SCC: Laguna Seca: Turner Motorsport preview

Racing On The Peninsula

LAGUNA SECA RACEWAY, Monterey, CA - 04/27/2005 - The Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMWs return to racing action this weekend with a 200 mile race at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California. All six of the team's drivers are in the top ten in points and odds are good that all of them will advance in the overall points when the weekend is over.

Team owner Will Turner and co-driver Don Salama, are third in the ST class with their #95 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW 330i. They have placed in the top five in each of the first two races of the season.

Will Turner, #95 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW 330i:

"We're strong right now. I've got a good feeling about this race because Turner Motorsport has always done pretty well at Laguna. I think we'll be able to give the Mazdas and Acuras a run for their money and snatch some points away from them. It's going to be tight racing all year. We are not the team to beat right now but we're persistent and we've got the best support in the series thanks to H&R Springs, StopTech, B&M Racing, Borla Exhaust, Red Line Oil, Pagid, Sunoco, and Piloti."

Steve Pfeffer and Tim Pappas have piloted their #97 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW 330i to third and fourth place finishes in the first two races, picking up where they left off last year (six top five finishes). Pfeffer, an instructor at the Bob Bondurant Driving School, is no stranger to Laguna Seca having numerous top ten finishes here in other series.

In the GS class, Bill Auberlen and Justin Marks returned from their win in Santo Domingo to finish fifth at California Speedway four weeks ago. They are seventh in the overall GS standings. Both Auberlen and Marks are local favorites having cut their teeth on California tracks over the last decade.

Justin Marks, #96 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW M3:

"Racing at Laguna is always fun because it's such a festive atmosphere. It really gets the drivers and crews revved up. But a driver can't be over exuberant here. It takes a total package to win here. On the Crocs M3 we have an excellent setup thanks to H&R and StopTech."

This weekend's on-track activity starts on Friday afternoon. Qualifying takes place Saturday morning at 11:10am with the 2.5 hour race starting at 2:45pm (PT). The SPEED Channel will broadcast this round on May 14 at 1:00pm (ET). Living Timing & Scoring for each session can be viewed on the Grand Am website at http://www.grandamerican.com/Events/Event.asp?ID -- .

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