SEBRING, Fla. – The all-time winningest driver in IMSA history will miss the 68th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts.
Turner Motorsport announced Thursday that Bill Auberlen, whose 62 victories are the most in premier series annals, will not compete this weekend after a possible exposure to COVID-19.
Auberlen is quarantined at his home awaiting test results. He was scheduled to compete in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge races this weekend at Sebring Int’l Raceway.
“Missing any race, much less the Twelve Hours of Sebring, is very disappointing,” Auberlen said in a statement released by the team. “This year is the 35th anniversary of my father’s win in 1985 as well as my first Twelve Hour win in 1995 – 25 years ago. You can’t imagine how hard it is for me to miss this race, but this COVID situation is such that we all need to remain as safe as we can. I will certainly be tuning in to cheer on the Turner Motorsport team and will be back behind the wheel of a BMW as soon as I can.”
BMW Motorsport driver Nick Yelloly will substitute for Auberlen in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 in the WeatherTech Championship race on Saturday.
Cameron Lawrence, a 2015 Rolex 24 At Daytona champion in the GT Daytona class with Riley Motorsports who also drove for Turner in the 2018 Rolex 24, replaces Auberlen in the No. 95 BMW M4 GT4 for Friday’s Pilot Challenge race.