Darren Turner
Darren Turner (born 13 April 1974) is a British professional racing driver and owner of Base Performance Simulators. He races for Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver and also works as a high performance test driver for Aston Martin.
| Darren Turner | |
|---|---|
Darren Turner in 2013 | |
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 13 April 1974 Camberley, Surrey, England, United Kingdom |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 2003 – |
| Teams | Prodrive Racing, Aston Martin Racing |
| Best finish | 5th (2007) |
| Class wins | 3 (2007, 2008, 2017) |
| FIA World Endurance Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2012 |
| Current team | Aston Martin Racing |
| Car number | 98 |
| Starts | 59 |
| Wins | 8 |
| Poles | 11 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| Best finish | 3rd in 2013 |
| Previous series | |
| 2008–09 2008 2007–09 2006–08 2003, 2005–08 2003, 2007–09 2002 2000–01 2000–01 1999 1998 1997 1997, 1999 1995–96 1994 1993 | Rolex Sports Car Series Formula Ford 1600 Le Mans Series BTCC American Le Mans Series FIA GT Championship ASCAR DTM Formula One testing Italian Formula 3000 Formula Palmer Audi British Formula 3 Formula One testing Formula Renault UK Formula Vauxhall Lotus FFirst Great Britain W. Series |
| Championship titles | |
| 2007, 2008 1993 | 24 Hours of Le Mans – GT1 FFirst Great Britain W. Series |
| Awards | |
| 1996 | McLaren Autosport Award |
He was McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year in 1996. He is a former test driver for the McLaren Formula One team, but has raced primarily in touring cars and sportscars since 2000. He spent 2 years in the DTM for Keke Rosberg's Mercedes-Benz-powered team, also winning several ASCAR races. In 2006 he raced sportscars for Aston Martin, but also competed five rounds of the British Touring Car Championship for SEAT, sharing their 2nd car with James Thompson. In his first drive for the team he finished 3rd.
He remained with the team for 2007, now full-time team-mate to Plato. Luck was again against him at Rockingham – after qualifying on pole the car had an electrical failure before race one. His first win came in race 11 at Croft [1], with two more at Knockhill.
As well as driving for SEAT in the BTCC, Darren also competed in the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours, competing in the GT1 class driving for Prodrive Aston Martin Racing alongside David Brabham and Rickard Rydell. After a tense fight against the Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R of Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen and Ron Fellows, the Aston prevailed to win a Le Mans class race for the first time since the return of Aston Martin to endurance sportscar racing.
He opened his 2008 racing season by competing in the Rolex 24 finishing 4th in class and overall sharing a Krohn Racing Pontiac-Riley with Niclas Jonsson and Ricardo Zonta. At the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans Turner won the GT1 class (13th overall) driving an Aston Martin DBR9 shared with David Brabham and Antonio García.
Turner also participated in the Gold Coast 600 race as part of the 2011 International V8 Supercars Championship. He entered the race as a replacement driver to Dan Wheldon, who was scheduled to drive in the race but was killed in a 15-car crash at the IndyCar World Championship race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, less than a week before the race.
In 2012, Turner competed in the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship season with Aston Martin Racing in the GTE-Pro class Aston Martin Vantage.
In the 80th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012, Turner and the Aston Martin Racing finished third place in the GTE-Pro class along with his co-drivers the German Stefan Mücke and the Mexican Adrián Fernández, their Aston Martin Vantage 4.5 L-V8 covered a total of 332 laps (2,811.65 miles), in the Circuit de la Sarthe without failure or serious mechanical problems. Also the team achieved the fastest lap of the category with 3 minutes and 54.928 seconds.[1][2]
Turner continued to race for Aston Martin Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship until 2020, notching up numerous victories, the biggest of which was his third 24 Hours of Le Mans win, which came in 2017. He raced the #97 Aston Martin Vantage GTE to a class win in GTE Pro, alongside Jonny Adam and Daniel Serra. It was Turner who took the GTE pole position for the 2017 race with a time that broke the lap record.
Darren continues to race, competing in events including the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
As a high performance development driver for Aston Martin, Turner has worked on the development of cars including the Aston Martin Vulcan and the Aston Martin Valkyrie.
