One of the most competitive teams on the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series circuit, Turner Motorsport continues to search for its first victory of the 2008 season. The team fields two Grand Sport (GS) cars - with drivers Bill Auberlen and Matthew Alhadeff in the No. 96, and Don Salama and Bryan Ortiz in the No. 97 - and a Street Tuner (ST) BMW 330i - with drivers Matt Bell and VJ Mirzayan. All six drivers are looking to visit victory lane in Sunday's race at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J.
Team principal Will Turner, who started Turner Motorsport in 1993, has a lot to be excited about with three races left in the season. He expects to earn victories at each race and may return to the driver's seat at Virginia International Raceway. His parts business is also booming, with 20 percent of sales coming from overseas.
Turner recently answered several questions about the team and the business.
You mentioned a few weeks ago when we were setting up this interview you were hoping you'd have something to talk about after Iowa, and later that afternoon both the GS and ST programs found the podium. A great accomplishment in both classes; you've got to be happy about that.
Yeah, it's been a tough year for us. We have had more bad luck this season than all of our past seasons combined. It was important that we had a strong finish, mainly for the moral of the team. Now after getting spanked at Three Rivers (Trois-Rivieres), we are hungrier than ever for a win!
Last season there were some ups and downs, and some struggles as well, at least in terms of results. The GS team ran up front a lot and earned some victories, but didn't win a championship. However, you were the strongest in the ST class, winning the championship. This season, both programs have blossomed at times. But let's chat more about the GS drivers. Two cars, four very good drivers - what's your assessment of that program and the drivers so far this season.
Huh? Struggle? Is that a dig on my driving? (Haha) Last year we won four races in GS, and Salama and I put the (No.) 97 car on the front row almost every race. The problem is that we had a lot of DNFs.
As far as my GS drivers go - yeah , we have a really strong team. Alhadeff is a great racer. As soon as he sees the green flag drop he really turns it on. He has handed the car over to his teammate (Bill Auberlen) in the top 10 or better at each race this year. What can I say about Auberlen other than I think he is actually getting faster as he gets older or maybe he is getting faster the more hair he loses. Either way the driver pairing in the (No.) 96 car is very strong; now they just need a little luck.
As far as the 97 car goes - Bryan Ortiz - what an amazing kid! Remember, he is only 19. I see why Puerto Rico (his home) is so proud of him. This kid is going to go places; he has a natural talent. He is both fast and a smart racer. I am fortunate to have him on the team; I hope I can keep him for a few more seasons before someone notices his talents and snags him. Then there is (Don) Salama - talk about a fast old guy. I think he has put our car on the front row in nine of his 10 last starts - he is another asset to the team. Now that I think about it, we should be winning a lot more races this year!
To expand on this, Bryan Ortiz is new to your program in GS. How has he fit in so far?
Yeah, Bryan is the newest member to the Turner GS cars. I first noticed him when I raced against him last year at Homestead; he was in a Kinetic car. I remember saying to myself "Who is this (guy) in the blue car - doesn't he realize it's a 2.5-hour race, he is being really aggressive and it's only 10 minutes into the race". Then at Mid-Ohio, Salama called in on the radio and said "Wow this Ortiz kid is fast".
After that for the rest of the season I kind of kept an eye on him. I saw moments of speed even though it looked like his equipment was not always functioning well. Bryan really fits into our driver lineup; he and the team really gel, although when he gets really excited (like after being hit at The Glen) he seems to forget all English!
We've just passed the halfway point in the season at Iowa, now seven races are done. Three races remain in the championship, and two of those come at tracks at which you won last season (the other track, New Jersey, is new to the schedule). Do you believe with your current driver lineup you can repeat and if so, what will it take?
Yeah, we can and will repeat. We have the driver talent, the equipment and the team - although the other KONI teams have really turned it up this year - it's more competitive than ever.
You stepped out of the driver seat this season to concentrate on the team manage/owner role. What went into making that decision?
It was actually a financial decision more than anything. It made more sense for me to step out for a year. It was a really tough decision. I miss driving more than you can imagine. I will be back in a car next year, in the mean time I am playing a lot of PS3.
Though you're not out there fulltime right now, you did turn some laps at Watkins Glen International in practice. Do you have the itch to get back during competition, and if so, will it come at some point this season?
Yeah, I wanted to drive the car in the rain at The Glen, you know, so I don't get too rusty. I also did a few laps at Iowa. It gives me a little taste of what the cars are like and how the track conditions are so I can relate when the drivers are giving feedback . I may jump in a car for the six-hour (at Virginia International Raceway)- but not before that.
So many times we hear the word "Motorsport" and refer to it more specifically in racing terms. But you take it a step further. Turner Motorsport is not just a racing team, but a business you started a few years ago, specializing in parts for BMW's. Talk about why you decided to go into business and why with BMW's.
Back in 1991, I was searching around for some parts to "hop up" my BMW; there were very few places that I called that seemed to know what they were doing. In 1993 I started Turner Motorsport in my basement. My goal was to supply performance parts for BMW's at reasonable prices. Since then, Turner Motorsport has grown into a 28-employee strong, parts and service business taking up a 26,000 sq/ft building just North of Boston. We ship over 150 packages a day all over the world - in these packages are everything from replacement water pumps to brake rotors to performance chips. We sell quite mixture of parts.
I originally chose BMWs to specialize in because I saw them having a lot of potential to be good race car. BMW's always have been very balanced cars and with some modifications they're easy to make amazing - both on the street and on the track.
One thing interesting is that your international needs continue to grow. You've got to like that! Where do you stand currently on your business with domestic and international needs?
Yeah, we ship parts out all over the world. Recently 20 percent of our business has been going internationally - mostly due to the strong Euro (or weak dollar) our parts are bargains if you use Euros that's for sure.
Does the business also cater to racing needs, for example, for other teams?
We do supply parts to other race teams, even ones we compete against. Because we manufacture parts in volume, it's cheaper for teams to buy some parts from us than to develop and produce their own. We are happy to do this. We are in the parts selling business first and the racing business second.
Where do you see Turner Motorsport in five years, first in terms of the business, and second in terms of racing?
I am hoping that our business continues to grow and that our racing can continue to be as successful as it has been; we have won five racing championships in five years. We are building new M3's - and It looks like they're going to be a lot of fun. Hopefully we can get them on the podium in 2009!
-grandam - also photo
