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Darren Turner

This is our sixth interview in the AMOC series of Aston Martin Racing drivers and what better way to start 2025 than with one of our great Aston Martin ambassadors, Darren Turner.

Darren is Aston Martin's longest serving racing driver, a three-time class winner at Le Mans (2007,2008 and 2017) and has played a significant role in the development of the latest generation of road cars include the latest generation Vantage, DBX, Valkyrie and soon to be launched Valhalla.

I managed to catch up with Darren after he had just completed a full day's testing of the Valhalla, Aston Martin’s first-ever mid-engine PHEV supercar, at the Idiada proving circuit south of Barcelona. Darren was undertaking a two-week testing period with the car ahead of delivery to the lucky 999 customers to receive their cars in the latter part of 2025.

Darren testing the Valkyrie at night in Bahrain 2023.

It was announced in January this year that a new chapter in Darren 's illustrious career was beginning with a drive in the Vantage GT3 Evo for The Heart of Racing (THOR) team in the GT World Endurance Championship America. I was really keen to talk with Darren post this news to learn more about his new venture and before he heads off to Phoenix to start the testing programme. Darren is already well acquainted with the THOR team having secured a GTD class win in the Rolex 24hr Daytona in 2023 driving the IMSA debuting Vantage GT3 and marking the first Daytona win for Aston Martin after 13 previous attempts.

This will form part of seven race series at some of the most iconic US circuits including Circuit of America and Sebring with the latter being one of Darren's all-time favourite circuits. Here he won his first-class victory, twenty years ago, with the iconic DBR9 GT1 car #57.

Darren said ‘I am really looking forward to competing in this series. GT racing in the US strikes a really healthy balance between professional competition and the pure enjoyment of the sport. Many of the circuits are really enjoyable and challenging to drive. Racing in the States had always been hugely fun.

Darren will be partner at THOR with Gray Newell, who has been delivering competitive and consistent race results for the team in the GT4 Vantage in the last couple of seasons.

Darren states, ‘At this stage in my career results will not change my future trajectory but mentoring and helping young drivers is really important to me. I am looking to working closely with Gray over the coming season to allow us to deliver strongly as a driving partnership in the Vantage GT3’.

Darren is also involved in the AMR Driver Academy award scheme and programme of support ensuring that the next generation of class leading drivers are behind the wheel of championship winning Astons.

We then turned our attention to the recent race debut of the Valkyrie Hypercar in the WEC Quatar I812 and I mentioned to Darren that he must be really proud to see the Valkyrie race for the first time this season.

‘It's been a long road of development for me as I have literally put thousands of miles of testing development into the road car evolution. We now have four versions of the Valkyrie - Coupe, Spider, AMR Pro and now the LMH race car. They are all incredible cars to drive and it will be very exciting to see how the race car performs as the season goes on.

Darren recently drove a road-going Valkyrie coupe around the Silverstone Circuit beating the lap record by a staggering 10 seconds. The only modification was to drop the tyre pressures a few psi at the start so that they were on target during the push lap.

Aston Martin Racing recently released a press release featuring the DBR1, Valkyrie Hypercar and Valkyrie road car. Darren states that he is the only person to actually drive all of these three cars which represents his involvement in the road car development, racing input and the historic racing sector with appearances at the Goodwood Revival, Goodwood Festival and Classic Le Mans.

The origins of Darren’s career with Aston Martin Racing started with his association with Prodrive in 2004. Darren drove the evocative 550 GTS Maranello and was the most successful GT racer of the early noughties along with the last V12 Ferrari to score a class win at Le Mans. Driving Chassis 03 Darren partnered with Rickard Rydell and Colin McRae with the trio finishing 3rd in Class. Chassis 03’s biggest claim to fame is its extraordinary participation at Le Mans, where it competed an amazing five times (2002, ’03, ’04, ’05 and ’06) – the most appearances an individual Ferrari chassis ever achieved at La Sarthe.

Reflecting on the 2004 race Darren stated ‘This was a chance in my career to drive alongside two of my own personal heroes. We spent two memorable weeks together during the build-up and the race itself. Colin (despite his superstar status) was really focused and wanted to do the best for the whole team. He was heavily involved in the setup had a meticulous level of detail in everything that he did. Spending two weeks with both drivers was a fantastic experience.

The following year saw the introduction of the DBR9 GT1 onto the world endurance stage and the it proved an immediate success with a debut at Sebring and then a further class win at Silverstone that year.

Darren celebrating the Sebring 2005 victory with David Richards (Prodrive) and Stéphane Ortelli and David Brabham

The mighty V12 and the precise handling made the car a real pleasure to drive. One early problem was the coupe cockpit temperature, especially during the hotter weather. During Le Mans that year, temperatures were recorded up to a staggering 70 degrees centigrade. Between them the drivers had to drive 3,000 miles straight and endure 25,000 gear changes.