Turner is also a regular competitor at the Goodwood Revival and in 2018 he was named "Rolex Driver of the Meeting" in recognition of his performances at the event.
Racing record
Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Team Rosberg | AMG-Mercedes CLK-DTM | HOC 1 12 | HOC 2 8 | OSC 1 13 | OSC 2 Ret | NOR 1 11 | NOR 2 12 | SAC 1 8 | SAC 2 8 | NÜR 1 15 | NÜR 2 8 | LAU 1 C | LAU 2 C | OSC 1 DNS | OSC 2 DNS | NÜR 1 13 | NÜR 2 11 | HOC 1 10 | HOC 2 6 | 14th | 19 | ||
| 2001 | Team Rosberg | AMG-Mercedes CLK-DTM | HOC QR 6 | HOC CR 8 | NÜR QR 9 | NÜR CR 16 | OSC QR 14 | OSC CR DSQ | SAC QR 9 | SAC CR Ret | NOR QR Ret | NOR CR 11 | LAU QR 10 | LAU CR 9 | NÜR QR Ret | NÜR CR 8 | A1R QR 14 | A1R CR 10 | ZAN QR 15 | ZAN CR 8 | HOC QR 9 | HOC CR 8 | 15th | 15 |
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded in first race) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races) (* signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded all races)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | SEAT Sport UK | SEAT León | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | BRH 3 | MON 1 | MON 2 | MON 3 | OUL 1 | OUL 2 | OUL 3 | THR 1 3 | THR 2 5 | THR 3 Ret | CRO 1 | CRO 2 | CRO 3 | DON 1 12 | DON 2 9 | DON 3 4 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | SNE 3 | KNO 1 10 | KNO 2 DSQ | KNO 3 4 | BRH 1 Ret | BRH 2 Ret | BRH 3 DNS | SIL 1 Ret | SIL 2 10 | SIL 3 6 | 14th | 41 |
| 2007 | SEAT Sport UK | SEAT León | BRH 1 Ret | BRH 2 4 | BRH 3 DSQ | ROC 1 Ret | ROC 2 6 | ROC 3 3 | THR 1 3 | THR 2 Ret | THR 3 6 | CRO 1 4 | CRO 2 1* | CRO 3 5 | OUL 1 Ret | OUL 2 7 | OUL 3 3 | DON 1 12 | DON 2 6 | DON 3 9 | SNE 1 6 | SNE 2 4 | SNE 3 9 | BRH 1 3 | BRH 2 Ret | BRH 3 15 | KNO 1 1* | KNO 2 1* | KNO 3 7 | THR 1 18 | THR 2 11 | THR 3 6 | 6th | 160 |
| 2008 | SEAT Sport UK | SEAT León TDI | BRH 1 4 | BRH 2 5 | BRH 3 Ret | ROC 1 2 | ROC 2 3* | ROC 3 Ret | DON 1 19 | DON 2 4 | DON 3 1* | THR 1 6 | THR 2 4 | THR 3 16 | CRO 1 15 | CRO 2 9 | CRO 3 Ret | SNE 1 2 | SNE 2 19* | SNE 3 16 | OUL 1 6 | OUL 2 Ret | OUL 3 16 | KNO 1 Ret | KNO 2 8 | KNO 3 1* | SIL 1 3 | SIL 2 Ret | SIL 3 19 | BRH 1 7 | BRH 2 Ret | BRH 3 12 | 8th | 133 |
Complete GT1 World Championship results
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Young Driver AMR | Aston Martin DBR9 | ABU QR Ret | ABU CR 11 | SIL QR 4 | SIL CR EX | BRN QR 2 | BRN CR 2 | PRI QR 10 | PRI CR 16 | SPA QR 10 | SPA CR 6 | NÜR QR 1 | NÜR CR 1 | ALG QR 4 | ALG CR 10 | NAV QR Ret | NAV CR 4 | INT QR 2 | INT CR 10 | SAN QR 10 | SAN CR 15 | 4th | 104 |
| 2011 | Young Driver AMR | Aston Martin DBR9 | ABU QR Ret | ABU CR 5 | ZOL QR Ret | ZOL CR 7 | ALG QR 4 | ALG CR 2 | SAC QR 3 | SAC CR 3 | SIL QR Ret | SIL CR Ret | NAV QR 6 | NAV CR Ret | PRI QR 3 | PRI CR 2 | ORD QR 7 | ORD CR 5 | BEI QR 2 | BEI CR 1 | SAN QR DNS | SAN CR DNS | 2nd | 120 |
Complete V8 Supercar results
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | Final pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Holden Racing Team | Holden VE Commodore | YMC R1 | YMC R2 | ADE R3 | ADE R4 | HAM R5 | HAM R6 | PER R7 | PER R8 | PER R9 | WIN R10 | WIN R11 | HDV R12 | HDV R13 | TOW R14 | TOW R15 | QLD R16 | QLD R17 | QLD R18 | PHI Q | PHI R19 | BAT R20 | SUR R21 14 | SUR R22 6 | SYM R23 | SYM R24 | SAN R25 | SAN R26 | SYD R27 | SYD R28 | 59th | 165 | ||
