Allan McNish: World Champposted in LMANS09 | 11 | 2013
SPORTSCAR RACER ALLAN MCNISH has become Scotland's latest world champ after winning the FIA World Endurance Championship in Shanghai.
The 43-year-old from Dumfries — who had claimed three victories, including the Le Mans 24-Hours in June, and three second places in the opening six races — started today's penultimate round in China with a near unsurmountable 40-point lead.
And in a controlled and measured professional performance, the Scot — partnered by co-drivers, Dane Tom Kristensen and Frenchman Loïc Duval — powered his Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid home to third place.
"This is absolutely fantastic," McNish, Scotland's first motorsport world champ since Colin McRae lifted the world rally title in 1995, beamed. "I've got a massive big warm feeling inside.
"I've been waiting to win a world championship since 1985. I’ve had three cracks at a world title: in karting I finished third at Le Mans, behind Michael Schumacher — that hurt because it was very close, but no cigar — but then in Formula One with Toyota, there wasn’t really an opportunity: so it’s third time lucky."
McNish, also a three-times winner at Le Mans, started the Six Hours of Shangai, on the 3.39-mile F1 Chinese Grand Prix circuit, from fourth position on the grid.
Related: Allan McNish ready to be world champ
But the Scot quickly realised he was on the wrong compound of Michelin tyres for the opening 93-minute stint, yet managed to retain his fourth position in the 28-car field.
With his team-mates handling the next two stints, it was left to McNish — with his Hunting MacInnes tartan band round his race helmet — to bring the car home over the final 75-minutes, taking the chequered flag in third to seal the title.
"It's great to finish on the podium and clinch the title," McNish admitted, "and sure it would have been nice to have won the race, but dropping 40secs in the opening stint with the tyre glitch cost us the win.
"But I'm massively proud of what we have accomplished this year. We came out the blocks fighting in the opening race at Silverstone, and went on to also win at Le Mans and in Texas.
"We had a terrific run at the Circuit of the Americas, where we got that last win, and I think that was a big turning point for us this season.
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"It was that important result which allowed us to come here today and drive a conservative race, but I’m out to finish the season off in style in Bahrain at the end of the month.”
In addition to his three Le Mans wins and new world title, McNish, acknowledged as the world's greatest sportscar racer in recent years, also won the North American-based ALMS sportscar endurance title with Audi in 2000, 2006 & 2007.
His first single-seater title was the 1988 Formula Vauxhall Lotus Championship, following multiple Scottish and British kart championship titles.
Yesterday's Shanghai race was won in dramatic style by McNish's Audi team-mate team-mates, Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler.
The Toyota of Nicolas Lapierre and Alex Wurz had looked on-course to win, leading into the 33 minutes of the race.
But former Austrian F1 racer Wurz was forced to complete a short fuel-only pitstop, and though he exited ahead of Treluyer, the Frenchman squeezed past two laps later.
The Audi, on fresher tyres, was then able to gradually pull away and cruised to a comfortable 16secs win.
In the GTE A class, two other Scots finished on the podium. Having finished 20th overall, Oban-born Jamie Campbell-Walter, and Kirkcaldy's Jonny Adam, brought their Aston Martin home third in class, 25 laps behind the LMP1 race-winning Audi.
Roadtest: Audi RS Q3
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Jim McGill