MONTEREY, Calif. (May 12, 2024) – Turner Motorsport celebrated on the podium for its 557th race start at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and became the team with the most races with BMW than any team in the world.
Patrick Gallagher started Sunday’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race from second in class and had a smooth stint as he cushioned the gap from P3. He passed the BMW M4 GT3 off to Robby Foley from second with less than two hours to go in the two -hour, 40-minute sprint race. Foley leapt to first thanks to a strategy call that brought the 557 in before the class leader. Unfortunately, the LiquiMoly-liveried BMW was bumped off course by a prototype with less than five minutes to go. Foley recovered to finish second for the team’s consecutive second place finish of the season. The team also leaves California second in points.
“It was a great race and we led for most of it. We had a great BMW M4 GT3 today,” said Foley. “Unfortunately, there was a prototype coming, and in turn four, he went down the inside, and I broke and lifted to try and let him go, but he never turned in and bumped me off. I had a big save through the sand then just tried to focus on bringing it home P2. It was super unfortunate, but still great to finish second.”
“It was shaping up to be a great day for our 557th race, and we wanted to make it count. Unfortunately, this was one of the worst second place finishes we’ve had,” said Team Owner Will Turner. “We got to the lead and everything was going great until a prototype ruined our day with some contact and we got passed, but it’s not a reflection on the team or the drivers – we did great leading up to that. But that’s IMSA multi-class racing, and anything can happen. It’s disappointing but I’m happy for the guys because second place gives us good points.”
In Michelin Pilot Challenge, the No. 95 BMW M4 GT4 of Robert Megennis and Dillon Machavern earned a top-10 finish after taking the green flag from 21st in class. Machavern and Selldorff made clean it through the first lap as the green flag waved for the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 as other cars spun or went offline. The 95 moved up to thirteenth while the 96 slid into tenth. The pair stayed in the middle of the pack before handing driving duties over to Megennis and Foley with just under halfway to go in the two-hour contest. Foley took the checkered in thirteenth while Megennis finished in the top-10 with a ninth-place finish.
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge continues in Lexington, Ohio at Mid-Ohio SportsCar Course June 7-9 with the 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the GTD class picks back up in Watkins Glen, N.Y. at Watkins Glenn International for the Six Hours of the Glen June 20-23.
