Turner Motorsport Post-Belle Isle Report

Yellow flags set the tone early on in Saturday’s 100-minute Chevrolet Grand Prix on the 14-turn, 2.35-mile street course situated on Belle Isle in the heart of the “Motor City” Detroit, Michigan.

Both BMW M6 GT3s endured a hard-fought battle in round four of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on the very tight and bumpy streets of Belle Isle to finish ninth and eleventh in the GTD class.

Both Bret Curtis in the No. 96 and Michael Marsal in the No. 97 completed strong stints with very little opportunity to make up position due to an extended full course caution in the opening thirty-five minutes of the race.

“It was definitely a tough and somewhat uneventful race for us here at Detroit,” said Michael Marsal. “As soon as I was able to find a rhythm we were under full course caution which pretty much cut my stint down to about fifteen minutes of green flag racing. The M6s seemed to have good pace but we just could not put anything together.”

After thirty-seven minutes Michael Marsal entered pit lane for a full service stop and driver change to Markus Palttala under green. The No. 96 of Bret Curtis followed one minute later for fuel, four tires and a driver change for Jens Klingmann.

Just two minutes after pit stops and driver changes, the field went back to full course yellow with Klingmann in ninth and Palttala just behind him in tenth.

Both Klingmann in the aFe Power No. 96 and Palttala in the IHG Rewards Club/ Alvarez & Marsal/ H&R Springs No. 97 saw two more cautions in the final forty minutes of the race which made racing for position very difficult.

“We had a good car but the narrow and bumpy track surface made racing for position difficult, especially with many cautions,” said Jens Klingmann. “I’m really looking forward to round 5 at Watkins Glen in a few weeks where I think we will be very competitive.”

Ultimately Klingmann crossed the line for a ninth place finish with Palttala two spots behind in eleventh.

“Not really the results we were looking for here in Detroit,” said Markus Palttala. “We fought hard but never had the chance to race hard and make up positions. Michael did a good job keeping the car clean, which is not easy on courses like this, so at least we are on to Watkins Glen unscathed. I think I can speak for the entire team when I say we are really looking forward to the Sahlen’s Six Hour.”

With round four in the books, Turner Motorsport turns to Watkins Glen for the Sahlen’s Six Hour on July 3rd which will mark round three of the Patron North American Endurance Cup in which both Turner M6 GT3s will be back to the iconic blue and yellow liveries.

Stay tuned as the team prepares for the next round of the 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship via all our social channels.