Allan McNish is calling it a career, 17 years after he began his tenure to become one of sportscars most successful drivers. Starting with the Porsche GT1 program in 1996, he went on to capture Le Mans in 1998, as well as two titles in 2008 and 2013, driving the Audi R10 TDI and the most recent Audi R18 e-tron quattro.
The Scottish driver began his karting career 32 years ago and was touted as a strong Formula One candidate, testing with McLaren and Benetton during his F3000 tenure before returning to the junior open wheel ranks full time.
His foray into sportscars kicked off when he joined the Porsche 911 GT1 program in 1996, piloting one of the fastest and most revolutionary cars on the grid. Although his first race at the 1997 running of Le Mans was a disappointment, suffering a failure on just lap eight, he returned in 1998 leading a one-two victory for the team alongside co-drivers Laurent Aiello and Stephane Ortelli.
In 1999, as part of a Toyota deal that included a short stint in Formula One from 2001 to 2002 (and 2003 as a Renault test driver), McNish piloted the Toyota GT-One to 173 laps before an accident led to another retirement.
But it was 2000 that his sportscar career took a turn towards consistent success. He joined Audi Sport Team Joest in the R8, finishing second at Le Mans and first in the American Le Mans Series in the same car. Taking his hiatus from 2001 to 2003 to test and drive in F1, he returned to Audi in 2004 and hadn't missed a step. He finished fifth at Le Mans and followed that with two podium finishes in 2005 and 2006. In 2008 he reclaimed the overall victory in the R10 TDI, before adding two more third-place finishes, a second-place, then his final championship and World Endurance Championship this year.
He retires as the only driver to race all of Audi's Ingolstadt-made sportscars, beginning with the R8R, then moving to the R8, R10 TDI, R15 TDI, R18 TDI, R18 Ultra and R18 e-tron quattro. In his sportscar career, he retires with 23 overall race wins and four championships between the ALMS and WEC, on top of his three victories at Le Mans.
Speaking on the end of his career, McNish said, “I found the ideal moment for myself to bring an end to my LMP sports-prototype racing with Audi. Together with my team-mates Tom Kristensen and Loïc Duval I finished my most successful season in the sports car. Having also won the Le Mans 24 Hours, I can’t wish for more than what we’ve achieved this year. I can look back on a fantastic career that has left no aims unfinished and I’m looking forward to new challenges the future holds for me. Now I’ll have a lot more time for my family. But I’m going to continue to be part of motorsport in various roles, albeit no longer as an Audi race driver.”
Earlier this year, Ignition had the pleasure of speaking with McNish on his foray into sportscar racing, specifically the Porsche 911 GT1. You can find that interview here.
