Road America

Allan McNish heads for Road America on Saturday (11 Aug) gunning to score Audi’s first American Le Mans Series outright win for four months.

Audi has dominated the LM P1 class with its revolutionary turbo diesel powered Audi R10 TDI winning class honours in each of the seven races run this season.

But regulations force Audi’s double Le Mans 24 Hour race winning sportscar to run with a nine litre (1.98 gallon) smaller fuel tank compared to the 150kg (330lb) lighter LM P2 cars. This means the Audis need to take more diesel at the final pit-stop – thus losing time – or even the need for an extra stop compared to those cars fitted with bigger tanks.

Furthermore the long wheelbase R10 TDI was primarily designed for the long straights and fast, sweeping corners of Le Mans unlike the more nimble LM P2 cars which are ideally suited to the tight and twisting courses that make up the majority of this year’s 12-race ALMS championship.

McNish, 37, however, is absolutely committed to putting Audi back on the very top step of the outright podium and believes the 4.048-mile Road America track in Wisconsin is the venue to end Audi’s barren spell at the very front of the field.

“I’m very keen to make amends for the last few races in which Audi has been missing from the top step of the overall podium,” confirmed McNish who enjoys an 18-point lead in LM P1 after scoring five class from seven races.

“The regulations are what they are and we just have to get on with things. We haven’t been as strong as we’d hoped for in recent races but I’m determined to readdress the balance at Road America on Saturday.

“Road America is an extremely fast and demanding track requiring bravery and one which I thoroughly enjoy. Dindo and I raced the R10 TDI there last year and I started from pole-position after posting a qualifying lap record and our car led 39 of the race’s 76 laps – but unfortunately not the final 10 when it mattered most.”

In last year’s 165-minute race, the “sister” Audi Sport North America R10 TDI of Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela snatched the lead from the McNish/Capello Audi at the re-start of a late full course caution period.

Allan added: “Victory was taken away from us at the last gasp so there is a score to settle. I’m aiming to get back to winning ways – at the very front of the field.”

This year’s race at Road America, located near Milwaukee, will last four hours and is likely to cover a distance of approximately 650-miles. It is scheduled to start at 22.00 (BST) with qualifying the previous day (21.00, BST).