| 2012 | Holden Racing Team | Holden VE Commodore | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | SYM R3 | SYM R4 | HAM R5 | HAM R6 | PER R7 | PER R8 | PER R9 | PHI R10 | PHI R11 | HDV R12 | HDV R13 | TOW R14 | TOW R15 | QLD R16 | QLD R17 | SMP R18 | SMP R19 | SAN Q | SAN R20 | BAT R21 | SUR R22 7 | SUR R23 17 | YMC R24 | YMC R25 | YMC R26 | WIN R27 | WIN R28 | SYD R29 | SYD R30 | NC | 0 + |
+ Not eligible for points.
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Aston Martin Racing | GTLM | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | Aston Martin 4.5 V8 | DAY 8 | SEB | LBH | LGA | WGL | MOS | IMS | ELK | VIR | COA | PET | 40th | 24 | |
| 2015 | Aston Martin Racing | GTLM | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | Aston Martin 4.5 V8 | DAY 6 | SEB 6 | LBH | LGA | WGL | MOS | ELK | VIR | COA | PET | 19th | 52 | ||
| 2020 | Heart of Racing Team | GTD | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 | DAY | DAY | SEB | ELK | VIR | ATL 6 | MDO | CLT | PET 11 | LGA | SEB 2 | 31st | 77 | |
| 2021 | Heart of Racing Team | GTD | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 | DAY 5 | SEB | MDO | DET | WGL | WGL | LIM | ELK | LGA | LBH | VIR | PET | 49th | 285 |
| 2022 | Heart of Racing Team | GTD | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 | DAY 9 | SEB | LBH | LGA | MDO | DET | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | PET | 59th | 230 |
Complete European Le Mans Series results
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Aston Martin Racing | LMGTE | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 | SIL 1 | IMO 5 | RBR 4 | LEC 3 | SPA 5 | EST 1 | 1st | 98 |
| 2017 | Beechdean AMR | LMGTE | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 | SIL 3 | MNZ 3 | RBR 6 | LEC 5 | SPA 3 | ALG 4 | 5th | 75 |
Complete British GT Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Beechdean AMR | Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 | GT3 | OUL 1 2 | OUL 2 6 | ROC 1 3 | SNE 1 11 | SNE 2 2 | SIL 1 9 | SPA 1 Ret | BRH 1 4 | DON 1 5 | 5th | 102.5 |
| 2019 | M2 Competition | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | GT3 | OUL 1 | OUL 2 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | SIL 1 | DON 1 | SPA 1 13 | BRH 1 | DON 1 | NC† | 0† |
| 2021 | Newbridge Motorsport | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 | GT4 | BRH 1 | SIL 1 14 | DON 1 | SPA 1 7 | SNE 1 20 | SNE 2 19 | OUL 1 11 | OUL 2 19 | DON 1 17 | 4th | 106.5 |
| 2022 | Newbridge Motorsport | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 | GT4 | OUL 1 20 | OUL 2 15 | SIL 1 15 | DON 1 24 | SNE 1 19 | SNE 2 18 | SPA 1 18 | BRH 1 11 | DON 1 19 | 2nd | 163 |
† As Turner was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete Super GT results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
References
External links
- Darren Turner official website
- Darren Turner career summary at DriverDB.com