Darren Turner was delighted to be the driver to give Aston Martin Racing GTE Pro pole position for the 85th 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the British driver setting a new lap record in the process.
Turner, who shares the #97 V8 Vantage GTE with Jonny Adam and Daniel Serra, set a class best time of 3:50.837s to deny the #51 AF Corse top spot by 0.191 seconds around the Circuit de la Sarthe, and the forty-three-year-old is now aiming to convert this into a victory.
“I’m really pleased to have been able to put the lap together,” said Turner on astonmartin.com “The team’s been kind to me this week and gave me the opportunity to have a few sets of tyres and the chance to go for it in qualifying.
“The car was perfect and dialled in completely and while there’s been a lot of track evolution over the past two days, the team have done a great job to keep on top of it. I’m really pleased for everyone at Aston Martin Racing.
“It’s a great start but there’s a long way to go from now to convert this into victory.”
Paul Howarth, the Team Principal of Aston Martin Racing, insists it is a great feeling to see his team take pole position at Le Mans, but they are now already turning their focus to the race.
“To come to Le Mans and take a pole position is great,” said Howarth. “It’s a small part of the race but a big boost for the team. It’s a long build up to Le Mans. It’s two weeks of hard work setting up our operations and testing. It’s all about getting everyone geared up for the hardest race in the world.
“To deliver a pole position here in the pinnacle of motorsport is incredible and that’s something the whole team, Dunlop, Total and all our other partners have worked hard to make happen. We’ll enjoy this moment tonight but our focus has already turned to the race itself and executing the perfect race.”
