FEBRUARY 16 2015 update:
TURNER CONFIRMS 2015 PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE DRIVERS
Amesbury, MA. – February, 16th 2015 –
With just under four weeks until the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge season opener at Circuit of the Americas, Turner makes final preparations for their two car campaign with official sponsors and drivers secured.
As previously announced in November, the Turner Motorsport Pirelli World Challenge program will consist of two GT-A class BMW Z4 GT3s. The No. 95 BMW Z4 will be driven by Ziegler and the No. 32 BMW Z4 will be driven by Bret Curtis.
The No. 95 will carry the well known Swisher Racing livery with the silver, matte black and burgundy while the No. 32 will feature a brand-new livery at Circuit of the Americas and St. Pete as part of a new partnership deal with a familiar Turner sponsor and race partner.
Bill Ziegler, a Florida native and 2009 GT rookie of the year has been racing since 1998 and began SCCA racing in 2000. In 2007 he was crowned the June Sprints Touring 2 winner and 2007 SCCA runoffs silver medalist in T2 and set the fastest lap of the T2 2008 National Championship race in 2008.
In 2009, Ziegler finished 10th in the World Challenge GT Championship, earning Rookie of the Year recording two top-10 finished with a season best finish of eighth at Sebring. In 2010 he finished 12th in GT Drivers' Championship In 2011 competed in three GTS races. Most recently in 2013, Ziegler competed in the Pirelli World Challenge GT class.
Bret Curtis brings his endurance race experience and success to the No. 32 Turner BMW for 2015. Curtis has competed at tracks such as Monza, Silverstone, Paul Ricard, and at the 24 hours of Spa and events such as the 12 Hours of Bathurst, 12 Hours of Sebring, 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Spa, and 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“I’m looking forward to an exciting season in Pirelli World Challenge with Turner in a BMW for the first time. Turner’s success with BMW has been proven with numerous professional wins and season championships giving our team every opportunity to compete with the best out there in PWC in 2015,” said Curtis.
In 2012 Curtis finished 2nd overall in the 12 Hours of Bathurst and 2nd in the 12 Hours of Sebring. In 2009 Curtis recorded a 2nd place finish in ALMS GTC class at Long Beach and at Mid Ohio and a 4th place at Lime Rock. Most recently in 2014 Curtis competed in five GT races with a top finish of 5th at Long Beach.
“I’m proud to be associated with Turner and although competition will be very tough, I feel confident we will be in the running for a championship in 2015,” added Curtis.
“It has really been a pleasure working with Bill and Bret on our Pirelli World Challenge program and we are excited to get these two Z4s out on track in their GT3 trim. We have had great luck with the Pirelli World Challenge race format in the past so we are looking to have a great year,” commented Will Turner.
The 2015 Pirelli World Challenge season kicks off on March 6th in Austin, Texas at the famed Circuit of the Americas. The team will test with both cars at COTA later this month before the season officially begins.
“Looking forward to getting on track this weekend at COTA and starting the season, the test will also be very useful in sorting things out for the big race weekend,” said Will Turner. “We also have some new and exciting partnerships for this season, which we will announce later on this week.”
Stay tuned for more announcements and updates prior to the season kick off at Circuit of the Americas. Please find the full 2015 Pirelli World Challenge schedule below.
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TURNER ANNOUNCES TWO-CAR Z4 PROGRAM FOR 2015 PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE
Amesbury, MA. – October 20th, 2014 – Turner Motorsport looks to 2015 with the announcement of a two car program in the Pirelli World Challenge GT category. Turner will campaign two BMW Z4 GT3s for the full 10-race season kicking off in March at the Circuit of the Americas.
The finalized Pirelli World Challenge schedule for 2015, announced just last Friday includes premier North American race venues such as Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Barber Motorsports Park, Mid-Ohio, Road America and the Streets of Long Beach among others.
The decision comes shortly after Turner Motorsport captured their seventh professional sports car racing championship since 2003 in the inaugural season of the IMSA sanctioned Tudor United SportCar Championship. Using the success in the BMW Z4 from the 2014 season with four wins, six podiums and ten top-ten 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. In 1998 I competed in my first professional race and in 2003 we won our first championship in World Challenge. This 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,” explained Will Turner.
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 with 50 car fields for most of the 2014 season. The series structure and rules are proven and stable, allowing FIA GT3 homologated cars to run as originally designed by manufacturers.
“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. Unlike the GTD rules in IMSA , PWC allows the car to run as it engineered by BMW Motorsport,” explained Will Turner.
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.
The sprint race format strays from the endurance format of the TUSCC that the team has become accustomed to since running their last full PWC season back in 2004. PWC race weekends include two 45-minute sprint races which allowing the team to run two entries with conceivably less operating cost.
Pirelli World Challenge has also developed a strong relationship with NBC Sports Network which has covered the series in past years, providing great coverage for the series and making it more attractive for partners and sponsors.