Turner Motorsport BMWs were at the head of the pack in this past weekend's Koni Challenge sports car races at Lime Rock Park. The #97 M3 started from pole and led the first 50 minutes of the GS class race on Monday while the #95 330i started from inside the top ten and ran as high as third. It was an overall positive weekend for the home team – with plenty of speed from the two Turner Motorsport M3s and the 330i. The GS race will be shown on The Speed Channel this coming Saturday, May 31 at 8:00pm ET.
 
Bryan Ortiz captured the pole position for the GS class in the H&R Springs/Nova Derm/OCG/GoToPuertoRico.com BMW M3. He broke the track record established by Will Turner in the same car in 2007. Ortiz led the first 44 laps of the race and then turned the car over to Lime Rock hot shoe, Don Salama. However, shortly after getting in the car, Salama was hit from behind in Turn 1 causing heavy damage to his M3. Salama was able to continue racing the battered car but with severe effects to his pace. The #97 M3 wound up just outside the top ten in twelfth place in a field of thirty-four cars.
 
Also in the GS class, the #96 Motul Lubricants/StopTech Brakes BMW M3 showed good form in the early stages with Matt Alhadeff behind the wheel. Alhadeff and the M3 were on pace to stay in the front half of the field. He did a superb job of making clean passes to advance through the field until the race's first major caution period when it was time to pit and hand the car over to Bill Auberlen. Auberlen piloted the car up to the fifth spot before the team was assessed a penalty for pitting out of sequence. This dropped the car far down in the field but Auberlen's skilful driving pulled the car back up for another top ten finish (9th).
 
The Koni Challenge GS race will be shown on The Speed Channel this coming Saturday, May 31 at 8:00pm ET.
 
 
In Koni Challenge ST action, the #95 H&R Springs/Borla Exhaust BMW 330i made its first top ten start of the season in the hands of Matt Bell. Bell piloted the 330i up to third place then came in for a pit stop and driver change. However the car overheated during the stop, prematurely ending a promising day for Bell and his co-driver VJ Mirzayan. The crew later found a puncture in the radiator to be the cause of the overheating.
 
 
Turner Motorsport races in the Koni Challenge series with some of the best names in motorsport and street technology - H&R Springs, StopTech Brakes, Borla Exhaust, Pagid Brakes, Motul Lubricants, and Piloti Driving Shoes.
 
The next round in the Koni Challenge calendar is at Mosport in Ontario, Canada on June 13-14 and then on the following weekend the series hits the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course in central Ohio.