DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The combination of Robby Foley, Turner Motorsport, and BMW is set to enter its 10th year together, a significant milestone for one of the most enduring and successful partnerships in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Foley joined Will Turner’s organization in mid-2018, and since going full-time the following year has posted nine race wins in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class competition in the WeatherTech Championship while never finishing lower than fifth in the GTD standings. Also driving Turner BMWs, he’s notched five wins in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and earned the 2023 Grand Sport class championship with Vin Barletta.
For the first portion of his WeatherTech Championship tenure with Turner, Foley’s co-driver and mentor was Bill Auberlen, whose 65 total victories across multiple platforms make him the most successful driver in the history of IMSA. For the last four campaigns, Foley was joined in Turner’s No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO by Patrick Gallagher as his full-season co-driver, with Jake Walker sliding in for rounds of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup in 2024 and ‘25.
Turner is still seeking and evaluating driver candidates to join Walker and Foley in the No. 96 car in 2027 for Michelin Endurance Cup events.
Now a seasoned veteran at age 30, Foley will take on an even greater role as team leader and mentor as 20-year-old Walker steps in as his full-season co-driver. Walker cut his teeth in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America competition while getting his first WeatherTech Championship experience in those Michelin Endurance Cup races for Turner. He also won nine of the last 10 races in IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Grand Touring Daytona X (GTDX) in 2025 in a Turner BMW M4 GT3.
Last year, Walker ran the full WeatherTech Championship in the No. 66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang GT3 with a rotation of co-drivers. He now has 20 career starts, and a best finish of second with Turner at Indianapolis in 2024.
The overriding goal for all parties is to find a way to defeat the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, which Russell Ward and Philip Ellis have driven to three consecutive GTD class championships. The No. 96 Turner BMW has often been Winward’s closest competition, with Foley and Gallagher claiming second in the standings in 2024 and ’26. Teamed with Auberlen, Foley was also the GTD runner-up in 2019.
“From my standpoint, we have some unfinished business,” said Turner, speaking from the SEMA Show in Las Vegas where he was participating in promotional activities with longtime team partner LIQUI MOLY.
“I hate finishing second. It’s worse than anything else, because we were that close to winning the championship. So, we’re motivated to come back and give it another shot. Between Robby and Jake, we have the experience, and we know what we’re going to start the season with as far as the car and the team and everything. We’re confident that we can give it another run.”
Foley has seen a definite trend of progress within the Turner BMW program over the last three years and is eager to chase his first title in the WeatherTech Championship.
“We had a really successful 2024 and then we got the ‘EVO’ car in 2025, with all the updates,” he remarked. “We definitely hit a stride in 2026, just refining our package. We really refined our game in 2026 and we’re just looking to build on that. It’s exciting to have Jake back, and the rest of the team and crew is pretty much the same. We have a lot of continuity, a lot of stuff to build on.
“Definitely excited, because it was kind of a sad ending to what was a great season,” Foley added, reflecting on the team’s early retirement from the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. “We’re going to try to come back stronger and fight for one more.”
Consistency and continuity have been the cornerstones of Turner’s success over the years, and the veteran sports car campaigner recognizes the value of keeping a good thing going.
“It’s my same team coming back again,” said the eponymous team boss. “Going back to the Grand-Am days, we’ve been doing this for 16 or 17 years continually in GTD or GT competition. I guess that’s kind of the most important thing because other teams are putting their teams together – they’re looking for crew and they’re looking for drivers and it’s all new. It’s super important to have the stability, and I think it’s an advantage. We know the car now. We know the drivers, because Jake’s back and it’s a good fit. We’re ready to go.
“We know beating Winward is tough, but it’s motivating because we know they can be beaten,” Turner added. “But they’re so strong that it requires a lot. We really have to work for it. It’s motivating because it gives us something to shoot for. I mean, it’s our goal. We’ve got to beat those guys, and I’m sure they’re coming back just as strong as ever.”
Foley shows no signs of slowing down despite now being one of the most experienced drivers in the WeatherTech Championship. With 94 career starts, he should hit the Turner car number of 96 starts at Sebring and then hit the century mark at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July if he starts all 2027 GTD rounds as scheduled.
“I’ve been doing this not nearly as long as Will, but for me, it’s kind of all I know, right?” he mused. “I’m 30 now, and I’ve been doing it for 13 years. I’ve been doing it a while, but I’m still young in my career. Two things keep it fun: There’s just a pure love of driving. Then there’s also the competition side, which can be equal parts rewarding, frustrating, and everywhere in between.
“We’re coming off a season everybody can be proud of,” Foley continued. “We obviously didn’t get the storybook ending we were looking for at Petit Le Mans, but just the pure love and passion for it keeps it fun. I’ve been very lucky to be in the same team for many years now with a lot of the same people, and it’s great to go racing with people that are like-minded and shooting for the same goal. In a lot of ways at different times, I think we’ve punched above our weight in certain areas, and we’ll try to continue to do that.
“If we just refine our season last year – fix a couple of races that didn’t go right – we’ll be right there again.”
