Allan McNish - Road Atlanta

Allan McNish claimed a third American Le Mans Series championship career title when the Scotsman steered his diesel-powered Audi to a second consecutive Petit Le Mans victory at Road Atlanta today (SAT).

The 37-year-old Scotsman has now won the North American endurance sportscar series titles in 2000, ‘06 and ’07 – the same years he has triumphed in the prestigious annual 1,000-mile race.

Audi’s eighth consecutive Petit Le Mans race victory also earned the German car manufacturer another clean sweep of wins in the world’s top-three sportscar races – the Le Mans 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours and now Petit Le Mans races which this year lasted 9hrs 18mins and ran at an average speed of over 107mph despite nine separate full course caution periods accounting for 144-minutes.

Allan commented: “I’m very, very proud of this race victory considering the fight we faced and obstacles that were put in front of us – a perfect way to win the Drivers’ title again. Petit Le Mans is a long event not only for a car and its drivers but the entire team and everyone played a major part in this victory.

“I couldn’t avoid hitting a spinning backmarker and then had a deflating rear tyre which necessitated two pit-stops. Dindo and I opened up a one lap lead after seven hours but a full course caution brought the Porsche back into contention but that’s endurance racing. Audi are back on the very top of the rostrum and there is no better way for Dindo and I to have won a second consecutive title – our third ALMS title in total.”

McNish’s Italian co-driver Dindo Capello started the race around the undulating 2.54-mile track located 40-miles north-east of the city of Atlanta in Georgia from the front row on the 30-car grid and after three hours, McNish led by 34secs but could not avoid a spinning backmarker resulting in a pit-stop to change a damaged front nose section. The Scotsman, having slipped to second place, then required another pit-stop just 24mins later to replace a punctured left rear tyre caused by debris, resuming fourth.

The McNish/Capello Audi was back in the lead by 21secs at mid-distance, their Audi extending the advantage to 47secs before the seventh full course caution bunched up the field. McNish led the Timo Bernhard/Romain Dumas/Patrick Long LM P2 class Porsche by one lap after seven hours, Allan switching to Capello moments later. The Italian retained the lead by 21secs after the pit-stop but an eighth full course yellow cruelly allowed the chasing Porsche to pit under pace car conditions without losing much time and to close within five seconds of the leading Audi.

Capello stopped for the final time with 91miles to run for fuel and new left hand tyres only, resuming in second place 29.697secs behind the leading Porsche. But a ninth full course caution brought the Audi to within 3.9secs of the leading Porsche resulting in a final 55-mile “sprint” to the chequered flag.

With 15-laps to run, Capello swept in to the lead and started the final lap three seconds in front, the Audi ultimately taking the chequered flag 0.923secs ahead of the Porsche to record the duo’s eighth LM P1 class win of the season.

The “sister” Audi R10 TDI was driven by Marco Werner (Germany) and Lucas Luhr (Germany). Werner’s regular co-driver Emanuele Pirro (Italy) was withdrawn by Audi on advice from IMSA medical officials on race morning after still suffering from concussion following a high-speed accident on Thursday caused by a left rear puncture.

Werner had set a record pole-position time but due to the unexpected driver change, which occurred after the race warm-up, the Werner/Luhr Audi started from the back of the 30-car grid but dropped out of second place overall following a collision after 2.5hrs resulting in lengthy pit-stops. The #2 Audi ultimately finished fourth in LM P1.

Having clinched an eighth successive ALMS Manufacturers’ title, McNish now bids to sign off in style with victory in the 12th and final round staged at Laguna Seca in California on 20 October.