Turner Returns to GS Class for Home Race at Lime Rock Park

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Turner Motorsport will be back on the grid in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competition this weekend at Lime Rock Park, just two weeks after claiming their breakthrough first GT Daytona class win in more than one year.

Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley have been confirmed in the team’s No. 96 BMW M4 GT4 for the two-hour Lime Rock Park 120, as part of a 22-car GS class field to kick off the second half of the Pilot Challenge season.

Auberlen and Foley elected to sit out the CTMP round in order to fully focus on its WeatherTech Championship GTD effort, although are set to pull double-duty between the two programs this weekend, which both races on Saturday.

Lime Rock marks the home race for Will Turner’s Amesbury, Mass.-based organization.

Other changes to the GS entry list since CTMP include the return of Gunnar Jeannette to the No. 8 eEuroparts Audi R8 LMS GT4 as well as the addition of a third Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

KohR Motorsports’ second Ford Mustang GT4 will not be present for Lime Rock, nor will the pair of Multimatic Motorsports-entered Mustang GT4s, which are on a four-race program.

Paul Rees, who made his IMSA debut at CTMP, meanwhile, will continue in Compass Racing’s McLaren 570S GT4, which has been given a 10 kg weight break for this weekend.

Additionally, the CTMP race-winning Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R has been given a 3-liter decrease in fuel capacity.

BimmerWorld Racing’s Devin Jones and James Clay hold a narrow 1-point lead in the GS drivers’ championship over the Carbahn Motorsports pairing of Jeff Westphal and Tyler McQuarrie heading into the two-hour contest.

Honda TCR Given Additional Weight

The Honda Civic Type-R TCR, meanwhile, has been handed a 10 kg increase in minimum weight for this weekend. 

It brings the class championship-leading car up to 1320 kg, at the same minimum weight as the Hyundai Veloster N TCR.

No other BoP changes have been made in the TCR class, which has continued to be led by Tom O’Gorman and Shelby Blackstock for LA Honda World Racing.

Track action for Pilot Challenge competitors gets underway on Friday, in a compact two-day format.

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