PHOENIX, Ariz. (May 15, 2006) -- Turner Motorsport BMWs flooded the podium this past weekend with a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishes in the Grand-Am Cup series at Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona. In the Grand Sport (GS) class, Turner Motorsport M3s blanketed the podium with second and third-place finishes. While in the Street Tuner class the No. 95 BMW finished in fourth place.
Anders Hainer and Boris Said led the way with a second-place result in the Grand Sport class. Driving the No. 97 H&R Springs/Under Armour BMW M3, Hainer qualified the car in sixth but caught the leaders early on in the race. From second place on the track Hainer, then Said, paid special attention to preserving the tires in the 106-degree heat. After their podium, they have narrowed the gap to first place in the Championship to only five points.
Anders Hainer, pilot, No. 97 H&R Springs/Under Armour BMW M3:
"We had a very good car today. We made a little change after qualifying aimed at keeping our tire temps down. It was almost the perfect race - there were no caution periods, the entire race was clean, our pit stops were quick, and our strategy worked out beautifully. It was just a great effort all-around."
In the No. 96 H&R Springs/StopTech Brakes/Gleason Insurance BMW M3, Chris Gleason and Bill Auberlen were also celebrating on the podium. After starting ninth, Gleason performed exceptionally well to elevate the No. 96 M3 through the field during his stint. He handed the car over to Auberlen who took it home to third. The #96 M3 followed the same strategy of tire preservation and that made all the difference in finishing on the podium for the second time in 2006.
Bill Auberlen, pilot, No. 96 H&R Springs/StopTech Brakes/Gleason Insurance BMW M3:
"It was really hot out there but Chris did a great job at moving up through the field and catching the leaders. After our pit stop all I had to do was keep the tires from blistering and save some for the end and that's what was needed. Turner Motorsport prepared a great car - they set up a brake duct system that worked extremely well with the StopTech Brakes and that was a definite edge over the other cars in the race."
In the Street Tuner (ST) class, Will Turner and Don Salama started from third place but fell a bit short of another podium due to blistered tires. In their No. 95 H&R Springs/Allsprings.com BMW 330i, Turner chased the leaders throughout his stint and that pursuit led to tire problems at the end. The team changed tires but by the end of the race the same affliction made Don Salama ease off and cruise to a fourth-place finish.
Will Turner, team owner and pilot, No. 95 H&R Springs/Allsprings.com BMW 330i:
"It was a good race and Don and I pushed as hard as we could but in the end we just didn't have the longevity that we needed. The car was great in qualifying but not the same in the race. Fourth place is not a bad result by any means and we've made some gains in the Championship points so we're very happy with that. Our next race is at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut and that's our home track so we're expecting another strong outing."
Turner Motorsport has a great team assisted by some of the best names in the tuning and performance business - H&R Springs, StopTech Brakes, B&M Racing, Borla Exhaust, Pagid Brake Pads, Motul Lubricants, and Piloti Driving Shoes. These excellent products have helped Turner Motorsport to numerous victories and podium finishes in Grand-Am Cup, World Challenge, SCCA, and BMW Club Racing.
The SPEED Channel will only be broadcasting the ST race from Phoenix. The first broadcast was on Sunday and the repeat will be Wednesday, May 24 at 5:00pm ET. The Lime Rock GS race will be broadcast while the ST race will not.
The Lime Rock round will be part of the traditional Memorial Day sports car weekend at the Connecticut track. That will be in two weeks, May 26-29, 2006.
Click on http://www.grandamerican.com/Events/Event.asp?id=163 to see this session's results.
