| Twenty-Year Aston Martin Racing Veteran Thrilled with IMSA Cameo Appearance at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca May 7, 2025By Tony DiZinnoIMSA Wire Service |
| DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bringing up past eras can be helpful in the context of how far something has come. Global GT racing has, in the first quarter century of the 2000s, run the gamut from GT1 to GT2 (later known as either GTE or GTLM depending on the series) and now solidified under the GT3 and GT4-specifications of cars for roughly the last decade. It makes the perspective of Darren Turner stand out even more, as someone whose tenure has withstood the test of time, series and GT categories all with Aston Martin Racing for more than two decades. The Englishman makes a cameo IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship appearance at this weekend’s TireRack.com Monterey SportsCar Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He’ll deputize for Tom Gamble alongside Casper Stevenson in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class. GT1 to GTE to GT3 |
| It also means he gets to add a GT3-specification Aston Martin to both GT1 and GTE-spec cars he’s driven at the track. Turner has four past IMSA starts at WeatherTech Raceway, with a best finish of fourth twice (2006 in GT1 his most recent) and a pole in the American Le Mans Series’ GT class, in a GTE-spec Vantage, in 2012 (the GTE-spec Vantage is pictured at Sebring in 2015, right). He’s been through so many different eras of GT racing that he provides strong perspective on where it’s at now. “It was nice to be part of GT1 because the cars were fantastic to drive; different from sort of the current GT3 cars,” he said. “Maybe to me, maybe the GT1 era was just a little bit more special in terms of the pure enjoyment of driving a GT1 car. “Actually, the racing now is more competitive with greater manufacturer involvement. There are certainly more drivers involved now with GT racing than there ever was during the GT1 period. So maybe I look back with rose-tinted glasses and look at GT1 just because of the type of cars they were and how amazing they were to drive. “I do love racing GT3 cars, you know, it’s different, with ABS and traction control and there’s more refinement in the car, but I think maybe some of the raw driving experiences I miss. But ultimately the racing is better because of the level of competition throughout the drivers and through the manufacturers as well. “Would I change anything? Not at all. I mean, GT1 was fantastic when it was around and GT3 is just amazing that we have such a competitive platform that’s globally accepted by everyone, and it’s made for great racing.” Turner also reflected how far Aston Martin, as a brand, has come over that timeframe while also appreciating the types of cars – both race and road – he’s driven. “It’s pretty incredible to think about the early days with the DBR9, the first tests in 2004 and started pretty much out of the box with a win at Sebring in 2005,” he said. “We’ve only had one bad year with the AMR-ONE, but from GT1 through LMP1 and the Lola Aston Martin to then GTE, GT2, GT3, GT4 is incredible. “We started with two cars and now look at how many Astons are racing across the board throughout the world in a relatively short 21 years. I’m very proud to be a British driver driving for a British manufacturer on the global scale. It’s not just Aston Martin Racing on the GT side, but also the Valkyrie and Formula 1 programs as well. I could have never imagined it from our first test day in November 2004 at Donington Park.” Driving Revival at Heart of Racing Team |
| Turner has made 37 career IMSA starts and 18 podiums; this week marks his first IMSA start since the 2023 Rolex 24 At Daytona, which he won with Heart of Racing Team in the GTD class. Having driven for the Ian James-led team on-and-off since its current incarnation debuted in 2020, he’s also witnessed its growth and expansion. It’s given something back to him, too. “That team’s just gone up every year,” Turner explained. “You know, Ian’s led a very small team to begin with and he’s just increased the level of ability from everyone within that team and then just bringing in really good guys as well as they keep increasing what that team can do and the number of championships they’re doing as well. If you look at GT4, GT3 and obviously what they’re doing with the Valkyrie GTP car as well. “You know, it’s a team that I have to say, if I think about my career and I’ve been going on a chunk of time now, it was coming back with Heart of Racing that got me back into really loving going racing again. “That might sound a bit weird, but, you know, there’s a period when you’re sort of a ‘top dog’ and you you’re the guy that’s sort of at the front of the team. Then the next generation wave of drivers come through and it’s quite a hard transition for drivers to get their head around. “Going out and having no pressure that I had when I joined at Heart of Racing was a really good thing. It just reinvigorated myself and I’ve not looked back since then. So, I’m really thankful for that that opportunity of Heart of Racing that first time out.” Turner noted his job is to maintain the momentum Stevenson and Gamble have had to start the season; they rank third in points heading into WeatherTech Raceway. They’re part of a 15-car GTD field that will run as part of the TireRack.com Monterey SportsCar Championship; the race airs live Sunday, May 11 on NBC at 3 p.m. ET with domestic streaming coverage on Peacock and internationally via IMSA’s Official YouTube channel. |
