Turner 'more relaxed' racing in LMP1

The 35-year-old Briton was part of Aston Martin's GT1-winning line-ups in the 2007 and 2008 races, but says his step up to the premier class this year has actually taken some pressure off his shoulders in the build-up to today's race.

"This time I feel so relaxed," he told AUTOSPORT. "I know we are racing in LMP1 and we are up against Audi and Peugeot, but when we came here with the DBR9, we came to win - and if we didn't win it was big pressure.

"Here, we are massively the underdogs. The main battle for the win is between the diesels and we are just hoping for a bit of luck to run our way.

"If we get in the top six, that would be fantastic. If we could sniff the podium that would be unbelieveable, and a win would be like a miracle. Because of that, there isn't the pressure and I feel so much more relaxed this year than I have for the last two years."

Turner expects to be able to challenge for a place inside the top 10, but admits that it will take problems for some of the diesel-powered cars for one of the Aston Martins to break into the top six.

"There are nine diesels," he added. "I think we have the legs on the two R10s, but that still leaves seven. So if they all run clean, and as the professional teams they are, they should, then our best even if we run clean is eighth. So we have still got to get them to have problems and us run with absolutely no problems at all."