At the 6 Hours of Silverstone, first round of the FIA World Endurance Championship on the 14th of April, Allan McNish added the Tourist Trophy to his already impressive list of success, and now sets sights on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, that he won for the first time just fifteen years ago.

In 1998, with Stéphane Ortelli and Laurent Aiello, the Scot scored what remains to this day the sixteenth  and last victory of Porsche in La Sarthe. Second last year, he remains one of the favourites of the 90th anniversary edition and also the FIA World Endurance Championship, as demonstrated in his Silverstone in his chase to victory ahead of the other Audi R18 e-tron quattro driven by Benoit Treluyer.

After a seven year partnership (and one victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Audi R10 TDI en 2008) with Dindo Capello, Allan McNish welcomed a new team-mate at Silverstone, the young French driver Loïc Duval. The new collaboration started with a victory.

Allan McNish :"Loïc adapted quickly and is very fast. Before Le Mans, our work together will certainly get more detailed. You cannot expect the same understanding in two weeks than after seven years. Nevertheless, the best way to begin a new partnership is with a win."

To his two victories at Le Mans, and four at the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans, Allan McNish just added the Tourist Trophy, one of the oldest motorsport prizes, at Silverstone, a circuit he knows almost by heart.

Allan McNish : "Silverstone was always a successful hunting ground for me, and now I have won my fourth sportscar race there. I know many track marshals since I drove in my first race there in 1987. The RAC Tourist Trophy is one of the most important motorsport trophies in Great Britain. It is more than 100 years old. For example, the first car to win was an Arrol-Johnston in 1905, which was actually built just a few kilometers from my parents’ house."

For Allan McNish like many other competitors, the next appointment is the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps WEC (4th of May) which will be the big rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2012, Allan McNish set the first pole position time for a hybrid prototype at the wheel of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, but victory went to the R18 ultra of Marc Gené, Loïc Duval and Romain Dumas. No doubt he will be at the forefront again this year of the fight to preserve his provisional drivers ranking in World Championship before the big event in La Sarthe, where points count double ...

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO
(Quote from Audi Motorsport press release)

Photo : SILVERSTONE (UK), 6 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE, PODIUM, 14th APRIL 2013. Victorious after catching and passing Benoît Tréluyer in the last half hour of the race, Allan McNish (right) lifts the Tourist Trophy with team-mates Loïc Duval (left) and Tom Kristensen (centre).