New Classes, New Cars, New Drivers, New Series, Same GoalApril 21, 2023By Tony DiZinnoIMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Few things in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class have been as consistent as Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley in a No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW, whether the previous generation M6 GT3 or new generation M4 GT3. Usually the only change was the car’s livery, either in traditional “Turner Taco” yellow and blue or the white, blue and red of longtime partner Liqui Moly. Flash forward to 2023 and there’s change all around at one of IMSA’s longest-serving teams. But there’s many similar elements Turner Motorsport is hoping to replicate with its new crew. For starters, Auberlen and Foley are split up. This owes to Foley’s rapid improvement over the last few years that produced two things over the offseason: being named a BMW of North America contracted driver and his FIA driver rating getting upgraded from Silver to Gold. GTD lineups need at least one Silver-rated driver; ergo, the split occurred. So rather than lose Foley, Turner Motorsport upped the ante by adding a second full-season car. That’s allowed two young chargers to arrive in the WeatherTech Championship after plying their trade in other sports car series for years. Auberlen now shares his Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 with Chandler Hull. The striking McIntosh dark blue and gray car will appear as the No. 95 in the GTD PRO class for IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races and as the No. 97 in the GTD class for the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup races. “We had the crazy idea of doing both, and for someone in my shoes, to be able to surround myself with three of BMW’s best pros to co-drive with you, you just don’t ask questions!” Hull said of the opportunity to run GTD PRO with Auberlen and John Edwards for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring – and adding Bruno Spengler to the lineup for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Foley, meanwhile, gets the opportunity to race against Auberlen head-to-head. He keeps the trademark No. 96 in either of its two liveries and shares it with Ohio’s Patrick Gallagher, who for more than a decade has worked toward this level of opportunity with regular wins in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires. “It came at the right time,” owner Will Turner admits. “It’s well deserved for Robby. He’s one of the fastest drivers. He went through the process with Turner Motorsport and we want to get him some more wins in the future.” Foley’s performance leap has come with racing seemingly every Turner Motorsport BMW model the last few years. He’s raced and won for Turner in three different series (including seven WeatherTech Championship GTD wins). To start 2023, he has already banked a Michelin Pilot Challenge win in the Grand Sport (GS) class with longtime co-driver Vin Barletta and a WeatherTech Championship GTD podium with Gallagher and endurance driver Michael Dinan, both at Sebring. “You have to be able to learn and be a sponge,” Foley reflects. “Through the years, I’ve evolved to have that extra skillset you need to lead a car as opposed to being the No. 2 (driver). It’s a dream come true thanks to a lot of people.” Funnily, Foley and Gallagher have known each other for a decade, including brief stints as co-workers at Monticello Motor Club. Gallagher’s fulltime bow this year comes after racing what he called two fulltime seasons in the last six years. Joining Turner, he says, is a statement of what can happen when work ethic pays off. “When you look around, you want to drive for teams that are always there,” Gallagher says. “In GTD and GS, Turner has always been there and been competitive. You want to take the opportunity and parlay it.” Foley has done that; Gallagher is keen to. Auberlen and Turner hope Hull can replicate it in the coming years. Auberlen is just hoping he didn’t teach Foley too much. “I’ve taught this kid everything I know, and now I have to race him!” laughs the winningest driver in IMSA history. “But with Chandler, now it’s more I have a teammate who’s kind of new. We’re getting him the track time, working to get him up to speed and develop him in sprint races this year, where we can achieve great things. We race in (GTD) PRO for the endurance races because we can bring in John Edwards, who’s a longtime BMW pro.” Turner adds, “Chandler is moving his way up the ranks, kind of doing the same thing as Robby did, but he’s doing it very aggressively. He doesn’t need much rest because he’s racing every weekend!” Add to the mix two more new fulltime additions in its No. 95 Michelin Pilot Challenge car with Robert Megennis and Cameron Lawrence and two entries in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (IMSA’s new-for-2023, multiclass sprint series) with drivers Barletta and Francis Selldorff. The Turner Motorsport squad may have a lot of new faces and endeavors, but they remain focused on their goal of pursuing wins and titles across multiple IMSA series. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed. |
