DAYTONA BEACH, F.L. (January 25, 2026) – Turner Motorsport kicked off the 2026 IMSA season with impressive performances in both the BMW Endurance Challenge for Michelin Pilot Challenge and the Rolex 24 for WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
BMW M works driver Robby Foley joined forces for the fourth year with Patrick Gallagher while Francis Selldorff made his Rolex 24 and WeatherTech series debut. BMW driver Jens Klingmann completed the line-up, with the team contending for much of race before ultimately securing a top-10 finish. The quartet of GS champions – Dillon Machavern, Luca Mars, Foley, and Vin Barletta – came ready to complete, charging through the field to earn fourth- and tenth-place finishes, respectively.
Foley started the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona from third in the 21-car GTD class. The No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO ran inside the top five during the opening hours, with Gallagher briefly taking over the lead. Klingmann recovered swiftly from an unplanned pit stop to clear a clogged radiator, while Selldorff made his Rolex 24 debut just as night fell and found his rhythm.
The Turner BMW continued to climb the leaderboard throughout the night as drivers cycled through. Approximately 11 hours into the twice-around-the-clock race, dense fog halted action with the No. 96 running in second. Selldorff and Gallagher both logged multiple laps under caution. After more than six hours behind the safety car, Foley brought the split-liveried BMW to the lead on the restart and extended the gap to over 10 seconds.
The two BMW M works drivers tag-teamed the final six hours, maintaining position in the top five while conserving fuel as the checkered flag approached. Late contact forced the No. 96 to fall back with less than an hour to go, but Klingmann fought back 10th place – a result that didn’t fully reflect the team’s effort during the 23 hours prior, which included leading for 104 laps and 23 pit stops. The team leaves Daytona with a solid start to the season, earning valuable championship points including those awarded during key race milestones and from a third-place qualifying effort.
In the Michelin Pilot Challenge premiere, the sister BMW M4 GT4 EVOs delivered a bold statement with their quartet of champions behind the wheel in the BMW Endurance Challenge At Daytona. The No. 95 of Machavern and Mars did not record a qualifying time and started from 33rd in the largest field for the Daytona opener in six years with 51 cars, 35 of which were in GS. Barletta started from 27th in the No. 96.
Despite starting toward the back of the GS pack, Machavern waste no time charging forward and gaining 20 positions before the first caution just over 30 minutes into the four-hour race. With no ruse to shake off, the Turner crew as they executed flawless pit stops, propelling the No. 95 into the top 10 and the No. 96 into the top 20. Machavern quickly broke into the top five before passing duties off to Mars, while Barletta held strong to set up Foley for the remaining two hours.
Both cars fought for podium positions through TCR traffic and three restarts. Foley secured a solid 10th place finish, while Mars battled until the final lap, narrowly missing the podium by less than a second. Both Turner BMWs earned valuable points toward the championship to start the season.
The IMSA season resumes in March with the Twelve Hours of Sebring and the Alan Jay 120 at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida.
Luca Mars, Driver of the No. 95 BMW M4 GT4 EVO:
It was a great opening weekend here with Turner Motorsport and Dillon. He had an incredible first stint to get us up into that front pack. The crew killed it the whole race; every pit stop we jumped spots, and they were just on point. When I got out there for the last two hours or so, it was pretty much a dog fight the whole time, constantly battling.
We had a good strategy from Don who had us there in the end. It was a good battle from third to seventh place. I kept going back and forth between fourth and fifth, and just missed the podium, but overall, I’m really happy with the points we took away, especially after starting from the back. Huge shoutout to Dillon and the whole team for an incredible first weekend!
Robby Foley, Driver of the No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO:
It was a tough end to a very strong race for us. We led a lot of laps, had a fast car, and ultimately, some mistakes cost us a better result. But I’m proud of everybody for the car that we brought and the effort that was put in. It was a really well executed 24-hour race up until the end, unfortunately when it counts. But I’m excited for Sebring and to take our fast hot rod to that race.
Patrick Gallagher, Driver of the No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO:
The team put in a lot of work over the off season and ended up bringing a good car today. I don’t know that we had a winner, but we definitely had the track position to have a chance.
We had 23 flawless hours, and some mistakes at the end put us in 20th, and we’ll need to limit those in the future, but I’m excited for the rest of the season with the amount of preparation that we came to Daytona with. My teammates did a fantastic job, and I’m always proud to represent Liqui-Moly, Belle Haven Investments, Go Rentals, H&R Springs, and Turner Motorsport.
Francis Selldorff, Driver of the No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO:
This was probably the easiest situation I could ever have to do my first Rolex 24. Though most of my driving wasn’t during a critical time with the yellow, I had awesome teammates and help from everyone. The hardest challenge was trying to stay awake during the fog. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but if it helped in a small way, I’m happy to contribute.
When you’re in the fight, it feels more painful to end the way we did, but we also could have been one of the cars whose race ended in the first hour. Daytona’s a big race, so just getting a good result helps for the championship in the long run. It’s our Super Bowl, and everyone wants to win, but 10th is nothing to cry about at Daytona, so it was still a good day.
Will Turner, Team Owner:
That was the best-executed 24-hour races that I can remember as far as how the race went. Everything went smoothly, until, of course, the ending. The competition was tougher than ever. Some sped up, some slowed down. Some had good luck, and it shows, while others had some bad luck. With two hours to go, we had a win in sight, but we also had a 10th place finish in sight, and it was really luck and racing that put us where we finished. It just goes to show that you can have an awesome everything, and still not win the race.
#taco #taco
