Racing News

Michael Marsal and Markus Palttala, driving the #97 Turner Motorsport Z4, finished sixth in the GTD class in the May 30 100-minute Tudor United SportsCar Championship race on the Belle Isle Circuit in Detroit.

The Z4 had started tenth in class after Marsal made contact with a tire barrier in qualifying. Marsal started the race, finishing his stint in tenth. He pitted under yellow along with most of the GTD pack with just under an hour left in the race. The crew performed a quick stop, moving the car up five positions when it returned to the track with Palttala at the controls. The Z4 went on to finish sixth.

The GTD class win went to Ian James and Mario Farnbacher in the #23 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America. James pitted under green several laps in advance of the rest of the class. When the others pitted under yellow Farnbacher stayed out and took over the lead; he held it for the balance of the one-stop race.

The Prototype, Prototype Challenge, and GTD classes ran at Belle Isle, but the GTLM class, in which the Team RLL Z4s run, did not participate.

The overall win went to Dane Cameron and Eric Curran in the #31 Action Express Corvette DP. Renger van der Zande and Mirco Schultis won the spec Prototype Challenge class in the Starworks Motorsport Oreca FLM09.

All TUSC classes will participate in the series’ next race, the six-hour enduro at Watkins Glen on June 28.—Brian S. Morgan