SCC: Turner Motorsport 2005 plans announced

Turner Motorsport Strikes at GS and ST Class For 2005
M3 is Added To Racing Lineup For 2005

AMESBURY, MA, USA - 01/26/2005 - Turner Motorsport, 2-time champions in World Challenge racing, announce a 3-car Grand Am Cup assault for 2005. In addition to the two 330i sedans from 2004 in the ST class, a BMW E46 M3 has been built for the GS class, to be piloted by factory drivers Bill Auberlen and Justin Marks. Will Turner, Don Salama, Tim Pappas, and Steve Pfeffer all return to their seats in the ST class 330s. Turner Motorsport, H&R Springs, StopTech Brakes, B&M Shifters, Red Line Oil, and Piloti Driving Shoes will support all three cars.

Turner Motorsport has been tuning and building BMWs for over ten years. The decision to run an M3 in the GS class is an evolution of the company's racing programs and brings the racing side of the business more in line with the sales facet of Turner Motorsport. The Massachusetts-based company has been tweaking and modifying M3s for customers, starting with the first generation, 4-cylinder M3 in the early-1990's.

Bill Auberlen and Justin Marks return to the Turner Motorsport driving lineup for the new season. Auberlen has been racing with BMW factory teams for almost ten years and joined the Turner Motorsport organization in 2001. With Turner Motorsport he has won two driver's championships, recorded nine race wins and over twenty top ten finishes. His record ranks him among the most successful drivers in Speed World Challenge history. Justin Marks will be his co-driver in the #96 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW M3. In 2004 Marks raced with the TMS team in World Challenge, earning eight top ten finishes including two podiums. Last year as co-drivers in the Grand Am GT class, Auberlen and Marks teamed up for four wins in an M3 and Auberlen won the championship.

Will Turner and Don Salama co-drove the #95 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW 330i to seven top-five finishes and five podium results in 2004. They led the ST class championship from the third race all the way up to the last round of the season where a late-race accident cost them the driver's championship. Both drivers are eager to put that last race behind them and focus on winning the 2005 championship starting with a win at Daytona.

Returning in the #97 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW 330i will be Tim Pappas and Steve Pfeffer. Pappas had a standout year in 2004, starting with a second-place finish at Daytona and five other finishes in the top five and 1 win. His teammate at Daytona last year was Steve Pfeffer who subsequently suffered an injury in a skiing accident and had to sit out the rest of year. Pfeffer is back for 2005 and in complete health.

The Turner Motorsport team will contest each race in the Grand Am Cup schedule and will also be back to defend the driver's championship in the Speed World Challenge series. The Grand Am Cup series starts off at Daytona on February 2-4, 2005. More information on the schedule can be seen at www.grandamerican.com. Team news, information, and e-mail sign-up can be found at www.tmsracing.com.

-tm-