ALTON, V.A. (August 25, 2024) – Turner Motorsport records another fifth-place finish in the GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway. Patrick Gallagher started in fifth in GTD and twelfth overall in the GT-only field. Gallagher pitted on the same lap as the leaders and handed off the No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 to Robby Foley unscathed from his full 40-minute, green flag stint. Foley drove his way up to fourth place and continued to push while keeping a watchful eye on the No. 57 championship-points leader in the rear view running in sixth. The Turner BMW was running in podium position after the restart from the lone caution of the two-hour, 40-minute race. However, in the final 10 minutes, contact forced Foley offline and into fifth place to finish.
“Obviously, I’d love to win every race, but a top five finish today feels like a win because this class is ultra-competitive,” said team owner Will Turner. “This is the best result we could have had with the way it shook out today with very few yellows.”
In the Virginia is for Lovers 120 for Michelin Pilot Challenge, Francis Selldoff started the No. 96 BMW M4 GT4 from seventh in the GS class while Dillon Machavern started the No. 95 M4 from thirteenth. Selldorff picked up a position in the opening lap and was on pace with the race leaders, sliding into the top five before passing the car off to Robby Foley from fourth. Machavern leap frogged two cars in the opening lap and steadily made his way up to sixth before handing driving duties off to Robert Megennis. Unfortunately, a mishap in pit lane (we punted a tire by accident) forced both Turner BMWs, both running in the top five after pit cycles, to come in to wave to the crew while serving a pit lane penalty. The No. 96 finished in tenth while the No. 95 finished eleventh.
The IMSA season resumes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 20-22 with the six hour Battle on the Bricks for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120 for the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
