McNish leads into Le Mans darkposted in LMANS22 | 06 | 2013
SCOT ALLAN McNISH'S bid to win his third Le Mans 24-Hours was overshadowed by the death of Aston Martin driver Allan Simonsen.
The 34-year-old Dane, one of the elite of the world's GT drivers, crashed his GTE Pro car heavily into the armco at the Tertre Rouge corner just 10 minutes into the 90th anniversary running of the famous French endurance race.
Such was the impact that it took more than an hour for repairs to be made to the armrco, and during that time the 55 remaining cars circulated behind the safety car.
Edinburgh's John Gaw, Aston Martin Racing's managing director, explained that Simonsen's family had specifically requested the team continue to race to honour the memory of the driver who had contested seven Le Mans.
"On behalf of all of us at Aston Martin Racing," 42-year-old Gaw said, "I would like to extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the individuals, and families whose friends or loved ones were involved in today's terrible tragedy."
As the race continued, McNish, the 43-year-old from Dumfries, headed into the drizzle of the night with his No 2 hybrid-diesel Audi R18 e-tron quattro (pictured) leading the race by over three minutes.
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The Scot, whose car started from pole position, slipped back to second on the opening lap. But 6hr 40mins into the race, the 'sister' Audi of Benoit Treluyer lost the lead when it hit trouble.
After dropping 30s in a scheduled pitstop, he immediately had to pit again after one lap of the 8.45-mile circuit with a problem in the car's motor generator.
McNish, who started the race from pole position, then watched as his team-mate, Dane Tom Kristensen, eased into the lead and slowly began to build a healthy advantage.
The Aston Martin of Kirkcaldy's Peter Dumbreck, a team-mate of Simonsen's, headed into the night locked in a three-way battle in the GTE Pro class. The Fifer trails his Aston Martin team-mate, former F1 driver and class leader Bruno Senna, by 20secs, and the Porsche of second-placed Richard Lietz by just 8s.
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Bathgate's Marino Franchitti, whose Level 5 Honda struggled with handling problems in the build-up to the race, was 11th in LMP2.
And there was an early scare for Oban's Jamie Campbell-Walter. The Scot ran wide on the exit of a fast left-hander and ran all four wheel on to the grass.
Somehow he managed to gather control of the car, missing the crash barrier by no more than six inches, then had the coolness to steer round the gravel trap and rejoin the circuit.
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Jim McGill