ALTON, V.A. (July 21, 2024) – Justin Rothberg earned his first career win in GT America during a rain-soaked Saturday race at VIRginia International Raceway after topping the charts in practice, which set the field and gave him pole position. Rothberg kept the No. 29 BMW M4 GT3 clean while under caution for the first 25 minutes of the 40-minute contest, despite challenging conditions that sent others sliding off track. The Turner BMW was under mounting pressure from the No. 3 of Johnny O’Connell until the final lap, but Rothberg came home with the win from pole.
Rothberg started race two from third in class but jumped to second in the opening lap to, again, battle with O’Connell. After a mid-race caution, the young gun resumed his chase of the veteran, in an effort to sweep the weekend. Rothberg took the checkered just 0.118 seconds behind O’Connell and claimed the second step of the podium.
“Justin had a great weekend in GTA winning race one and finishing second in race two. Overall, it was a great weekend from him,” said his coach, Robby Foley. “It’s awesome to see his progression. He’s been driving better and better each time he’s gotten in the car.”
In GT World Challenge America, Rothberg started race one from second in the seven-car Pro-Am class. After a caution-filled stint, Robby Foley took over in the No. 29 BMW M4 GT3 with eyes on the No. 38 of Neil Verhagen. Within his first few laps, Foley, running third, was sent into the tire wall in turn three after contact with Verhagen. The race-ending incident left the Turner BMW with seventh place finish. Fortunately, Foley was checked and cleared from the infield care center, but the Turner BMW M4 GT3 was not so fortunate.
The Turner crew did a great job outfitting the sister GTA car to the World Challenge car following the GTA race on Sunday. Foley started last on the grid due to the chassis change, despite earning pole position for the Pro-Am class in qualifying. The BMW factory driver displayed his expertise and charged forward earning six positions during his stint. Rothberg made good progress after the pit stop to end the weekend in fourth and earn valuable points in the championship hunt with three races remaining.
“Obviously not a great outcome for our World Challenge weekend. We had an amazing car here at VIR, and we showed that in qualifying by being on the Pro-Am pole and P2 overall by only a few thousandths of a second,” said Foley. “It was a pretty disappointing race, but thanks to BMW for building a safe race car. I’m glad we were able to come back for race two and pick up some good points.”
The SRO season will resume in Elkhart Lake, W.I. at Road America August 16-18 with both GT America and GT World Challenge America.
