Darren Turner’s 2023 racing season concluded in pretty much the same way it began, with the British endurance racing ace blasting around another of the world’s legendary circuits on the way to a top six finish in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
Turner opened this year’s campaign with a glorious maiden class win in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona back in January, driving the Heart of Racing team’s Aston Martin. Fast forward to last weekend and he was back charging across the graffiti-stained asphalt of the legendary Nürburgring, swathed in beautiful autumnal sunshine, for the final round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken Series in his fourth outing of the year for the Dörr Motorsport squad.
“It’s been a fascinating season working with Dörr Motorsport and Pirelli,” said Turner. “We’ve gained a great deal of data as a team, as well as Phil and Ben developing immensely in that time. Ben has made a spectacular step into the GT3 class and has really flourished after a couple of seasons in GT4. Phil, meanwhile, has just got better and better as the year has gone on.”
NLS9 followed a similar format to previous rounds in the series, with a three-hour test on Friday followed by qualifying early on Saturday morning and then a four-hour race in the afternoon. Turner had been scheduled in for some running on Friday, followed by a qualifying run on Saturday. But, as is often the case with such a vast and dangerous track, both sessions were red-flagged or blighted by Code 60s, meaning the three-time Nürburgring 24 Hours class winner had to rely on just two testing laps and a career-full of experience to get him through the race proper.
“It goes that way sometimes at the Nürburgring,” said Turner. “But we were in good shape, and luckily it was a dry race, which always helps and took away at least one variable.”
The Dörr Motorsport Aston Martin started third among an expanded field of SP9 class machinery, which featured no less than 15 cars for the season finale.
“Ben managed to get out early in qualifying, which meant he got a couple of clear laps at the start of the session,” explained Turner. “That being said, it was still a mega lap, which set us up nicely for the race.”
It made sense that Ben Dörr, having been the only driver to run in qualifying, should start the race. That proved to be a wise decision as the young German made a great start and forced his way up to second position early in his stint. By the time Turner climbed in the car for the second phase of the race, the Aston Martins had faded back to fifth as the potential of the development tyres wore away, but Darren got stuck into the fight straight away.
“The first part of my stint was actually a little frustrating because the slower traffic was so heavy, and with Code 60s etc, it was difficult to get in a rhythm,” he said. “But once I got into my stride, as always, I had a fantastic time. There are few things on Earth better than racing a well-run Aston Martin Vantage in the sunshine on the Nordschleife.”
Much of Turner’s stint was spent fighting with an Audi and Porsche for position, but in the end, he handed the car over to Phil Dörr in fifth place. The trio eventually brought the car home safely in sixth, satisfied with the race, and a season’s worth of progress.
“We’ve come a long way this season, and the data we’ve gathered will put us in good stead for next year,” said Turner.
“It’s been a brilliant season for me. Daytona was very, very special. And now I finally can say I’ve won a Rolex! I’ve also got to drive and race some incredible machinery, including the Aston Martin DB3S and a Cologne Capri! And of course, we won the Index of Performance in the Le Mans Classic with the lovely Aston Martin LM4. To finish the season off with Dörr, a team I really like and respect, is the perfect way to wrap up the year!”
It’s not quite time for Turner to put the crash helmet away for the winter though as he returns to his testing duties as Aston Martin High Performance Development Driver. And with the British sportscar brand announcing a racing version of the Valkyrie and new GT3 and GT4 cars, he’s likely to be a busy boy right up until Christmas!
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