PWC: Turner confirms two-car BMW GT program for 2015

Turner Motorsport has confirmed a two-car program in the Pirelli World Challenge GT category for next year. Turner will campaign a pair of BMW Z4 GT3s for the full 10-race season, kicking off in March at Circuit of The Americas.

The decision comes shortly after Turner Motorsport captured its seventh professional sports car racing championship since 2003 in the inaugural season of the IMSA TUDOR United SportCar Championship. Using the success in the BMW Z4 from the 2014 season with four wins and six podium finishes, the team hopes to springboard into the PWC for 2015 carrying momentum.

"I am really looking forward to getting back into Pirelli World Challenge for 2015. For me, it's where it all started," said team owner Will Turner. "In 1998 I competed in my first professional race and in 2003 we won our first championship in World Challenge."

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Turner didn't rule out racing in IMSA next year as well.

"This (announcement) does not mean it's the only racing we will do in 2015 but I am happy that we can confirm this program so early... I expect to announce the drivers in a few weeks with the cars shipping from Germany any day now," he added.

Turner said the series structure and rules allowing FIA GT3-homologated cars to run as originally designed by manufacturers were key to his decision to field a full-time PWC team.

"I really like the fact that we can race the BMW Z4 GT3 as it was intended, with traction control, ABS and the proper aero for the car.," he said. "Unlike the GTD rules in IMSA , PWC allows the car to run as it engineered by BMW Motorsport."

Beginning in 1998, Turner Motorsport campaigned their iconic blue and yellow BMWs in World Challenge competition, winning the 2003 and 2004 World Challenge Touring Car Championships. From '98 to '04 Turner Motorsport captured 10 race wins, 40 top-five finishes and seven poles.

The sprint race format of PWC differs from the endurance format of the TUSCC that the team has become accustomed to. PWC race weekends include two 45-minute sprint races, allowing the team to run two entries with conceivably less operating cost.