Turner Motorsport looks to 2015 with the announcement of a two car program in the Pirelli World Challenge GT category. Turner will campaign two BMW Z4 GT3s for the full 10-race season kicking off in March at the Circuit of the Americas.
The finalized Pirelli World Challenge schedule for 2015, announced just last Friday includes premier North American race venues such as Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Barber Motorsports Park, Mid-Ohio, Road America and the Streets of Long Beach among others.
The decision comes shortly after Turner Motorsport captured their seventh professional sports car racing championship since 2003 in the inaugural season of the IMSA sanctioned Tudor United SportCar Championship. Using the success in the BMW Z4 from the 2014 season with four wins, six podiums and ten top-ten finishes, the team hopes to springboard into the PWC for 2015 carrying that momentum.
“I am really looking forward to getting back into Pirelli World Challenge for 2015. For me, it’s where it all started. In 1998 I competed in my first professional race and in 2003 we won our first championship in World Challenge. This does not mean it’s the only racing we will do in 2015 but I am happy that we can confirm this program so early… I expect to announce the drivers in a few weeks with the cars shipping from Germany any day now,” explained Will Turner.
Pirelli World Challenge was established in 1990 and is one of the most successful sports car racing series in North America. The series has seen huge increases in participation over the years with 50 car fields for most of the 2014 season. The series structure and rules are proven and stable, allowing FIA GT3 homologated cars to run as originally designed by manufacturers.
“I really like the fact that we can race the BMW Z4 GT3 as it was intended, with traction control, ABS and the proper aero for the car. Unlike the GTD rules in IMSA , PWC allows the car to run as it engineered by BMW Motorsport,” explained Will Turner.
Beginning in 1998, Turner Motorsport campaigned their iconic blue and yellow BMWs in World Challenge, winning the 2003 and 2004 World Challenge Touring Car Championships. From ‘98 to ‘04 Turner Motorsport captured ten race wins, forty top-five finishes and seven poles.
The sprint race format strays from the endurance format of the TUSCC that the team has become accustomed to since running their last full PWC season back in 2004. PWC race weekends include two 45-minute sprint races which allowing the team to run two entries with conceivably less operating cost.
Pirelli World Challenge has also developed a strong relationship with NBC Sports Network which has covered the series in past years, providing great coverage for the series and making it more attractive for partners and sponsors.