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DT wins Woolf Barnato Trophy

For the second successive year

Britain's Darren Turner has been awarded the BRDC Woolf Barnato Trophy for the second successive year at the prestigious British Racing Drivers' Club Awards held yesterday at the Café Royal, London. As the highest-placed finishing British or Commonwealth driver, in a British car in the Le Mans 24 Hour race, Turner jointly received the award with his Aston Martin Racing teammate, David Brabham, following their GT1 class victory at the world's most famous sports car race.

The BRDC Trophy is presented in memory of the three-time Le Mans winner, Joel Woolf Barnato, who was one of the original BRDC-founding Bentley Boys. He was also the driver who famously beat 'Le Train Bleu' in the car-versus-train race from Cannes to London in 1930.

This year's French classic, held in June, was one of the most fiercely contested in the 76 years of its illustrious history. Partnered by his long time friend and team mate, David Brabham, and Spaniard Antonio Garcia, Turner drove the Gulf-sponsored Aston Martin DBR9 #009 through appalling weather and track conditions as well as fierce pressure from both his Aston Martin Racing team mates and Corvette Racing to take class victory by less than a lap. 2008 is the second year running that Darren has won Le Mans, a race he dovetailed into his British Touring Car Championship commitments for SEAT Sport UK.

Darren said of the award: "I'm very proud to have received the Woolf Barnato trophy; any recognition from the BRDC is a very special honour. Obviously winning at Le Mans is an incredible experience and this year's difficult track and weather conditions were very similar to 2007, making every pit stop and tyre choice critical.

"As last year, Aston Martin Racing performed to the highest level and, for the second year running, no. 009 spent the least amount of time in the pits compared to every other car in the race. To win by less than a lap shows not only how competitive the race was in GT1, but also that this achievement can only happen with great team work."