A little over a week since its seventh-place finish in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Turner Motorsport has confirmed it will explore an alternative racing series in addition to its full commitment to the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. The six-time championship-winning BMW team initially planned as many as four entries for the entire inaugural season of the TUDOR Championship but, following the second round, the decision was made to explore additional opportunities in the Pirelli World Challenge GT class, as RACER reported last week. Dane Cameron will drive the team’s entry in this weekend’s events in St. Petersburg.

“After completing two races with the IMSA-run series, our partner, NorthWest Value Properties, has given us the freedom to explore an alternative series that is more established. World Challenge has always been a great racing series for Turner, so it was decided to try the sprint racing format to see if it’s something we want to pursue on a more full-time basis.”

Pirelli World Challenge was established in 1990 and is one of the most successful sports car racing series in North America. The series has seen huge increases in participation over the years, visiting some of the best race venues in the U.S. and Canada. The series structure and rules are proven, allowing GT3-homologated cars to run as originally designed by manufacturers. This favors the Turner BMW Z4, as it started life as a GT3 factory built car before it was then converted to meet IMSA rules and regulations.

Beginning in 1998, Turner Motorsport campaigned its blue and yellow BMWs in World Challenge, winning the 2003 and 2004 World Challenge Touring Car Championships. From ’98 to ’04 Turner Motorsport captured 10 race wins, 40 top-five finishes and seven poles.

Will Turner said that there were several factors that went into the decision for the team to run in Pirelli World Challenge. One being the team’s partner NorthWest and their push to enter a more established and proven series. The Turner team is also interested in exploring a “sprint series” with a different race format and conceivably less operating costs compared to an endurance series.

Cameron added, “I am excited to race in the Pirelli World Challenge. The series visits some top notch venues around the U.S., including some great street courses, which I love. I am eager to get into any Turner BMW, so this will be a fun change of pace. I know that Turner began their professional race program in World Challenge, so it will be good to get the blue and yellow BMWs back into the series.”

“In addition to the driver’s excitement to enter a new series, our race partners are equally excited with our decision to enter into the Pirelli World Challenge. Not only do they receive television time on the NBC Sports N Network, but they also benefit from the crowds of IndyCar each race weekend, which is awesome,” added Turner.