Tuesday 17th December 2013

Allan McNish retires from LMP

44 year-old Scot will 'continue to be associated with Audi Sport and the Audi brand' though

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Allan McNish has today announced that he won't race for Audi's LMP team in 2014. His retirement from endurance racing comes after a hugely successful 12 seasons with Audi (they would rather we gloss over the two terms spent with Toyota's F1 team, understandably) and karting experience that began 32 years ago.

This year's Le Mans win was McNish's third

Since 2000, McNish has won 29 races in the World Endurance Championship (including three Le Mans victories) as well as taking 18 pole positions, 17 fastest laps and four drivers' titles. He has also become the only driver to have raced all of Audi's sports racers, beginning with the R8 in 2000 and including the R10, R15 and R18 diesels, plus the recent R18 hybrids. McNish had a DTM stint with Audi in 2005 also.

However, this doesn't herald McNish's departure from motorsport. He said "I'm going to continue to be part of motorsport in various roles, albeit no longer as an Audi race driver." Of his LMP success, McNish commented: "I can look back at on a fantastic career that has left no aims unfinished ... having also won the Le Mans 24 Hours, I can't wish for more than what we've achieved this year."

Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich added "this is a parting that is particularly difficult for us... we should not forget, though, how valuable he has always been... we are happy that he will continue to be associated with the Audi brand."

And as it's in out Time For Tea? slot catch McNish talk through a lap of Le Mans here.
 

 

 

 

[flingstam]

Steady on, he's not 44 for another 2 weeks!

Also, this re-hashed Audi press release glosses over the fact that he won Le Mans in a Porsche in 1998.

[Bionic Billy Nav]

I would like to say I'm sad to see him retire but I'm not! I met him at Silverstone once and he was extremely arrogant and rude, unike Anthony Davidson who is a really nice fella...

[angry jock]

Bionic Billy Nav said:

I would like to say I'm sad to see him retire but I'm not! I met him at Silverstone once and he was extremely arrogant and rude, unike Anthony Davidson who is a really nice fella...

Maybe you caught him on a bad day.

I have met Allan a few times at Le Mans and found him to be a very nice bloke. To me, a top guy who I have enjoyed watching in endurance cars over the years.

[nsa]

Bionic Billy Nav said:

I would like to say I'm sad to see him retire but I'm not! I met him at Silverstone once and he was extremely arrogant and rude, unike Anthony Davidson who is a really nice fella...

Funny that, because of the handful of LMP drivers I could name, he's the one who spends the most time in front of the camera/microphone explaining racing and entertaining the public. Good luck to him.

[peteA]

Never met him!

Interesting career and obviously a talented guy - bit like webber in F1, there comes a time to call a day and only one person knows when that is?

Good luck to him.

[urquattro]

Well done and a deserved retirement (in part) - a true ambassador for the UK immense race driver talent. I am sure he will find something with wheels to be involved with in the future.
Massive experience and consistency.

[BBS-LM]

It's good to see a driver make a successful career for himself, away from F1. Good for him.

[Justaredbadge]

Only one season with Toyota, 2003 was as a test driver for Renault.



This does make the current issue of Motorsport magazine a bit odd though...

[zebedee]

Him getting in the car has always been worthy of anticipation, whatever you might think of his out of car personality. This isn't the place to debate one person's one-off interpretation from his experience of meeting him though.

Thanks for the memories Allan!

[CocoUK]

Great driver, He added something special to LM.
Glad he has been able to leave at the top, his crash a couple of years back was jaw dropping.


If you enjoyed the video above, stick the kettle on and settle into this 30 minute discussion with Leo Parente on the Drive network. I doubt you have many drivers who can describe the details of racing in a manner that we can all understand, top guy.
Allan McNish Talks Racing Skills - /SHAKEDOWN

Edited by CocoUK on Tuesday 17th December 17:16

[zebedee]

And this sums it up really rather well:
https://www.dailysportscar.com/?p=19688

[graeme4130]

Just so happens that another Scottish racing driver has recently lost his seat in F1
Could we see PDR in a lemans car.......

Edited by graeme4130 on Tuesday 17th December 17:42

[markbigears]

Allan is a real top chap, met him a few times at Porsche events and Le Mans and always had a good laugh with him.

[Rs2oo]

Will be greatly missed at LMS. He was truly a great driver in his time at Audi. If they needed one of their drivers to go out and set fast times, it was always McNish.

[Foggy748]

Great, great driver who I respect hugely. He's always come across as down to earth, no nonsense and always seems to devote a lot of time to the press.

Audi should snap up DiResta while they can!

[chevronb37]

I don't think he has won 29 rounds of the World Endurance Championship. To date there have been, what, 16 in total? 29 races for Audi across LMS, ELMS, ALMS, ILMC and WEC, perhaps...

Anyway, pedantry aside, I think his timing is remarkable - straight off the back of a LM24 and WEC title winning season. Takes big balls to retire at the top. He'll miss it but I wonder whether he'll end up in GT3 R8s, a little like Bernd Schneider does these days for Mercedes.

[williamp]

I do think his drive at Silverstone was one of THE great drives. Amazing. Shame for us, but good for him.

[FourWheelDrift]

Justaredbadge said:

Only one season with Toyota, 2003 was as a test driver for Renault.
..

2002 as racer driver but contracted to Toyota in 2001 as the development driver getting the F1 car ready for the following season. So 2 seasons.

[paul888]

Wonder if he'll end up driving for porsche with webber ?, he was asked this question recently and refused to confirm or deny , although his age is an issue i would have thought.....

[secretagentbloke]

Bionic Billy Nav said:

I would like to say I'm sad to see him retire but I'm not! I met him at Silverstone once and he was extremely arrogant and rude, unike Anthony Davidson who is a really nice fella...

You either rattled his cage or he was having a VERY bad day.

He once wandered into my workplace in 2001, I recognised him and we had a brief chat about the 02 season and how it would go. I asked him to sign a piece of A4 I had handy, which he duly did. Then in the post a couple of days later, without me asking, he sent a personally signed promo card, with a note to say this would be better than a bit of A4! Nice guys can finish first.........