by Russell Atkins
TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN FULL: CLICK HERE
In June, Darren Turner will return to the scene of one of the greatest triumphs of his career when he and Aston Martin Racing bid to defend their hard-fought GT1 class success in the legendary, round-the-clock Le Mans 24 Hours.
In company with team-mates David Brabham and Antonio Garcia, the British Touring Car Championship regular will be behind the wheel of the specially-liveried #009 DBR9, bedecked out in the iconic colours of Gulf Oil. The recently-turned 34-year-old told
Crash.net Radio what kind of challenges he predicts lie in-store…
Q:
Darren, you're an Aston Martin Racing factory driver again in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2008, and won the race in the GT1 class for AMR last year. How are you looking forward to it again?
Darren Turner:
For me personally, being still involved with the team – and this is the fourth year that we've been to Le Mans – means it's a great opportunity to come back and try and win the race again. I'm really looking forward to being alongside Brabham again, because obviously we shared that win last year, and I've driven with Antonio a few times now for Team Modena; they're both really good and we should have a good opportunity down there. It's always such a special race for me, but an even bigger positive is that with the Gulf Oil livery on the car, you can't get two more iconic Le Mans brands. To have them together is going to make it a pretty unique event for me.
Q:
You talk about the paint job. The car looks very similar and the number is the same, but the livery is quite striking, isn't it?
DT:
Yeah; the car has obviously been the Racing Green for three years, and if it was still the same it would still look as great as ever, but the fact is we've got the new livery and the blue-and-orange is very famous at Le Mans. I don't think there's a driver out there who hasn't watched Steve McQueen in 'Le Mans', but as a kid you'd never expect to be driving a car with that sort of sponsorship. It's very special for all six of us that we're involved with it, and hopefully we can get the same success that we had last year.
Q:
People within the sport often say 'if it looks quick, it goes quick'. Is that the case with this car too?
DT:
Yeah, it always goes quick! The thing is that Corvette have always had a very good, strong package and have been very hard to beat, but last year we were finally able to pull it all together and get the car to the end. We've always had very good pace, but we were a bit unlucky in 2005 and 2006. It's a beautiful car – very striking – and one thing when you speak to the guys who go down there and watch the race is that they appreciate the noise of the car, the screaming V12. If you're out by the circuit and listening to it coming down through the woods towards Indianapolis and Arnage, it's a great noise, and it's a great-looking car. It's a privilege for me and I think for the other guys too to be racing that car, because in 20 or 30 years time I think it will be a classic car from a classic racing era.
Q:
You mentioned your team-mates 'Brabs' and Garcia. Brabs like yourself is very experienced, whereas Antonio is more of a young gun compared to the two of you. Is that a nice mix to have?
DT:
