Justin Rothberg, Robby Foley and Connor De Phillippi of Turner Motorsport have reflected on their Pro class victory at the 2026 Indianapolis 8 Hour, which secured a third consecutive GT World Challenge (GTWC) America Championship for Rothberg and Foley.
The trio finished third overall in the #29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO after a closely contested eight-hour race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Their victory followed a decisive late battle with AF Corse USA, with Foley overtaking Frederik Schandorff’s Ferrari to secure the class lead and ultimately the Drivers’ Championship.
The result completed a remarkable progression for Rothberg and Foley, who won the Pro-Am titles in 2024 and 2025 before stepping up to the Pro category for 2026. After overcoming strong opposition throughout the season, the pair secured another championship in their first attempt at the higher level.
Turner Motorsport enters Indianapolis facing three-way title battle
Turner Motorsport entered the Indianapolis 8 Hour as one of three teams challenging for the Pro Drivers’ Championship, with only seven points separating the leading contenders.
Rothberg and Foley faced competition from Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports and AF Corse USA, both of which remained firmly in contention heading into the season finale. Although Turner had enjoyed a competitive campaign, the team still needed a strong Indianapolis result to overturn the championship deficit.
The BMW crew made an impressive start to the weekend, topping regular qualifying before Foley secured overall pole position in Superpole. His 1:22.805 lap placed the #29 BMW just 0.002 seconds ahead of Ayhancan Güven’s GMG Racing Porsche.
The exceptionally close qualifying battle provided Turner with a valuable advantage, although the eight-hour race still presented considerable strategic and competitive challenges.
With De Phillippi joining Rothberg and Foley for the endurance finale, the team had an experienced driver combination capable of challenging for both the Pro class victory and the Championship.
Foley delivers decisive overtakes in Pro class battle
Despite starting from pole, Turner Motorsport faced a challenging opening half as the Pro class lead changed hands between several competitors.
Rothberg completed his required driving time before handing the BMW to De Phillippi, who helped recover ground against the leading cars. The team subsequently made a strategic undercut, bringing its car into the pits earlier than AF Corse USA to gain an advantage on fresh tyres.
The decision positioned Foley to attack Schandorff during the closing stages. With approximately one hour and 22 minutes remaining, the American moved ahead of the Ferrari at Turn 1 after his rival ran wide.
Although AF Corse briefly regained track position during the final pit-stop sequence, Foley subsequently reclaimed the Pro lead and maintained his advantage until the chequered flag.
The Indianapolis race concluded with Turner third overall, behind the Pro-Am entries of GMG Racing and Archangel Motorsports. However, the BMW’s position at the head of the Pro field delivered the Championship to Rothberg and Foley.
Rothberg credits teammates after successful step into Pro
Rothberg acknowledged the challenge of competing in the Pro category after spending the previous two seasons racing in Pro-Am.
The American faced a stronger field throughout 2026, requiring him to adapt his approach and improve his performance against experienced professional drivers. Although he was disappointed with his own opening stint at Indianapolis, he credited Foley and De Phillippi for helping secure the victory.
“I’m really happy to be racing in the Pro class. I learned a ton racing against everyone, with all these really great drivers that pushed me to drive my very best. Robby and Connor came in, and this race went incredibly well for us. I wasn’t really that proud of my first stint, but these two just absolutely clutched it. Robby’s been fantastic all season, he’s a wizard in this car, and I’m so happy to have three amazing seasons with this guy.”
Rothberg’s comments reflect the progression he has made during his partnership with Foley, which has now delivered three consecutive GTWC America titles. The move into Pro represented a significant challenge, but the pair’s consistency and teamwork allowed them to remain competitive throughout the season.
Foley praises Turner Motorsport’s consistency and teamwork
Foley played a central role in Turner’s Indianapolis success, combining his qualifying performance with the decisive late overtakes that secured the Pro class victory.
The BMW factory driver had already built a strong relationship with Rothberg across their previous championship campaigns, and their move into Pro introduced another opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of that partnership.
Having entered Indianapolis targeting a third consecutive title, Foley was particularly pleased with the team’s execution throughout the weekend.
“I’m in a really privileged position to drive such a great BMW, and to drive with a great teammate like Justin, who has been with Turner now for many years. It feels like a family, it feels like home, and this is three in a row for us. Two championships in Pro-Am and now our first in the Pro class. I’m just a lucky guy, and really happy with our one-lap pace there in qualifying, and then we did everything we needed to do in the race. We dotted our I’s, crossed our T’s, we were patient and it worked out. Really proud of everybody.”
The result also continued Turner’s success at Indianapolis, where effective strategy and strong performances have played important roles in the team’s recent championship campaigns.
De Phillippi highlights strategic decision behind class victory
De Phillippi joined Rothberg and Foley for the Indianapolis season finale, providing additional BMW factory racing experience for the eight-hour contest.
The American played an important role during the middle stages, helping the team close the gap to AF Corse before the strategic decision to undercut its rival. His performance allowed Foley to enter the closing stages within striking distance of the leading Ferrari.
De Phillippi praised Turner’s preparation and execution, particularly the strategy that positioned the BMW to challenge for victory.
“I just knew I had to show up and do my job. We’re surrounded by the best, obviously Will runs an unbelievable operation. They have amazing drivers, Robby and Justin, and they just did a great job all race. We executed and we knew that’s what it was going to take. We had a really, really smart undercut with about three hours to go, and we were able to get track position, and we knew once we got close to the Ferrari, we just had to hope they made a mistake. Robby did some amazing moves to make them just do just that. I’m super happy for these two guys. Justin deserves his championship, as does Robby. It’s been a long time coming for him, and I’m happy to see him get this Pro championship.”
His contribution helped complete Turner’s recovery from third in class during the middle stages to victory at the chequered flag.
Turner Motorsport completes remarkable three-year championship run
The Indianapolis result provided a fitting conclusion to Rothberg and Foley’s first season competing together in the Pro category.
Having secured consecutive Pro-Am Championships in 2024 and 2025, the pair successfully adapted to a more demanding competitive environment without losing the consistency that had characterised their previous campaigns.
Their Indianapolis performance also highlighted the importance of teamwork in endurance racing. Rothberg completed his opening stint, De Phillippi helped recover valuable track position and Foley converted the team’s strategy into the decisive on-track overtakes.
The victory secured Turner Motorsport’s 13th championship in team history, adding another achievement to its long-standing involvement in international GT racing.
With a third consecutive GTWC America title secured, Rothberg and Foley concluded the 2026 season having demonstrated their competitiveness across two different classes. Their success at Indianapolis provided another significant milestone for the partnership and a memorable conclusion to the championship campaign.