Darren recalls ‘Driving the GT1 for up to 2 hours at a time was perfectly feasible with the right level of fitness. Normally taking a 4-hour break was a good time to recover before jumping back in the car. However, after just 1 hour in the 2005 the DBR9 was a real trial and serious heat exhaustion was becoming a real problem. It took a couple of weeks post the race before I felt normal again’.

Co Drivers David Brabham and Stephane Sarrazin were also suffering and all needing to be put on a drip between racing stints.

By 2007 the ACO imposed a maximum cockpit temperature ceiling for all cars which was measured by an internal temperature sensor.

It was 2007 that brought Darren’s first class win at Le Mans in the DBR9 GT1 car #009. Partnering again with David Braham and Richard Rydell the team had a great balance of youth and experience. Darren describes this win as ‘the most memorable moment of my whole career’.

The 2007 DBR9 GT1 #009 at Le Mans

Nineteen DBR9s were built between 2005-2008 including ten factory cars and a further nine for privateers, all with a fairly loose connection to the standard DB9 road car. The engine was a heavily modified 6.0-litre V12 road engine developing 575bhp and 750Nm of torque. It was designed to last for 30 hours. All of the bodywork was made of carbon-fibre, with new interior, suspension, brakes and racing aerodynamic set up.

The 2007 class winner, chassis no. 10, was retired after the race and only appeared again in 2019 in a historic race meeting in Barcelona.

Darren recalls: ‘Right from the start of the weekend the car felt fast and well balanced. Despite a full grid of major manufacturers, it was Corvette who were our major competitor along with our sister DBR9’s. Long periods of heavy rain made the driving conditions challenging and we all needed to keep our concentration. You drive to a completely different set of rules in this situation. It’s the balance of survival and keeping the pace as strong as possible!

The pace was relentless for the whole race and the team was exceptional with strategy and their performance during the pitstops. The worst Monsoon conditions came in the final hour which added extra drama but David Braham kept a cool head and brought the car home to claim the class honours. Standing on the podium was such a great moment.

The team returned again to Le Mans in 2008 and Darren delivered another stunning class victory this time with the car in the iconic Gulf livery. Another hard-fought battle with Corvette ensued for the entire race. Again, rain had swept over the circuit from the early hours and, although thankfully less severe than in 2007, it still meant that tyre choice (slicks, intermediates or full wets) became a defining factor.
David Richards, Chairman of Aston Martin, commented at the time: “For me, Le Mans is the greatest motor race in the world and to win it for the second consecutive year is a brilliant endorsement of a fantastic team effort – particularly in the iconic colours of Gulf.”

Dr Ulrich Bez, the Chief Executive of Aston Martin, added: “I am very proud that in the space of just three weeks we have taken two major class wins in two of the most important 24-hour races, the Nürburgring 24 Hours and now the Le Mans 24 Hours for the second time. It’s been an incredible day for everybody, and one that we will remember for a very long time.”

‘Twenty years after its debut win at Sebring, Darren reflects on the DBR9,’ This is my favourite race car of my career to date. The normally aspirated V12 and sublime handling made it a real joy to race. It was also old school in the fact that the car required heel & toe gearchanges and there was no ABS. It was also impressively reliable helping us to deliver impressive results at most circuits. If I won the lottery tomorrow the first thing, I would do is tell my wife followed by the purchase of a DBR9! What I love is the fact that there are a number of owners who still bring the DBR9’s out to race in Historic meetings. So lovely to hear the V12’s again and see the delight the cars bring to the race fans.

Darren’s final class win at Le Mans was on 2017 driving the V8 Vantage LMGTE class.

‘This was the last year of competition for V8 Vantage and we wanted to give it a good send off. We had been experiencing problems with the Dunlop tyres in previous races but the Le Mans weekend the car felt great from the outset. I managed to qualify the car on pole position which set us up well for another epic battle with the Corvettes. I partnered that year with Jonny Adam and Daniel Serra along with a great AMR team in support. The result was settled on the last lap with Jonny Adam doing everything right to hustle the Corvette into a mistake and the Aston to take another class victory’.

I asked Darren to reflect on the difference between the DBR9 and the modern GT3 Evo that he will be driving this year.

‘You still have to drive the car on the limit and it takes all your concentration and skill to get the best out of it. The modern GT3 has more tech onboard so you have to learn how to use this for optimum performance through all the stages of the race. The GT1 car has more downforce but was very analogue compared to the latest machinery. Both eras are great to drive for different reasons’

Darren with the Vantage GT3 Evo

Darren has already written himself into the Aston Martin history books and we are delighted to see him still competing in international GT racing. Generous with his time, impressive with his talent and modest in his manner, AMOC wish Darren all the best this season in the USA and we look forward to catching up with him again in the future.