Aston Martin works driver Darren Turner returned to the Nürburgring Nordschleife, in Germany, for the opening rounds of the Nürburgring Langstrecken Series last weekend.
But unfortunately for Darren, the Dörr Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 he was scheduled to race was retired before he was able to turn a competitive lap.
Dörr Motorsport runs an on-going development tyre programme for Pirelli with its 2023-spec Vantage GT3, and as the team’s most senior driver, Darren plays an integral role in terms of feedback, driver coaching and progression and set-up management.
The plan had been to participate in the NLS1 four-hour race on Saturday, and then NLS2 on Sunday, alongside brothers Phil and Ben Dörr, but a major crash at the resurfaced Adanauer Forst section of the track on the opening lap of the first race rendered the car beyond repair.
“It’s just one of those things that happens in racing,” said Turner. “It’s always frustrating when it does, and when accidents occur at the Nürburgring, because of the nature of the track, they tend to be big and this one was no different. The most important thing is that Ben was okay and the car can be rebuilt in time for the Nürburgring 24 Hours.”
Turner did get some cockpit time during Friday’s test, which gave him first-hand experience of the changes to the track.
“The resurfacing actually had changed the nature of the circuit a little bit,” he explained. “Because some of the kerbs we would have used in the past were now no longer accessible.
“They’ve resurfaced the circuit so many times in some places that this winter they decided to remove some of the old asphalt and rebuild them from scratch, which had the effect of raising the existing kerbs a bit. In the case of Adenauer Forst, it was one of four kerbs that you actually used on the lap, which gave you the ability to cut across and reduce the angle of the corner. It used to be taken in fifth gear at 130mph, but now, while it's still fifth gear, it's probably 120mph because you have to go around that kerb.
“Before, if you made an error there was a bit of space on the exit to get the car under control, but now because its tighter, there is less and that is exactly what happened to Ben.”
Despite the disappointment the whole team felt, Turner was delighted to be back at his favourite circuit for another season.
“As always it’s magic to be back there,” he said. “Even after only being six months since we were last there it just leaves you with a very special feeling.”
“Things had been going well up until the crash. The early morning conditions were damp, but they dried out so that the weather was perfect for the race. Qualifying had gone really well, with Ben placing us seventh on the grid.
“Then, on the opening lap Ben had that moment, ran off the road and dropped a wheel on the grass and from that point he was a passenger. He had a 120mph crash which did a lot of damage to the car, and that meant the team just didn’t have the spares and resources to recover in time for Sunday’s race. But we’ll bounce back as a team and go again!”
Turner has no time to rest either for he’s racing again next weekend, at another of his favourite haunts – Goodwood – as he takes part in the 81st Members’ Meeting.
Comentários