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 Thursday, 15 May 2008
TMS DRIVER LINE-UP INCLUDES CHAMPS AND NEW FACES Print E-mail
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Written by Jeff   
Thursday, 18 January 2007

Amesbury, MA USA -- Grand-Am Cup champions return to the GS and ST classes for the 2007 season with an all-star driver line-up consisting of current champions and future winners. Will Turner and Don Salama, 2006 ST class Driver Champions, will move into the GS class in the #97 BMW M3; Bill Auberlen and Chris Gleason return to blue and yellow in the #96 BMW M3 ; and TMS has selected Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood to pilot the #95 BMW 330i in the ST class. Both the #97 and #95 BMWs won their respective championships in 2006.

For 2007, the Grand-Am Cup has a new name: the Grand-Am Koni Challenge. The new name reflects the sponsorship from Koni Shock Absorbers.

Turner and Salama were instant stars when they debuted together in Grand-Am in 2004. Both were standouts in the Speed Touring Car series and Salama won the 2003 Grand-Am ST-I Team Championship. Since 2004, they have teamed up for an incredible 17 top five finishes in 30 races. They were runners-up in the ST Championship for 2004 and 2005 and succeeded in capturing the crown in 2006. For the 2007 season, Turner and Salama move into the challenging GS class in the #97 H&R Springs/Turner Motorsport BMW M3.

Will Turner, #97 H&R Springs/Turner Motorsport BMW M3:
"I am excited for the 2007 season, not only am I fortunate to be driving with Don Salama again but I will be in the championship-winning M3 from the 2006 season. I know the car can win, and our crew is the cream of the crop – now it's just up to Don and I to get the job done."

Bill Auberlen and Chris Gleason return to the TMS line-up for 2007. Last year they scored two wins in the GS class with their H&R Springs/StopTech Brakes BMW M3 and were front runners in the championship for the entire season. The Auberlen/Gleason matchup proved to be one of the most powerful duos in Grand-Am last year: scoring two wins, five podium finishes, and seven top ten finishes. With their performance from last year, the #96 M3 is an early favorite for the championship. This will be the 6th season that Auberlen has been teamed with TMS.

In the ST class, Turner Motorsport narrowed a long list of potential drivers down to just a few. The team held tests and interviews in order to find the best partnership to driver the championship-winning #95 H&R Springs/Turner Motorsport BMW 330i. Trevor Hopwood and Adam Burrows fulfilled every expectation that TMS had and the two were signed on as drivers for the full 2007 season.

Hopwood and Burrows are no strangers to competitive environments, having competed extensively in the SCCA National Spec Racer Ford ranks. Burrows also has previous Rolex experience with starts in the GTU class as well as having run in the Motorola Cup, the precursor to the Koni Challenge Series. In addition to his extensive exploits in Spec Racer Ford, Hopwood scored the 2005 GT-1 class championship in SCCA Northeast Division competition driving a Chevrolet Corvette. The Turner Motorsport team is looking forward to advancing both of their careers with success in the Koni Challenge.

Trevor Hopwood, #95 H&R Springs/Turner Motorsport BMW 330i:
"We are certainly aware that we have a tremendous amount to learn and are filling some pretty big shoes with Will and Don but, we are very exited about the opportunity to work with Turner Motorsport this year."

The first Koni Challenge race of the 2007 season will get underway January 25-26 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida. Over 100 cars are entered for this event, which will test the talent and endurance of teams, drivers, and cars for 200 miles. The green flag drops on the 2007 season on Friday, January 26 at 2:15pm (ET).

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