Michael Marsal Post-Belle Isle Report

Michael Marsal and his Turner Motorsport squad finished 11th in the GTD class in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Belle Isle in Round 5 of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Marsal and co-driver Markus Palttala persevered through a number of issues at the challenging circuit to finish the 100-minute sprint race with the No. 97 Alvarez & Marsal/IHG Rewards Club BMW M6 GT3.

With the entire circuit lined by concrete walls, the temporary street circuit format leaves very little room for error. Despite some mechanical issues with the car, the duo brought the No. 97 machine home untouched in a race that saw several cautions for multiple incidents of attrition. 

Marsal opened the race from the fifth row and made his way as high as fifth before the car began to suffer from some mechanical gremlins.

Despite slowing under yellow and being forced to restart the No. 97 BMW on track, Marsal displayed excellent driving around the tight 2.35-mile circuit before pitting under yellow with under and hour left to run to hand the car over to Palttala. 

Palttala, who topped the charts of the morning warmup, cycled back into the battle in 11th position during the race while running without second gear. He ultimately accepted that as a final result as multiple incidents produced full-course caution periods and halted his forward progress, despite his promising pace. 

"This was a good day for us," said Marsal following the race. "We had a few small issues, but really things went well. The guys worked hard as always and gave me a good car and I was able to drive a completely clean race and hand it over to Markus (Palttala) without a scratch, which is always the goal. So we will take this positive result and carry it on to Watkins Glen in just a few weeks."

Marsal now looks forward to a short break in on-track action before heading to his home state of New York for the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen on June 30-July 3.