Turner Motorsports heads to Pirelli World Challenge

A little over a week since a hard fought seventh place finish in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Turner Motorsport has decided to explore an alternative racing series in addition to their full commitment to the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

The six-time Championship Winning BMW Team initially planned as many as four entries for the entire inaugural season of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, but following the second round, the decision was made to explore additional opportunities.

The decision was made on Wednesday that Turner Motorsport will enter Pirelli World Challenge GT class, just one week before the first round in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Will Turner commented, "After completing two races with the IMSA run series, our partner, NorthWest Value Properties, has given us the freedom to explore an alternative series that is more established. World Challenge has always been a great racing series for Turner, so it was decided to try the sprint racing format to see if it's something we want to pursue on a more full time basis."

Pirelli World Challenge was established in 1990 and is one of the most successful sports car racing series in North America. The series has seen huge increases in participation over the years, visiting some of the best race venues in the US and Canada. The series structure and rules are proven, allowing GT3 homologated cars to run as originally designed by manufacturers. This favors the Turner BMW Z4, as it started life as a GT3 factory built car before it was then converted to meet IMSA rules and regulations.

Beginning in 1998, Turner Motorsport campaigned their iconic blue and yellow BMWs in World Challenge, winning the 2003 and 2004 World Challenge Touring Car Championships. From '98 to '04 Turner Motorsport captured ten race wins, forty top-five finishes and seven poles.

Will Turner said that there were several factors that went into the decision for the team to run in Pirelli World Challenge. One being the team's partner NorthWest and their push to enter a more established and proven series. The Turner team is also interested in exploring a "sprint series" with a different race format and conceivably less operating costs compared to an endurance series."

Dane Cameron added, "I am excited to race in the Pirelli World Challenge. The series visits some top notch venues around the US, including some great street courses, which I love. I am eager to get into any Turner BMW, so this will be a fun change of pace. I know that Turner began their professional race program in World Challenge, so it will be good to get the blue and yellow BMWs back into the series."

"In addition to the driver's excitement to enter a new series, our race partners are equally excited with our decision to enter into the Pirelli World Challenge. Not only do they receive television time on the NBC sports network, but they also benefit from the crowds of Indy car each race weekend, which is awesome," said Will Turner.

Watch Turner Motorsport in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the first race of the 2014 Pirelli World Challenge season on March 28th and 29th. The race will be televised on Sunday April 6th on the NBC Sports Network at 5:30pm ET. To watch live stream coverage of both races, visit world-challengetv.com. Please be sure to tune in to see the blue and yellow BMWs make their first appearance in World Challenge since 2004.

Turner Motorsports