Turner hails Stanaway’s slick heroics in wet Mexico

Turner now leads the premier GT class championship on his own due to Aston Martin Racing’s decision to switch its drivers around in July, and holds a three-point advantage over the sister AMR car of Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim.

Stanaway kept his car on the treacherously slippy track, while Thiim spun his into the barriers – ruining Aston’s chances of a 1-2 finish in a weekend they had dominated as the high-altitude venue suited its low-drag package.

“The turning point for us was Richie’s stint on the slick tyres in the wet conditions,” said Turner. “That really helped us get to the end.

“It was funny that Richie was enjoying it, because I wasn’t enjoying it at my end! The last hour and half was really stressful, and the pace of the competition was really strong.

“We had a bit of a buffer at that stage but the team is telling you how many laps to go and what the gap is and I’m trying to work it out and do the math as I’m driving around.

“I thought we would be alright and I could throttle back a bit. It was a great result for the team.”

Stanaway added: “Obviously we had a big advantage here this weekend. It looked like if it stayed dry all weekend it was going to be a fairly easy 1-2.

“When the rain came it mixed things up a bit and we were trying to keep the thing on the track.

“It was tempting to come in for inters, but I knew it was best to stay out and try to take an advantage by not stopping.

“It was a fun race but the weather made it a lot more exciting than if it had stayed dry. I really enjoyed it.”