AMAZON FILTERS SPONSORS SAMFEST

Amazon Filters is sponsoring the local Samfest event for a second year. Samfest is a charity music festival to be held in Tongham, Surrey on 20th August 2011. It presents the very best local bands in a warm, friendly festival atmosphere that the whole family can enjoy with the aim of raising as much money as possible for charity and local organisations. More information can be found at www.samfestmusicfestival.co.uk

SPONSORSHIP - DARREN TURNER

Amazon Filters were one of Darren’s original Sponsors who were members of a ‘25 to F1’ Sponsorship Club set up to help Darren Turner achieve his ambition of becoming a Formula 1 driver – the pinnacle of the sport.

Darren grew up karting from a young age and was a winner in Junior and then Senior events. Funding has always been a problem in this tough, expensive sport, and Darren’s early single seater racing was done in a second hand, self prepared car in Formula First. His successes soon resulted in Team drives in Formula Vauxhall and Formula Renault Sport, culminating in winning the coveted McLaren / Autosport / BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.

Early in 1998 Darren set up his ’25 to F1 Club’ and Amazon joined this small enthusiastic group to help fund his career through its next phase, which was driving in the new Formula Palmer Audi single seater series. Darren was a winner and front runner throughout the season with the final result being fought for at the very last meeting, ending up with Darren second overall.

Darren’s career moved on, and he drove for two years as a Mercedes driver in the prestigious DTM saloon series in Germany; was in the Mercedes Le Mans Team in 1999, and under contract with the McLaren Formula 1 Team as a test driver. He was third in class at Le Mans for Prodrive in a Ferrari in 2004, and a frequent winner in the ASCAR series in Europe. In 2005 Darren was signed by Prodrive as one of their regular drivers in the new Aston Martin DBR9, and in 2006 recorded a second in class at Le Mans, as well as competing in most of the American Le Mans series. In 2007 and 2008 Darren was a class winner at Le Mans in the Aston, and also won several races for Seat in the BTCC saloon car series in the UK with teammate Jason Plato.

In 2009 and 2010 Darren was again competing at Le Mans, but in the Prototype LMP 1 Aston Martin alongside a variety of drivers, including Anthony Davidson and Jos Verstappen who have both driven in F1, and he also drove the car in the Le Mans Series at circuits around Europe. In 2010 Darren also had a successful full season in the FIA GT1 world championship with the ‘Young Driver AMR’ team’s DBR9.

For 2011 Darren will once again be competing at Le Mans and the Le Mans Series in Aston Martin’s new open top LMP 1 car which has been designed to be a real challenger for outright honours against Audi and Peugeot. 2011 will also see Darren once again driving in GT 1 for the Young Driver team, and aiming for a World Championship to add to his CV.

To be employed by such names in motor sport is a testament to Darren’s speed, skill and stamina as a driver, and we at Amazon are pleased to have been supporting him for so long – he has our continued interest and support, and we wish Darren every future success in this most competitive sport.