One race to rule them all: Interview with Allan McNish

Not a lot went wrong for Allan McNish in 2006. The 37-year-old was part of the first ever international victory for a diesel prototype car when the Audi R10 made it's debut at Sebring, and later in the year he wrapped up his second American Le Mans Series crown with Dindo Capello.

This weekend McNish and Capello begin the defence of their ALMS title, but it is clear there is something else that is almost pushing a third title to the back of the Scot's mind for 2007 and it's the biggest prize of them all for a sportscar driver, the Le Mans 24 Hour race itself.

"There are two very clear priorities for this year, and one of those is Le Mans," says McNish, who is yet to win the race for Audi. He has tasted success in the race before, but his 1998 victory for Porsche seems a long time ago. "Le Mans is the jewel in the crown, there is no question," he adds. "That's from Audi's perspective but also personally."

Unfortunately for McNish, he still has three months before Le Mans, so in the meantime he is back at Sebring trying to repeat last year's victory with Capello and Tom Kristensen.

While the improved diesel-powered R10 shouldn't come under much pressure at Sebring this year, McNish believes that Audi can expect a tough time at several of the circuits, despite a lack of depth in the LMP1 field.

"It's going to be a very hard year in the ALMS, and I'm looking forward to that," he says. "First of all, the second Audi is doing the full season this year, but the second thing is that the Porsche and Acura challenge is going to be a lot stiffer than people might expect."

In the early part of last year, one of the Penske-run LMP2 Porsche RS Spyders was able to snatch an overall victory from Audi, as McNish and Capello had to race the ageing R8 during the rounds between Sebring and Le Mans. It was a one-off, but McNish can see the LMP2 cars posing a threat to the all-conquering R10 this season.

While the Le Mans governing body the ACO has tweaked the rules in both LMP1 and LMP2 to increase the gap for this season, the smaller prototypes will not have to run with the new restrictions in the ALMS. That has angered Audi's motorsport boss Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, and led him to say that he expects LMP2 cars to be able to win races in America this year.

While McNish won't be drawn on the debate over the regulations, he certainly feels that Audi could be up against it on certain tracks this year.

Bryan Herta in the Andretti-Green Acura LMP2 testing at Sebring © LAT

"The first half of the year is going to be very tight with Porsche and Acura," he says. "Early in the season we have a lot of street tracks, and that is LMP2 territory. They are 175 kilograms lighter than us, and power is not so important on a street track, where we won't be able to take advantage of our aerodynamic efficiency either."

But the rules could provide fans with a much closer battle in the ALMS than there should be, and McNish is not one to back away from a challenge. In some ways it will be similar to the end of 2006, when the Audi cars were heavily restricted in the ALMS, and the German manufacturer often had to scrap for victories with the other LMP1 cars.

"The races last year were very hard, because if you look towards the end of the year we were often on the second row of the grid and we didn't set fastest laps, so to win so many races was very satisfying," says McNish.

"You look forward to every race, but you look back on hard fought races more. Last year, when we weren't the fastest, we didn't make mistakes. We were very clean on the track, we were good in the pits and we played the strategy very well. I think we played it totally perfect on a couple of occasions."

But while the debate over the regulations continues, McNish is looking forward to getting back to racing, and he's happy to leave the arguing to those behind the scenes.

"All I know is that we can only influence our own performance," he says. "We can't make anyone else go faster or slower, as much as we'd like to. We've just got to keep our focus on what we do and make sure that we don't get influenced by any of the other stuff that goes on."

Another factor that may be hard to ignore for McNish is the arrival of another Scottish family into the ALMS - the Franchitti onslaught will see Marino racing full-time for Andretti Green Racing and Dario joining the squad for the longer races.

"This year will be the first time I've raced against Dario and Marino, and it's going to be odd, because I've known them like brothers in a way," says McNish. "I've known them since the first day they started karting and suddenly I'm having to compete against them.

