Having seen his time with SEAT in the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship draw to a close last month, Darren Turner is to fulfil a dream this weekend when he takes part in the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone.

Turner, who also secured the GT1 title at Le Mans for the second successive season back in the summer, will drive a 1990 Van Dieman RF90 in the Formula Ford event and he admitted he couldn't wait to get behind the wheel of a car that he has always wanted to drive.

"I went to the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and thought the Van Diemen was the most gorgeous car I had ever seen,” he told The Sun. "I thought that if I ever got to race one it would be fantastic. And now, 18 years later, it is finally going to happen.

"I just can't wait – it should be a lot of fun. It's something I have always wanted to do and it will make a change to compete with no pressure at all."

Turner will face an extra challenge as he will only get behind the wheel of the car for the first time in qualifying due to testing commitments with Aston Martin abroad during the week and he said he was looking forward to the event with its knock-out format.

“Obviously I want to be competitive and don't want to be miles off the pace,” he said. “I want to get the best out of the car. If I get to the semis I will be ecstatic.

"Hopefully the other racers will enjoy another bit of competition on the track. I'm praying I won't have a big target on my back and get fired off into the barriers!"