Turner Motorsport drivers Bret Curtis and Jens Klingmann pulled through with a flawless performance in Sundays Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park to capture the first win for the new BMW M6 GT3 in North America, and the first win of the season for the blue and yellow.
The driver duo scored the impressive win following Bret Curtis strong qualifying run on Saturday to start the two-hour-and-forty-five-minute race from the second row in fourth position for round five of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Curtis was able to put together a quick and consistent opening stint on the 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course behind the wheel of the No. 96 IHG Rewards Club M6 GT3 before handing the car over to co-driver Jens Klingmann.
Klingmann went on to battle for position, slowly working his way towards the top three. A full course yellow triggered by the GTD leader and fastest car in class, allowed Klingmann to make an early trip to the pits for four tires and fuel.
Klingmann went on in an epic multi-lap battle for the lead with the No. 33 Viper, eventually making an incredible pass on the second place No. 33 Viper and the leading No. 27 Lamborghini going into turns 5 and 6 with exactly thirty minutes to go.
While managing traffic and pushing the limits of the M6 GT3, Klingmann was able to maintain a gap, ultimately crossing the finish line under caution to claim the GTD victory just in front of the No. 6 Audi.
To put it simply, this was an awesome race for the entire team! said Bret Curtis. We had a great setup, perfect pit stops, fantastic strategy, awesome stints and a little bit of luck. I cant say enough about all the effort set forth by the entire team to make this win possible.
The victory marks the second podium for the No. 96 IHG Rewards Club M6 GT3 following a second place finish earlier on in the season at Sebring International Raceway for the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Bret (Curtis) pulled through with an impressive qualifying session to set us up for a great race, said Jens Klingmann. I was able to get into the car in a very good position and push to overtake the Viper and Lamborghini which was very risky on the outside of turn 5, but luckily it worked.
The No. 97 Alvarez & Marsal M6 GT3 driven by Michael Marsal and Markus Palttala had a strong start, running inside the top-ten only to encounter a gearbox issue just thirty minutes into the race.
We had a really good car so its too bad our race ended so early, said Michael Marsal. Unfortunately the gearbox let go taking us out of the race early. Congratulations to Bret (Curtis) and Jens (Klingmann) on their win, well deserved.
Two years ago, Markus Palttala and Dane Cameron claimed the first win in North America for the BMW Z4 to go on to win the 2014 GTD Championship.
Its a big day for BMW and Turner Motorsport, said Will Turner. Im extremely proud of my team for this win, the drive and focus of everyone this season has been awesome so I am really looking forward to the second half the season with the M6 GT3.
The team resumes racing action in just two weeks at the home track for the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park on July 23rd.