With just three rounds remaining in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Robby Foley and Turner Motorsport are gearing up for a crucial stretch run starting this weekend at Virginia International Raceway.

Driving the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO alongside co-driver Patrick Gallagher, Foley arrives at the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR sitting third in the GTD class standings. The duo trails second-place Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis and Russell Ward by just two points, while sitting 26 points behind championship leader Dudu Barrichello of Heart of Racing.

Foley brings a wealth of experience to the 3.27-mile, 18-turn natural terrain road course. Across eight career WeatherTech starts at VIR, he captured a class victory in 2020, earned two podiums, and secured pole position in 2021. He also holds a Michelin Pilot Challenge victory and three podiums at the track. This season, consistency has kept the #96 crew in prime title contention, netting two podiums and four top-five finishes across seven starts, highlighted by a runner-up finish at Long Beach in April.

Opening up on a recent IMSA media call, Foley shared the challenge of returning to Virginia and highlighted what makes the facility a driver favorite.

“I think VIR is one of the highlights of the year for everyone,” Foley said. “It’s such a driver's track. Every lap there, you sort of have to put it on the edge in different parts of the track. But also, it’s a unique track to set the car up just because you have all kinds of different corners.”

#14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3: Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat, #57 WINWARD RACING Mercedes-AMG GT3: Russell Ward, Philip Ellis, #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO: Patrick Gallagher, Robby Foley

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images

Reflecting on how the season has unfolded, the New Jersey native noted that steady execution has provided the foundation for their championship push. 

“It's been a very consistent year,” Foley said. “Sitting in the top five. We haven't broken through for a win yet, but we've kind of always been in the mix where some others have had, let's say, more up and down years. So, the model for us has always kind of been consistency. I think the last three races, we can turn the wick up a little bit and try to break through for that win. That said, we just have to keep it simple and execute well and collect as many points as possible.” 

When asked by Motorsport.com if Turner Motorsport can continue to ride consistency or need to win one of the last three rounds to catapult to the title amid Winward Racing’s recent form of back-to-back wins, Foley provided a thoughtful response.

“It's kind of a debate that we have internally,” Foley said. “I think the way the races play out, we’ve talked about it a lot. Do we need to be more aggressive in many different aspects?”

He expanded on the chaotic tactical environment drivers navigate in multi-class GT racing. 

“I think what's interesting about GTD and the way the racing works now is effectively GTD, even though you're at the front, you never really feel like you are,” Foley continued. “You're always racing in dirty air. The restarts in GTD are quite crazy because a lot of what happens back in our class is a little bit dictated by the GTD Pro cars ahead and things like that. So, there's a lot of crazy circumstances that happen in the race, and sometimes you should have zigged, when you should have zagged on a restart.”

With the standings tightening, Foley views the championship hunt as a tight four-car battle heading into the final three events.

“I guess to get back to your question, we personally put ourselves in the position to now be in the conversation to fight for the championship,” he said. “Realistically, it's a four-car race now, and I think we have to turn up the wick a little bit and just be a little bit more aggressive now knowing that we have a small buffer back to P4, P5 in the championship.” 

#96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO: Patrick Gallagher, Robby Foley, #66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang GT3: Jake Walker, Corey Lewis

Photo by: Art Fleischmann

Foley also paid respect to his primary championship rivals, acknowledging the standard set by Winward Racing’s duo of Ellis and Ward, the two-time reigning class champions, along with Barrichello and the #27 Heart of Racing outfit.

“And just to touch on Winward, I think they've been the benchmark in our category for the past few seasons,” Foley said. “They always have incredible pace at different tracks. The team executes really well. We fought them for the championship in 2024, albeit it wasn't very close in the end. We finished second to them. So yeah, Philip and Russell and Indy (Dontje) when he joins for the endurance races, they do a very good job behind the wheel. Their team does a good job in pit lane. So, they're always right there.

“You could say the same for the#27 car, even though, with Dudu, they've had a few different teammates with him this year from different scheduling clashes, but it's kind of the same core group of drivers. They all know that car very well. The team operates at a high level. The top teams are always going to be doing a good job. You just have to be on the right side of the circumstance and make good decisions.”

Foley brought it full circle with the expectations for what’s ahead. 

“As the craziness of the racing goes a little bit up and down, as we've seen in the past year, I'm curious how the end of the season will play out in that regard,” Foley said. “I think for us, we just have to keep ourselves in that top five conversation like we have done, and yeah, just in a couple key scenarios, turn up the wick a little bit with aggression. 

“To answer your question, do we have to win? Of course, you're always trying to win every weekend, but I think I would be very happy with a few second-place finishes, a bunch of podium trophies, and then big trophy at the end of the year. That has eluded our group a few times; and I have finished second in a championship a few times. It would definitely be a great feeling to finally win one.” 

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