"I've been in the same field as Dario once in the Daytona 24 hours, but this is going to be a full attack. I think they have a very good package. Dario will fit well into a sportscar programme, and Marino has a lot of experience now."

At least when McNish heads to France in June he won't have to worry about rule changes or his fellow countryman - but he expects this year's 24-hour race to be the first of a golden era for the event as Peugeot arrives to take on the might of Audi.

Allan McNish in the Audi R10 TDI at Road America © LAT

While the German manufacturer has a one-year head-start in terms of development, McNish isn't buying into the belief that French marque Peugeot are treating 2007 as a learning year.

"I don't think this is as much of a build-up year as they are suggesting," he says. "I didn't expect their car to be so aggressive to the rules aerodynamically. They've gone about it as if they are completely going out to win this year.

"They are not messing around, and we wouldn't expect them to, but I didn't personally expect them to push it right to the limit so early. I expect them to be very fast this year."

It seems odd to expect anyone to challenge Audi on a level playing field, considering the manufacturer's recent record at Le Mans - but McNish believes Peugeot's experience of winning the race in the early 90s and even their recent rally experience will enable them to be a threat this year.

"We've got a year's experience of the diesel and a few more current years of Le Mans experience, but knowing the way Peugeot go about things in motorsport I think they will be a very strong challenger," he says.

"I think that coming back from rallying actually prepares them better than if they had come from Formula One. In rallying it's never say die. The car comes in with the windscreen smashed in and doors hanging off, and in 20 minutes they've got something going back out.

"That's a little bit like Le Mans. Something is going to happen to you during the 24 hours, but you don't know what and you don't know when."

There is one more part of Peugeot's preparation for Le Mans that leaves McNish convinced the French manufacturer is looking for a debut victory in its home race - and that is the men they have convinced to be behind the wheel.

"Their driver line-up also makes me think that they are going all-out to win this year," he says. "They've got a good stock of very experienced and fast sportscar guys, and then to bring in Sebastien Bourdais and Jacques Villeneuve on top of that for Le Mans shows that they are not messing around."

Allan McNish (Toyota) leads Jacques Villeneuve (BAR-Honda) in the 2002 French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours © LAT

McNish is expecting the biggest of Peugeot's big guns to adapt well to sportscar racing this year, and he believes that Villeneuve's arrival at Le Mans will be good for the image of the event as well.

"It is good because he is recognised by name, he will bring more fans in and I think it's good that he is doing it because it will give him a feel for what this side of the fence is all about," he says. "He will be ready by the race, because Peugeot are doing a lot of endurance tests, so he will have had plenty of track time."

McNish has previous experience of racing against Villeneuve thanks to his year in Formula One with Toyota, and he is expecting the Canadian to bring his aggressive driving style to the French classic this summer.

"I remember some fantastic races with Jacques, some really aggressive wheel-to-wheel stuff," he says. "You would look in your mirror and you would always know that he would attack, and that side of things he will do well."

While McNish is quick to admit that sportscar races are becoming long sprints, he does feel that Villeneuve will still have to treat the Peugeot 908 with more care than he would have done during his Formula One career.

"Where he will have to gain experience, and he is very clever so he will know this, is that he might have to gain experience of racing at a pace that doesn't take too much out of the car," says McNish. "The car has to do something like 16 Grand Prix distances back-to-back at Le Mans, but you just need practice to adapt, so that you don't stress the car too much."

Every time McNish talks about Le Mans, there is a change in tone of his voice. It is clear how much the race means to him, and the fact that he has been starved of success while Audi has been dominating the event has only increased his desire to get the job done.

Villeneuve may have had success in Formula One, but if McNish gets a Le Mans victory at the expense of the Canadian, he might just be a little less jealous of Villeneuve's 1997 F1 world title.

Would McNish rather have spent the majority of this decade battling in the middle of the F1 pack, or challenging for wins in spectacular machinery such as the Audi R8 and the ground-breaking R10? Once you've heard him talk about sportscars and Le Mans, it's a question that doesn't even need to be asked.