The course of the River Thames

The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London. It does not include the source of the Thames at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, central or east London or the outflowing of the Thames into the Thames Estuary.

The phrase Thames Valley Region should not be confused with the term M4 Corridor which denotes the route of the M4 motorway which provides East/West travel on a more southerly route extending from Hammersmith through Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Wiltshire and over the River Severn via the Second Severn Crossing Toll Bridge into South Wales.

Economy[link]

The Thames Valley region is one of the wealthiest regions in the European Union, helped by good communications, a well educated work force, proximity to London and strong local employers. Its economy was valued at £32 billion in 2007.^[1]

In the twentieth century, historic industries have been replaced by modern knowledge-based industries, primarily information and communications technology and life sciences.

The direct labour force amounts to 1 million people, but the total workforce within an hour of the Thames Valley towns is close to 3.7 million.^{[citation needed]}

Since 2002, the Thames Valley has been the UK’s fastest growing region, averaging 3.5 per cent economic growth after inflation, well ahead of the 2.5 per cent national average.^{[citation needed]}

Productivity is high, averaging £49,000 per worker in 2006, £8,600 higher than the south-east average. The workforce is skilled: 29 per cent of employment is in the knowledge economy, compared with the national average of 17 per cent, and 37 per cent of people in employment hold a degree. One-fifth of Thames Valley workers are employed in managerial and senior positions, five points higher than the UK average.^{[citation needed]}

Tourism[link]

The Thames Valley region is a major tourist destination in the United Kingdom, both for domestic and international tourists. Some major attractions include:

• Cliveden, Buckinghamshire
• Eton and its college, Berkshire
• Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire
• Marlow, Buckinghamshire
• Runnymede, Surrey
• The City of Oxford, Oxfordshire
• Windsor and its castle, Berkshire

Policing[link]

The Thames Valley Police cover the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Other forces cover the rest of the Thames Valley region.

Major towns and cities[link]

• Bracknell
• High Wycombe
• Maidenhead
• Newbury
• Oxford
• Reading
• Slough
• Swindon
• Woking

Universities[link]

• Buckinghamshire New University
• Oxford Brookes University
• Oxford University
• Reading University
• Royal Holloway, University of London
• Silwood Park campus of Imperial College London
• University of West London

See also[link]

• Great Western Main Line
• South Wales Main Line
• Golden Valley Line
• Cherwell Valley Line
• M4 Corridor

References[link]

Coordinates: 51°30′N 1°00′W / 51.5°N 1.0°W / 51.5; -1.0

Darren Turner
Turner at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans driver parade
Nationality	British
Born	(1974-04-13) April 13, 1974 (age 38) Camberley (England)
2012 FIA GT1 World Championship
Debut season	2010
Current team	Young Driver AMR
Car no.	7
Starts	20
Wins	3
Poles	2
Fastest laps	4
Best finish	4th in 2010
Previous series
2008–09 2008 2007–09 2006–08 2003, 2005–08 2003, 2007–09 2002 2000–01 2000–01 1999 1998 1997 1997, 1999 1995–96 1994 1993	Rolex Sports Car Series Formula Ford 1600 Le Mans Series BTCC American Le Mans Series FIA GT Championship ASCAR DTM Formula One testing Italian Formula 3000 Formula Palmer Audi British Formula Three Formula One testing Formula Renault UK Formula Vauxhall Lotus FFirst Great Britain W. Series
Championship titles
2007, 2008 1993	24 Hours of Le Mans – GT1 FFirst Great Britain W. Series
Awards
1996	McLaren Autosport Award

Darren Turner (born 13 April 1974 in Camberley, Surrey) is an English racing driver. He was McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year in 1996. He is a former test driver for the McLaren Formula One team, but has raced primarily in touring cars and sportscars since 2000. He spent 2 years in the DTM for Keke Rosberg's Mercedes-Benz-powered team, also winning several ASCAR races. In 2006 he raced sportscars for Aston Martin, but also competed five rounds of the British Touring Car Championship for SEAT, sharing their 2nd car with James Thompson. In his first drive for the team he finished 3rd.

He finished second in the first two races at Knockhill, but lost both results for technical infringements. While running second to team-mate Jason Plato under a safety car in race one, he did not stay close to Plato's car, thus preventing Plato's championship rivals from being close to him. This incurred a 20-second time penalty, dropping him to 10th, however the team then removed the 'Success Ballast' he had earned for second place. As this applies to the order cars cross the line, not the final amended race result (drivers who were elevated by his penalty did not gain extra success ballast), this is a disqualification offence. He remained with the team for 2007, now full time team-mate to Plato. Luck was again against him at Rockingham - after qualifying on pole the car had an electrical failure before race one. His first win came in race 11 at Croft [1], with two more at Knockhill.

Turner driving for SEAT at the Oulton Park round of the 2007 British Touring Car Championship.

As well as driving for SEAT in the BTCC, Darren also competed in the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours, competing in the GT1 class driving for Prodrive Aston Martin Racing alongside David Brabham and Rickard Rydell. After a tense fight against the Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R of Johnny O' Connell, Jan Magnussen and Ron Fellows, the Aston prevailed to win a Le Mans class race for the first time since the return of Aston Martin to endurance sportscar racing.

He opened his 2008 racing season by competing in the Rolex 24 finishing 4th in class and overall sharing a Krohn Racing Pontiac-Riley with Niclas Jonsson and Ricardo Zonta. At the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans Turner won the GT1 class (13th overall) driving an Aston Martin DBR9 shared with David Brabham and Antonio García.

Turner also participated in the Gold Coast 600 race as part of the 2011 International V8 Supercars Championship. He entered the race as a replacement driver to Dan Wheldon, who was scheduled to drive in the race but was killed in a 15-car crash at the IndyCar World Championship race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, less than a week before the race.

For 2012, Turner will compete in the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship with Aston Martin Racing in the GTE-Pro class Aston Martin Vantage.

Racing record[link]

Complete BTCC results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position - 1 point awarded in first race) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap - 1 point awarded all races) (* signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap - 1 point given all races)

Complete DTM results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete GT1 World Championship results[link]

24 Hours of Le Mans results[link]

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2003	GTS	80	M	Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello Ferrari F131 5.9L V12	Veloqx Prodrive Racing	Anthony Davidson Kelvin Burt	176	DNF	DNF
2004	GTS	65	M	Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello Ferrari F133 5.9L V12	Prodrive Racing	Colin McRae Rickard Rydell	329	9th	3rd
2005	GT1	59	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	David Brabham Stéphane Sarrazin	333	9th	3rd
2006	GT1	007	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	Tomáš Enge Andrea Piccini	350	6th	2nd
2007	GT1	009	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	David Brabham Rickard Rydell	343	5th	1st
2008	GT1	009	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	David Brabham Antonio García	344	13th	1st
2009	LMP1	008	M	Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	Anthony Davidson Jos Verstappen	342	13th	11th
2010	LMP1	009	M	Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	Juan Barazi Sam Hancock	368	DNF	DNF
2011	LMP1	007	M	Aston Martin AMR-One Aston Martin 2.0L Turbo I6	Aston Martin Racing	Stefan Mücke Christian Klien	4	DNF	DNF

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Darren Turner

• Darren Turner official website
• Profile at BTCCPages.com