Home Track Hopes as Michael Marsal Looks to Defend IMSA Victory at Lime Rock Park

Lakeville, Conn. (18 July 2016) – Michael Marsal and his Turner Motorsport co-pilot Markus Palttala will look to bring the yellow and blue team some home glory this Saturday as IMSA returns to Lime Rock Park for Round 7 of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Marsal won the 2015 edition of the race with co-driver Dane Cameron, and the young racer is hoping to turn a tough run of outings in the last two races around with a big result this weekend.

It isn’t hard for Marsal to picture a big turn around happening at Lime Rock Park as the story of his victory last year shows.

After his Turner Motorsport team turned a mess of car into a miracle, Marsal repaid that effort by converting it into champagne last year at Lime Rock Park as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship weekend turned from a nightmare into a dream day for the racer at his home track.

Lime Rock Park can catch out even those who know it best, and Marsal fell into that category when an off-track excursion caused significant damage to his Turner Motorsport BMW Z4 in Friday’s practice. But a nearly totaled car was not a big enough obstacle for Turner Motorsport, which has been carrying the BMW colors at Lime Rock Park since its inception decades ago.

The team got the car to a local body shop, worked through the night to make repairs, and presented a flawless looking BMW Z4 to the grid for the nearly three-hour IMSA WeatherTech enduro. Marsal opened the race from the very back of the pack, but was able to move forward before turning the car over to Cameron who brought it home for a huge home win.

“Turner Motorport is always excited about Lime Rock Park—it is our home track and it has been a really important part of the team’s history,” said Marsal. “And as a New Yorker, I consider it my home track. Last year was a bit of a rags to riches story when I had the crash in practice and nearly totaled the car. But the guys got it back together overnight, the car was great, and then Dane (Cameron) and I went on to win. It is still hard to say what kind of an awesome feeling it was, not just for me but also for this entire Turner Motorsport team.”

The win was savored by driver and team alike, and Marsal is hoping to have that same success without needing such a huge effort from the team once again this year.

Marsal and Palttala will be sharing an all-new machine, as the global GT3 spec has been adapted by IMSA for the GT Daytona class in 2016.  The duo will team in the No. 97 Alvarez & Marsal/IHG Rewards Club BMW M6 GT3, which has had a promising open to the 2016 IMSA season. The Turner team also enters the Lime Rock Park event fresh from a victory with the sister BMW M6 entry in the last round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

“This car (BMW M6 GT3) will be a very different car at Lime Rock compared to the Z4,” offered Marsal. “The Z4, with its short wheelbase and a lot of downforce, was sort of built for Lime Rock. It was small and nimble and the handling was fantastic. But the BMW M6 GT3 carries a lot more speed and even though it seems like it might be more suited to a place like Daytona or Sebring, I think it could be very good at Lime Rock. Coming up to Lime Rock is a big deal for Turner and there are a ton of Turner fans there every year, so it is always one that we are looking forward to.”

Just like each lap of the 1.53-mile circuit, the race weekend is a quick one, with practice and qualifying set for Friday, July 22nd, with the two hour, forty-minute race set to go green at 3:05 PM ET. The race will be televised LIVE on FOX beginning at 3:00 PM ET.