nonstop for the last couple months getting ready for our new GS program and revamping our existing GS and GTD programs,” said team owner Will Turner.

“We are very much ready and excited for the Roar. It’s exciting to have some new faces join our driver lineups as well as some of our familiar drivers return to continue last year’s strong results.”

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