Turner Set for Milestone 557th Start With BMW at Laguna

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Turner Motorsport will reach a milestone in Sunday’s Motul Course de Monterey presented by Hyundai N at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as the Will Turner-led operation will make its 557th start with BMW, becoming the team with more BMW starts than anyone in the world.

The New England-based operation, which has exclusively raced BMWs since 1998, will surpass legendary German squad Schnitzer Motorsport for the honor.

Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher will pilot the team’s GTD class BMW M4 GT3 in the two-hour and 40-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, aptly numbered No. 557 for the occasion.

“My first pro race was in 1998 in a E36 BMW 325 at Topeka, Kansas,” said team owner Will Turner, “Quite a bit has changed in the past 26 years, but one thing has not: I have never stopped racing BMWs.

“We knew the day would come when we would surpass Schnitzer, but it is still a bit odd to think of ourselves as the team with more BMW race starts than anyone. Race number 557 is very special. I appreciate IMSA allowing us the number for the Laguna Seca race.”

Turner added: “Twenty-six years and 557 races means there are too many people to thank. We’ve had drivers from Auberlen to Ziegler and everyone in between – drivers at the beginning of their careers and at the peak of their careers.

“Of course, BMW has never failed to support us, and we have enjoyed great partnerships with companies like H&R Springs since the beginning, along with Liqui-Moly.”

Turner has been a stalwart entrant in both IMSA and SRO America competition, including fielding two BMW M4 GT4s in Saturday’s Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Laguna Seca, while coming off class victory in last weekend’s Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS round at Sebring International Raceway with a M4 GT3.

“Congratulations on the record-breaking 557th start in a BMW race car and a big thank you for your decades-long trust in our brand,” said BMW M Motorsport director Andreas Roos.

“It is always a pleasure and great fun to work with Will Turner and his crew who have a great professionalism.

“The long list of victories and titles speaks for itself: Turner Motorsport is an integral part of BMW M Motorsport’s racing program in North America, and I hope it will be like this for many more years.”

Team Highlights:
Exclusively racing BMWs since 1998
Nine championships
557 races with BMW
2023 BMW Sport Trophy Team Champion
2014 BMW Sport Trophy Driver Champion – Markus Palttala
2011 BMW Sport Trophy Driver Champion – Paul Dalla Lana

Nine Championships:
2003 SPEED World Challenge Touring Car – Bill Auberlen
2004 SPEED World Challenge Touring Car – Bill Auberlen
2006 Grand-Am Grand Sport – Boris Said/Anders Hainer
2006 Grand-Am Cup Street Tuner – Will Turner/Don Salama
2007 Grand-Am Koni Challenge Street Tuner – Adam Burrows/Trevor Hopwood
2011 Grand-Am Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Grand Sport – Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana
2014 IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship GT Daytona – Dane Cameron/Markus Palttala
2023 IMSA VP Racing Challenge Grand Sport X – Francis Selldorff
2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport – Robby Foley/Vincent Barletta

BMW Models Raced:
E36 325i/328i
E46 325i/330i
E46 M3
E90 330i
E92 M3
E92 M3
E63 M6
E89 Z4 GT3
F22 M235i Racing
F13 M6 GT3
F82 M4 GT4
G82 M4 GT4
G82 M4 GT3

BMW Drivers that have Driven for Turner Motorsport:
Boris Said
Bill Auberlen
Maxime Martin
Joey Hand
Jorg Müller
Dirk Müller
Dirk Werner
Andy Priaulx
Augusto Farfus
Markus Palttala
Robby Foley
Jens Klingmann
Martin Tomczyk
John Edwards
Bruno Spengler
Jesse Krohn

Series Entered/Year:
1998 SCCA World Challenge T2
1999 SCCA Speedvision World Challenge Touring Car
2000 SCCA Speedvision World Challenge Touring Car
2001 SCCA Speedvision World Challenge Touring Car
2002 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car
2003 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car
2004 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car
2004 Grand-Am Cup ST
2005 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car
2005 Grand-Am Cup ST
2005 Grand-Am Cup GS
2006 Grand-Am Cup ST
2006 Grand-Am Cup GS
2007 Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge ST
2007 Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge GS
2008 Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge ST
2008 Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge GS
2009 Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge ST
2009 Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge GS
2010 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge ST
2010 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS
2010 Grand-Am Rolex Series Sports Car Championship GT
2011 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS
2011 Grand-Am Rolex Series Sports Car Championship GT
2012 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS
2012 Grand-Am Rolex Series Sports Car Championship GT
2013 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS
2013 Grand-Am Rolex Series Sports Car Championship GT
2014 IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS
2014 IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship GTD
2015 SCCA Pirelli World Challenge GT
2015 SCCA Pirelli World Challenge GTA
2015 IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS
2015 IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship GTD
2016 SCCA Pirelli World Challenge GTA
2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD
2017 SCCA Pirelli World Challenge TC
2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD
2018 SCCA SprintX GT Championship GT
2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD
2019 SRO GT World Challenge America Am
2019 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS
2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD
2020 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS
2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD
2021 SRO GT World Challenge America Pro
2021 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS
2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD
2022 SRO GT World Challenge America Pro
2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS
2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD
2023 SRO GT America SRO3
2023 SRO GT World Challenge America Pro
2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS
2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD
2024 SRO GT America SRO3
2024 SRO GT World Challenge America Pro-Am
2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS
2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD

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