Darren Turner is widely known in his present and long-time role as an Aston Martin Racing driver and now Aston Martin brand ambassador, the Aston Martin DBR9 a key part of that journey.
But the DBR9 was not Darren’s first adventure into the world of GT1 racing, that came somewhat earlier!
“I got my chance by doing a test in the Mercedes CLK LM at the end of 1998.
“That got me my opportunity with Mercedes and then I did a couple of test days with the CLR (then classed as an LM GTP, but realistically the next step forward for GT1!) and I think we did a 36-hour test at Magny Cours with it. So I did that as reserve driver for the programme.
“At the time, I was just in awe of its capabilities. I was already doing a bit of testing with McLaren in the F1 car so I had the experience of what proper downforce and power felt like but in terms of regular driving over a lot of laps then the CLR was the thing I got plenty of miles in when we did the 36-hour test.
“I tested the car at Paul Ricard and Magny Cours and I did that whole test because Peter Dumbreck was away doing a Formula Nippon race I believe.
“The next time I was with the team was at Le Mans as a reserve and there was half a chance me getting in the car when Mark Webber flipped on the Thursday.”
A couple of seasons in DTM with Mercedes followed.
So your next GT racing opportunity was the CARE Racing Ferrari 550 programme?
“At that time I was part of the Veloqx squad and got dropped in with Prodrive (who built the cars and ran the primary race programme) at Sebring in 2003. That was my first real introduction into the GT1 cars (then GTS).
“They were mega bits of kit those Ferrari 550s and it was great for me to get a window into the Prodrive programme but at first it was really only as part of a Veloqx deal to run at Sebring.
“It was only later when Jan Magnussen couldn’t do the Miami race because he had a clash with a touring car race in Denmark. That gave me an opportunity to share the car with Brabs at Miami and that was really the turning point for me. That’s what really got me my opportunity with Prodrive.
“Obviously from that point on, I’ve been there ever since. 17 years!”
So your programme progressed with the 550 to Le Mans where you had your first podium with Colin McRae and Rickard Rydell and then into development with the Aston Martin DBR9?
“Yes. The first time the car ran was Donington Park. There are moments that stand out in your career and that was one of them.
“I knew what a privilege it was to be part of this programme at the beginning. At that point, of course, not knowing what was going to happen for the next 15 years plus, that Aston Martin Racing would become such a mainstay of GT racing, but at the time you know from the way the programme is developing that this is really special.
“I’d had a good couple of years by then with the 550. At that point too I’m pretty sure I have a good pace and that the team liked having me about and I’m doing a good job.
“And now they’re trusting me with the early stages of development of a major new programme with the GT1 Aston Martin DBR9.
“So yeah, I remember those days early days of the Aston and it was it was really special because to be part of the marque, to be part of Aston Martin and to be helping to develop what ended up being a Le Mans winner and ultimately an iconic car it’s certainly a highlight of my career.”
From then on Darren’s racing cv was littered with success aboard the DBR9 – a win on the car race debut at Sebring in 2005 – taking the fight to Corvette on their home turf, set the scene for some epic transatlantic battles thereafter – Darren would finish on the Sebring podium for the next two years too.
Four consecutive Le Mans starts saw him never finish in the DBR9 off the class podium including a pair of back to back class wins in 2007 (5th overall) and 2008.
There were wins in the ALMS, and latterly in the FIA GT1 World Championship too, though by then the DBR9 was, in performance terms, a shadow of its original self. But Darren Turner had been a key player in its whole story in GT1 around the world.
Indeed he won on the car’s Sebring debut and took the last contemporary win for the DBR9 on the penultimate weekend of the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship in Shanghai (his DBR9 was a non-starter on the final weekend at San Luis) – a part of the success story literally from the beginning to the end.
Postscript – Darren also had a further run in a different GT1 car – in the 2009 Spa 24 Hours when he joined a Nissan-entered, Gigawave Motorsport operated Nissan GT-R GT1 effort. The car came home a delayed but creditable 13th overall.
