Dane Cameron and Michael Marsal in the #97 Turner Motorsport Z4 won the GTD class in dramatic fashion in the Tudor United Sports Car Championship race at Lime Rock on July 25.
In the waning minutes of the race everyone on the Turner team kept their fingers crossed as Cameron, who had taken over from Marsal with about 1 1/2 hours left in the 2 hour, 40 minute race, led the class as the Z4 ran lower and lower on fuel. He held on, conserving fuel as he held off Jeroen Bleekemoelen, who was closing in behind the wheel of the #33 Viper.
The Z4 had started from the back of the pack. Marsal had gone off in the downhill in the first practice session on Friday; the resulting rear end damage sent the car to a local garage on a flatbed for straightening. The Turner team worked until 3:00 AM to get the Z4 ready for the race.
Cameron carved his way through the pack after he took over from Marsal, turning the fastest GTD lap and moving into the lead. He held on when almost everyone believed he was going to have to pit for a splash of fuel.
It was the first race of the season in GTD for Cameron, the defending champion in the class. He has moved on to the Prototype class, but it was an off-weekend for him, so he came back to the Turner team, where, as he said the day before the race, he felt very much at home. Cameron was subbing for Markus Palttala, who was driving a Marc VDS Z4 in the 24 hour race at Spa.
The win came on Marsal and Turner’s home track.
The Lime Rock race was run for just the Prototype Challenge spec class and the GTD class. All four TUSC classes run again at Road America on August 9.—Brian S. Morgan
