An outstanding double-podium celebration was the perfect reward for an exceptional weekend’s work by Darren Turner and his The Heart of Racing (THOR) team-mate Gray Newell in Rounds 7 and 8 of the GT World Challenge America (GTWC US) at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) over the weekend.
A second place in the Pro-Am Class (fourth overall) in Saturday’s 90-minute race, followed by another third place on Sunday, marked the best finishes yet for Turner, Newell, THOR and the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the series. Moreover, they were all achieved while Turner made his debut at another new circuit in 2025.
“I’m having so much fun this year with all these new tracks,” said Turner. “This season I’m getting to race at VIR, Barber Motorsports Park, Sonoma Raceway and even the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time.
“Racing at VIR was a real privilege, it’s a super cool circuit and such a beautiful place, so to take our first podiums of the season there felt very special indeed.”
Turner, Newell and THOR have made progress understanding how to make the car perform optimally within the GTWC US ruleset and the Pirelli tyres defined by the series, since the last race at Sebring. This contributed to Newell placing ninth overall and fifth in class for Race 1, despite a build-up to qualifying that was blighted by heavy rainstorms.
Newell delivered a solid opening stint, maintaining his starting position and navigating another short squall that rendered the circuit temporarily perilous offline. Indeed, just prior to the stops, a rival car fell afoul of the tricky conditions and the resulting accident triggered a long Safety Car period through the pitstop window.
THOR’s creative thinking allowed for the team to take advantage of the four-minute laps during the Full Course Yellow, bringing in Newell early and then holding Turner stationary until the very last moment without him dipping below his minimum drive time of 50 minutes. The canny ploy meant the #24 moved from fifth in class to third overall and second in class when all the cars returned to the track.
“The brilliant thinking during the stops is the key reason why we were able to finish on the podium. Ian James (team principal) was instrumental in this and the execution by the team was so precise that I completed my drive time with a second to spare!” said Turner.
Darren found himself in a battle for second position on track with one of the BMWs late in the race (which ultimately proved to be for the lead when the front-running Corvette did pitted to cover off its minimum drive times).
But while the Briton did his level best to defend through VIR’s undulating high speed twists, he could do nothing to stop the BMW coming past on the straight. “My exit speeds on the straight were the same every lap,” he said, “but on that occasion it felt like I was driving a Vantage GT4, not a GT3, as the BMW went by.
“That was my only disappointment because if we’d kept him behind it would have meant our first victory. But the reality is that second was the maximum we could achieve, and we have to be very happy with that and the progress we are making.”
Sunday’s race proved to be a good old-fashioned on-track charge that led to a more conventional podium run to third position. This time Turner started the race seventh in class, surrounded by rival pros with far more experience of the circuit and the series.
With the track dry, and the circuit predominantly filled with pros in the first stint, Turner had to content himself with running in a train of cars, fifth in class, until the stops.
“Gray was exceptional in the second stint,” said Turner. “He had enough pace to chase the Corvette down in fourth place and put him under pressure, which eventually led to that car crumpling.” The rival American machine ultimately went off the track, allowing Newell to press on up the road in pursuit of third place. That position became a reality for Turner and Newell when the Porsche occupying it stopped with technical issues.
“Just getting a second and a fourth would have been our best results of the season, but to get two podiums was fantastic. That second stint by Gray was his best so far while I’ve been driving alongside him. It was absolutely perfect.”
The results propelled Turner and Newell to fifth in the Pro-Am class standings with five rounds still to go. The GT World Challenge America now moves on to Road America on 15-17 August.