Ken
Gone but not forgotten
From Crash.net:
Turner: We should have won!
THURSDAY 23RD JUNE 2005
Darren Turner, Aston Martin Racing, DBR9, Le Mans 24 Hours, Wednesday Qualifying, 15/06/05
In only its third race, and on its debut at the world's most famous and gruelling endurance sportscar race, the Aston Martin DBR9 of Darren Turner, David Brabham and Stephane Sarrazin claimed a GT1 podium finish behind the two American Corvette C6.Rs - but its British driver reckons it could have been a more successful weekend had it not been for a number of factors.
Most factors were out of the trio's hands, with only harsh penalties that could be attributed to the drivers as they fought against withering heat, punctures and radiator trouble in what has been regarded as the toughest Le Mans 24 Hours for many years.
"We got a podium, but we should have won," Turner sighed, "The race between Aston Martin and Corvette was going right down to the wire and, with only a couple
of hours left to go, there was a car from each team on the same lap and it looked as though it would be a fight right to the finish - with us in line for the top step. Unfortunately,it wasn't to be."
Turner's race was one of ups and downs, as he experienced both the thrill of the start and the disappointment of costing his team vital time.
"I took the start in front of 230,000 spectators, and that's a great feeling," the Briton said, "I also managed to pull out a bit of a gap for us, including passing our sister car. Unfortunately, the stewards judged me to have hit some marker cones at different points around the circuit and gave me, not one, but two penalties - one of which was an excessively harsh three-minute stop-and-go.
"I assured the team that I hadn't touched anything, and hadn't driven around the track any differently to how I'd been doing it for the last two years, but the damage was done and we dropped right back in the timesheets. George Howard-Chappell and David Richards came with me to see the stewards to try and fight our cause, but there wasn't much we could do. They supported me fully, but I obviously felt really bad for Brabs, Stephane, our engineer Dave Wilcock and everyone on our car.
"To make matters worse, I was then given a further penalty for allegedly passing under a yellow flag. In fact, it was me who was passed by another car, but I was a marked man by then, so I just had to bite my tongue and continue to drive very conservatively for the rest of the race."
Knowing the potential of the new Aston Martin DBR9 having tested extensively during the winter and then raced the car at both Sebring and Silverstone, Turner knew that it had the potential to make up some of the lost time, but also knew that the team would be hoping that its rivals ran into problems of their own.
"The DBR9 is an extremely fast car and we definitely had the edge on our rivals on speed," he confirmed, "That helped us each time to claw back the time we'd lost and we managed to get back into contention for the class win, despite suffering - like almost every other team in the pit-lane - two punctures. Apart from the radiator letting go with one-and-a-half hours to go, those were really the only car problems we had.
"Our biggest issue in the race for all of us was probably the heat in the car. At times, the cockpit temperature was well over 60 degrees and my new coolsuit didn't seem to be effective at all after only a couple of laps. I also ended up with a massive blister on my left ankle and one the size of a golf ball on my braking foot due to the heat and vibration of the pedals. You always feel a bit wrecked at the end of a 24-hour race, but we definitely drained every last inch of our reserves on this one."
Turner: We should have won!
THURSDAY 23RD JUNE 2005
Darren Turner, Aston Martin Racing, DBR9, Le Mans 24 Hours, Wednesday Qualifying, 15/06/05
In only its third race, and on its debut at the world's most famous and gruelling endurance sportscar race, the Aston Martin DBR9 of Darren Turner, David Brabham and Stephane Sarrazin claimed a GT1 podium finish behind the two American Corvette C6.Rs - but its British driver reckons it could have been a more successful weekend had it not been for a number of factors.
Most factors were out of the trio's hands, with only harsh penalties that could be attributed to the drivers as they fought against withering heat, punctures and radiator trouble in what has been regarded as the toughest Le Mans 24 Hours for many years.
"We got a podium, but we should have won," Turner sighed, "The race between Aston Martin and Corvette was going right down to the wire and, with only a couple
of hours left to go, there was a car from each team on the same lap and it looked as though it would be a fight right to the finish - with us in line for the top step. Unfortunately,it wasn't to be."
Turner's race was one of ups and downs, as he experienced both the thrill of the start and the disappointment of costing his team vital time.
"I took the start in front of 230,000 spectators, and that's a great feeling," the Briton said, "I also managed to pull out a bit of a gap for us, including passing our sister car. Unfortunately, the stewards judged me to have hit some marker cones at different points around the circuit and gave me, not one, but two penalties - one of which was an excessively harsh three-minute stop-and-go.
"I assured the team that I hadn't touched anything, and hadn't driven around the track any differently to how I'd been doing it for the last two years, but the damage was done and we dropped right back in the timesheets. George Howard-Chappell and David Richards came with me to see the stewards to try and fight our cause, but there wasn't much we could do. They supported me fully, but I obviously felt really bad for Brabs, Stephane, our engineer Dave Wilcock and everyone on our car.
"To make matters worse, I was then given a further penalty for allegedly passing under a yellow flag. In fact, it was me who was passed by another car, but I was a marked man by then, so I just had to bite my tongue and continue to drive very conservatively for the rest of the race."
Knowing the potential of the new Aston Martin DBR9 having tested extensively during the winter and then raced the car at both Sebring and Silverstone, Turner knew that it had the potential to make up some of the lost time, but also knew that the team would be hoping that its rivals ran into problems of their own.
"The DBR9 is an extremely fast car and we definitely had the edge on our rivals on speed," he confirmed, "That helped us each time to claw back the time we'd lost and we managed to get back into contention for the class win, despite suffering - like almost every other team in the pit-lane - two punctures. Apart from the radiator letting go with one-and-a-half hours to go, those were really the only car problems we had.
"Our biggest issue in the race for all of us was probably the heat in the car. At times, the cockpit temperature was well over 60 degrees and my new coolsuit didn't seem to be effective at all after only a couple of laps. I also ended up with a massive blister on my left ankle and one the size of a golf ball on my braking foot due to the heat and vibration of the pedals. You always feel a bit wrecked at the end of a 24-hour race, but we definitely drained every last inch of our reserves on this one."
