Darren Turner Q&A

"With the weather expected to be bad on Sunday, the organisers decided to run a race on Saturday to make up for the one cancelled because of rain at the Euro Speedway Lausitz. Although I had been fastest in practice and qualifying on Sunday, I still had to start from 15th because the race was a hang-over from Germany. Two other guys started behind me because they hadn't been in Germany either, but I started ahead of them because I was quicker in the morning session at Rockingham. It is just as well we did race on Saturday because Sunday was rained off."



"I went to the series launch at the start of the year. At the time I was looking elsewhere too, seeing what was available for this year. There was still a small chance of me staying in the DTM and I was looking at the new Dallara Nissan World Series too. By the time I had made up my mind that ASCAR was what I wanted to do, the drives I had been looking at had gone. Then the HTML opportunity came up. They received a car only five days before the first race, so with very little running behind us, we decided to scratch from that meeting. Then at Lausitz the deal just never came together because there was no money, so we didn't go. So Rockingham was the first race for the team and for me."



"Well, I did a test that went really well between the first Rockingham meeting and Lausitz. We did around 100 laps and the team came up with a great car. So I was really looking forward to racing to see what we could do."



"I still don't know. Nothing is confirmed. I hope this result will help, but until I get a call from the organisers or the team I don't know."



"In 1999 I didn't do any racing. Then in 2000 I did the DTM with Team Rosberg and Pedro Lamy as my team-mate. We both found it very hard in that first year and it was very disappointing. Then in the second year we had year-old cars. Pedro left the team during the season and the next race was the lowest point I can remember. But I had a good talk with the team, cleared up a lot of things and after that I enjoyed the rest of the season. But I had to accept that we were racing for top 10 positions, not podiums or wins. That is hard for any driver. So to answer you question, it felt fantastic at the weekend. I'd forgotten how good it feels to win. I'm still buzzing now."



"I'm lucky that I still have a very good relationship with McLaren. I'm off to Jerez today to do the first day of testing. Racing-wise, the main thing now is to aim for the Indy Racing League or CART for next year. I want to try and get as much career momentum as possible this season, and then go for a test in the US. I have to build up my oval experience before going out there and I think I've got a good idea what is needed to be successful."



"It's been pretty much what I expected. Everyone said that they are really hard and completely different to driving anywhere else, and they are. But if you are a good driver, it is easy to adapt. Having said that, an IRL car or a Champ Car is very different to an ASCAR."



"Last year was a difficult first season for them. But this year the organisation is better and they have plenty of 'name' drivers. It provides very good racing. I watched the first race from the grandstand at Rockingham and I really enjoyed it. For a driver to get excited when spectating, it must be good. You don't get that with every type of racing. The potential is there for ASCAR to be very good. It is not a challenge to any other form of racing, it is doing its own thing in Europe. Now it is down to the punters to come and watch and for the bad weather to hold off..."