Scottish star Allan McNish overcame all the odds to lead underdog Audi to a magnificent victory in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. Although it was the German manufacturer’s eighth success in the famous endurance race in the past nine years, the result was totally unexpected.
Roared on by a record 258,000 crowd at the Sarthe circuit in France, Peugeot started what developed into one of the greatest sportscar shoot-outs in history as the red-hot favourite. Its three 908 coups dominated qualifying, and then set a blistering pace during the opening hours of the event. But McNish and team-mates Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen never gave up hope.
They kept up the pressure as the Peugeots were slowed by a series of niggling technical issues. Intermittent rain showers during the night and early morning also gave the edge to the more experienced Audi crew.
In the end, the victorious R10 TDI crossed the line four minutes ahead of the top Peugeot – an amazing result that gave Kristensen a record eighth Le Mans win, Capello his third and McNish his second – a decade after triumphing with Porsche. “I’m so happy to have finally won Le Mans for Audi,” said an ecstatic McNish.
“I’ve come very close on numerous occasions in the past, so it’s great to have done it at last. The opposition was fierce from start to finish, and I faced some of the most demanding track conditions I’ve ever raced in.”
There was further success for the 70,000 travelling British fans to celebrate when Aston Martin defeated arch-rival Corvette in the equally competitive GT1 supercar class. David Brabham, Antonio Garcia and BTCC star Darren Turner drove the winning DBR9.