Michael Marsal Ready for Motor City Street Sprint
Media Notes:
– Marsal and co-driver Palttala currently 4th in IMSA GTD Class championship
– Duo moved from 23rd at start to finish 6th in Detroit last year
– First time to Belle Isle with new Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3
Detroit, Mi. (31 May 2016) – With 2.3 miles of concrete-lined pavement that only sees use once a year, the Detroit Grand Prix circuit on Belle Isle is one of the toughest on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule. And at 100 minutes from the green flag to the checkered, the race is also one of the shortest. This Saturday’s IMSA WeatherTech Chevrolet Sports Car Classic will see 15 GT Daytona (GTD) class entries on track along with the Prototype and LMPC classes for Round 4 of the 2016 championship.
Looking to return to the GTD victory lane, Michael Marsal and his Turner Motorsport co-driver Markus Palttala will team this weekend in the No. 97 Alvarez & Marsal/IHG Rewards Club BMW M6 GT3. Last year, the duo turned a tough day in qualifying into a strong result at Detroit with a huge charge from 23rd on the grid to sixth at the finish for Turner.
The 2016 season is the first for Turner Motorsport with the all-new GT3-spec BMW M6, and the team will look to make the most of the twin-turbocharged machine’s capability on the bumpy circuit as the race goes live on FS1 on Saturday at 12:30 PM ET.
“I’m looking forward to getting to Detroit and really focused on the points,” said Marsal. “We were hoping to come out of Laguna with more of a result but just struggled with the grip to do that. Detroit was a tough weekend last year, but we made a ton of progress in the race. It will be good to see what this new M6 is like there, as the aero and everything is different from the BMW Z4 we raced last season. Hopefully the car suits the track and we can bring home some big points ahead of the 6 Hour next month at Watkins Glen.”
Both Marsal and Palttala have kept busy since their Laguna Seca round, with the duo getting in some testing laps earlier this month at the newly repaved Watkins Glen International. Palttala will arrive at the Detroit event fresh from his run in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring behind the wheel of a BMW M6 GT3 machine.
Saturday’s 100-minute Chevrolet Sports Car Classic will go green at 12:40 PM ET, with FS1 bringing live flag to flag coverage of the race.
