Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley in the #96 Turner Motorsport M6 GT3 finished fourth in the GTD class in Sunday’s two-hour-forty-minute IMSA WeatherTech Series race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Foley and Auberlen led until a slow stop with an hour and seven minutes remaining enabled Laurents Vanthoor in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 that he shared with Zach Robichon to get by and hold on for the win. Auberlen and Foley were able to hold onto their points lead as Ross Gunn and Roman DeAngelis in the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, their closest rivals in the drivers’ points standings, finished just behind them in fifth.
Auberlen and Dillon Machavern in the #95 Turner Motorsport M4 GT4 led the two-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race on Saturday for over an hour until an off-course excursion and a puncture forced Auberlen to pit for tires with about 40 minutes remaining in the race. The car fell to fourteenth in the final standings, but Auberlen and Machavern held onto their lead in series drivers’ points. Robby Foley and Vin Barletta in the #96 Turner M4 GT4 finished sixth, keeping them second in drivers’ points. Race winners Jan Heylen and Max Root in the 6 Wright Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport closed to within 80 points of Auberlen and Machavern with two races remaining in the season.
IMSA competition in both the WeatherTech and Michelin Pilot Challenge series resumes at Virginia International Raceway on October 10, and then the season ends at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on November 12.—Brian Morgan
[Photos courtesy Turner Motorsport.]
