derBayerische January/February 2022 - 20

I M S A M I C H E L I N
G T W E E K E N D
■ (Above from Left) On a hot lap ride with Mike Renner, BMW Performance Center, corral in the background. The Turner M6 GT3 on the grid.
run in 2021. BMW will announce
later in the year which team will
represent them as the factory effort
going forward. BMW Team RLL is
the leading candidate. We will have
an exciting year in 2022 with new cars
and classes. Turner will continue as a
BMW customer having placed an
order for the M4 GT3.
Turner Motorsports has made
W
e would miss the M8 GTEs
from RLL, but it sure was
nice to be back at a sports
car race after two years. The Tarheel
and National Capital Chapters again
hosted a BMW Corral, and it was
great to have so many of our BMW
CCA friends together again. We had
a paddock visit with Turner
Motorsports, parade laps, and hot
laps with the BMW Performance
Center instructors. Paul and Brenda
Dunlevy and Paul Seto deserve
much credit for pulling this off again.
Going into the VIR race weekend,
Turner Motorsports had
Auberlen and teammate Robby Foley
■ The #95 M4 GT4 on the grid.
in 5th place for the championship in
GTD and leading the championship
for GS in the Michelin Pilot
Challenge. The M6 GTD had been
the leading championship contender
going into the Long Beach race but
had an anti-lock brake failure there
and didn't finish well. The M6 is still
in the mix but has slipped back after
Long Beach. For the M4 in the
Michelin Pilot Challenge, Auberlen
& Dillon Machavern with Foley &
Vin Barletta were first and second in
GS, 40 points apart. Turner was
delivering some very interesting
races to watch. Turner Motorsports
has given us plenty to be excited
about. VIR is also a track where
Turner has done well, so hopes were
high for the weekend.
With just the pair of Corvettes
and a single Porsche, the competition
in GTLM was a bit thin. 2021 is
a transition year as GTLM is ending.
They have put on a show even if the
participation numbers haven't been
high. In 2022 the cars will all be
GT3 based. BMW is completing
the development of the M4 GT3
with numerous teams planning to
purchase cars for a variety of race
series. The M4 GT3 will replace the
M6 GT3 in 2022 while the M8 GTE
will return at Petit Le Mans to end its
the racing very interesting by representing
BMW in both the
WeatherTech series and the Michelin
Pilot series. Turner has been a top
team for many years with an
excellent driver lineup. Anytime Bill
Auberlen is part of the lineup you can
expect success. Not only is Bill one
of the best drivers, he's also an excellent
coach and develops the drivers
on the team with him. The Turner
Motorsport team has gotten stronger
as the young drivers have spent time
around Bill. We saw this as qualifying
approached. Robby Foley did
the qualifying for the WeatherTech
race while Dillon Machavern and Vin
Barletta handled the Michelin Pilot
series. Robby put the M6 on the pole
in WeatherTech while Dillon did the
same for the M4 in the Michelin Pilot
Challenge. As we entered the VIR
weekend, in the Michelin Pilot
Challenge, the top four drivers in the
championship were the four from
Turner: Auberlen, Foley, Machavern,
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derBayerische January/February 2022

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