BMW factory driver Connor De Phillippi will join Turner Motorsport for the 2026 Indianapolis 8 Hour, completing the team’s line-up for the GT World Challenge (GTWC) America powered by AWS season finale.
De Phillippi will join Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg aboard the #29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO for the October event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The trio will contest the final GT World Challenge America round of the season, which also serves as the concluding event of the Intercontinental GT Challenge campaign.
The appearance will mark De Phillippi’s first race start with Turner Motorsport and comes as Foley, Rothberg and the Will Turner-led squad fight for a third consecutive GTWC America championship.
De Phillippi joins Turner Motorsport for Indianapolis
Turner Motorsport will add considerable BMW experience to its line-up by bringing De Phillippi into the #29 for the endurance finale. The American has spent several years as a BMW factory driver across the manufacturer’s GT programmes and arrives at Turner as the reigning GTWC America Pro champion.
De Phillippi claimed the 2025 title with Random Vandals Racing, sharing its BMW M4 GT3 EVO with Kenton Koch. His championship-winning experience in the series now strengthens another BMW crew as Turner attempts to complete its own third consecutive title-winning campaign.
Although Indianapolis will mark De Phillippi’s first race start for Turner Motorsport, he has previously worked with the team. He had been scheduled to contest the 2021 Indianapolis 8 Hour alongside Foley and Michael Dinan but ultimately never raced after illness forced Dinan out and led Turner to withdraw its entry.
De Phillippi had nevertheless completed testing with the team before that event, meaning his 2026 appearance will not represent his first time working with the Turner operation.
“He’s driven with us before, right after COVID, but we never raced because Michael Dinan was sick that weekend but he did do a test day with us,” Turner told Sportscar365.
That previous relationship gives the team some familiarity with De Phillippi before his first competitive appearance in one of its cars. Turner also believes pairing him with Foley provides the #29 with a particularly strong factory-supported element for the season’s longest race.
“Obviously Connor being a factory driver, Robby being a factory driver, you couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Turner targets third consecutive GTWC America title
De Phillippi will join the #29 crew as Turner Motorsport attempts to secure a third consecutive GT World Challenge America championship.
Foley and Rothberg enter this weekend’s penultimate event at Barber Motorsports Park firmly involved in the Pro title battle. The pair sit only four points behind JMF Motorsports drivers Michai Stephens and Mikael Grenier before the championship reaches its final two races.
The narrow margin leaves Turner with an opportunity to arrive at Indianapolis fighting for another championship. The team won consecutive Pro-Am titles during the previous two seasons before moving into the Pro category for its latest campaign.
Turner’s championship challenge has remained closely contested throughout the season, with the #29 BMW regularly fighting towards the front. The GTWC America Barber Motorsports Park weekend therefore carries significant importance before the championship concludes with its longest and highest-profile event at Indianapolis.
Adding De Phillippi for the finale gives Foley and Rothberg an experienced third driver who already knows both the BMW M4 GT3 EVO and the championship. His 2025 title also gives Turner a driver with recent experience of navigating a GTWC America championship fight.
De Phillippi returns after 2025 championship success
De Phillippi’s Indianapolis appearance also brings him back into GTWC America competition after his championship-winning 2025 season with Random Vandals Racing.
The American partnered Koch as Random Vandals expanded its programme and emerged as a leading force in the Pro category. Their performances ultimately secured the Drivers’ Championship, giving De Phillippi another major title as part of his long association with BMW.
Random Vandals subsequently scaled back to a single Pro-Am entry for 2026, leaving De Phillippi without the same full-season programme. The team is now considering a return to a two-car BMW operation for 2027 as it plans another expansion of its SRO America activities.
For Indianapolis, however, De Phillippi will switch to Turner and support another BMW championship challenge. His familiarity with the M4 GT3 EVO should also reduce the adaptation required before joining Foley and Rothberg for the eight-hour contest.
Turner to lead BMW’s Pro challenge at Indianapolis
The #29 Turner entry will carry additional responsibility at Indianapolis as the only BMW competing in the Pro category.
That leaves Turner as the German manufacturer’s leading outright contender at an event that also concludes the Intercontinental GT Challenge season. BMW enters Indianapolis as the defending IGTC Manufacturers’ Champion but will not retain the title in 2026.
BMW currently sits third in the Manufacturers’ standings behind Porsche and Mercedes-AMG, but its hopes of claiming consecutive titles have already ended. The manufacturer elected not to send factory-supported Team WRT Pro entries to the final two events of the campaign, significantly reducing its presence in the closing stages of the championship.
Turner will consequently fly the BMW flag in the Pro category at Indianapolis, while De Phillippi and Foley bring factory-driver experience to the line-up alongside Rothberg.
The combination gives BMW a strong independent entry despite the absence of its usual factory-supported WRT programme.
Indianapolis carries major championship implications
The Indianapolis 8 Hour will carry two different championship implications when it closes both the GTWC America and IGTC seasons.
For Turner, the primary target remains the GTWC America Drivers’ and Teams’ championships. Foley and Rothberg remain within striking distance of Stephens and Grenier before Barber, leaving the outcome of the penultimate round to determine exactly what the #29 crew will require when it arrives at Indianapolis.
The eight-hour format also creates a different challenge from the regular GTWC America rounds. Teams will need to balance outright pace with reliability, traffic management and strategy across a race considerably longer than the championship’s usual contests.
De Phillippi’s endurance experience therefore adds another important element to Turner’s line-up. His extensive GT racing background and familiarity with BMW machinery should complement Foley and Rothberg as the team attempts to convert its season-long championship challenge into another title.
Turner chasing unprecedented championship treble
The GTWC America title forms only one part of a potentially remarkable conclusion to Turner’s 2026 season.
The team remains in championship contention across three major North American sports car series, with its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD and Michelin Pilot Challenge GS programmes also fighting for titles as their respective seasons approach their conclusions.
Turner therefore retains an opportunity to secure three sports car racing championships during the same year. Its IMSA programmes will reach their finales at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta before the GTWC America campaign concludes at Indianapolis.
The possibility adds further significance to the #29 BMW’s championship fight. Turner has already built a run of success in GTWC America through its consecutive Pro-Am titles, but adding a Pro championship while simultaneously challenging for IMSA honours would extend that record considerably.
Before Indianapolis, however, Foley and Rothberg must first negotiate the penultimate GTWC America weekend at Barber. With only four points separating them from Stephens and Grenier, the championship picture could change significantly before De Phillippi joins the crew for the finale.
De Phillippi strengthens Turner for final title push
De Phillippi’s arrival gives Turner Motorsport another proven BMW driver for the most important race of its GTWC America season. His factory status, experience with the M4 GT3 EVO and 2025 Pro championship provide the #29 crew with an established third driver as it prepares for the eight-hour finale.
The event will finally give De Phillippi the Turner Motorsport race start that failed to materialise in 2021. Five years after testing with the team ahead of an Indianapolis appearance that never happened, he will return to join Foley and Rothberg at the same event.
Whether Turner arrives at Indianapolis leading or chasing the championship will depend on the outcome at Barber Motorsports Park. Either way, De Phillippi will join the team for a finale carrying major implications for both Turner’s GTWC America ambitions and BMW’s final appearance of the 2026 IGTC campaign.
