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American LeMans
ALMS: In-Car Theater, Petit Le Mans, Audi McNish, Day & Night
Petit Le Mans is behind us, but before we let it go, watch the amazing in-car footage as Allan McNish drives into the history books.
Marshall Pruett  |  Posted October 13, 2008   Oakland, CA
Allan McNish passes more cars at Petit Le Mans than most drivers do in a full season. Watch his incredible 'come from behind' drive of a lifetime.


The thought of watching ten hours of in-car footage from a single vehicle might sound like a hellish task, but when the video is from inside the #1 Audi R10 TDI of Allan McNish, Dindo Capello, and Emanuele Pirro from Petit Le Mans, the opportunity to watch history being made was worth the half-day of concentrated viewing.

As much as I'd have loved to run all ten hours of footage, I had to pare down the best of the daytime running to the best 19 minutes, and the evening stint into the most gripping 15 minutes. Run back to back, it provides a great window into the genius that is Allan McNish, the star in this installment of 'In-Car Theater.'

Enjoy the viewing guides below for both features.

Day

Click Here to Watch ALMS: In-Car Theater, Petit Le Mans, Audi McNish, Day

(00:18) Time to start the party. Car takes to the track under its own power…let the passing begin.
(00:44) Today’s magic word, kids, will be ‘Traffic.’ Memorize that one immediately.
(2:29) For someone that’s had a lap and a half in a newly repaired car, McNish sure isn’t taking it easy…
(3:14-3:44) Passing two LMP1 Creations in thirty seconds…nice.
(4:00-4:10) Three cars in ten seconds. Is there an award for most cars passed in and event?...and we’ve only just gotten started…
(4:17-4:26)This straight between turn five and turn six simply belongs to Allan. Watch as he makes his most daring and decisive passes here throughout the race.
(4:54-5:03) …
(6:44) Fine manners from Mr. McNish. A polite wave of the hand to Corsa’s Johnny Mowlem for moving aside.
(7:00-7:41) Time from a drink for Allan, fresh tires and some diesel fuel for the V12 to sip on.
(7:58-8:08) A bit of caution on cold tires at the site of his crash.
(8:40-8:45) With a clear track, McNish makes a smart move to weave and build heat into his tires faster than they’d normally increase.
(8:47-10:20) It’s fascinating to watch Allan work through a progression of speed on his first few laps out of the pits. On his second flying lap, he’s pushing as hard as the R10 will take.
(10:45-11:30) Restarts are fun! The pass-o-meter is pegged.
(11:31-11:39) Turn five to turn six again…
(12:43-12:54) …
(13:11) Courtesy wave!
(13:56) The LNT Zytek driver did a crafty thing here – with Allan looming in his mirrors, he got to the apex of the corner, stabbed the brakes – essentially parking his car, caused McNish to brake, and then the Zytek rocketed off into the distance, preventing the Audi from overtaking him.
(14:26) But it was just a temporary solution…
(15:06) Now he has his sister car in his sights.
(15:15) That was CLOSE! Audi fratricide is frowned upon, I believe…
(15:46-15:54) Turn five…
(16:57-17:07) …
(17:15-17:24) … (wow, that was close…threading the needle…)
(17:44) Corner entry oversteer in turn one…amazing. He almost caught it before happened.
(18:05-18:12) Turn five…
(18:54) We’ll finish our daylight video right where we started by passing the first car he came across at the beginning of the video…

Night

Click Here to Watch ALMS: In-Car Theater, Petit Le Mans, Audi McNish, Night

McNish, at night, is a mesmerizing thing to behold. The Peugeot of Christian Klein never had a chance, did he?...


(00:14-00:29) Time for a restart. Like the ‘subtle’ message Allan’s sending the Penske Porsche?...get ready…I’m coming through…
(00:48) A perfect setup. He gets balked, moves the left, downshift, and gets a run on the RS Spyder. Classic move.
(1:00) Is it just me, or is it really hard to see the road ahead?
(1:45) Uh…hey, Allan…that’s not a part of the paved racing surface…
(2:04-3:13) You’re in store for a mighty lap on tires that are warm, at best. Turn one is mega, as is turn five. He’s leaving no margin whatsoever in his pursuit of the Peugeot.
(3:28) Allan smells blood.
(3:41) Flashing his lights at the Peugeot. Brilliant and ballsy.
(4:09-4:28) It’s clear McNish won’t be denied. More flashing, and now, weaving on the front straight to catch Klein’s attention. It’s a bit inevitable at this point, no?
(5:08-5:13) Time to deal with a pesky Audi on his pursuit of the Peugeot. Made short work of that one. I couldn’t see it, but we’ll assume there was a courtesy wave. Allan McNish, the most polite passer in sportscar racing. His mother would be proud.
(5:27) Not obstacles or lapped traffic to worry about for the moment – it’s a balls out sprint between the world’s fastest sportscar and the world’s fastest sportscar driver. Listen to his front tires slide and quietly howl as he hurls the car into turn one. Amazing.
(5:58-6:07) And after a full day of foreshadowing, it’s no surprise where Allan pounces on ‘The Lion’ for the overall lead. Game, set, match.
(6:50-7:58) McNish isn’t ready to relax – he takes turn one at speeds that are scary fast to gap the 908 Watching Allan continue to push is just electric.
(8:0810:46) Final restart. More tire howl as they protest, but they never fail to deliver the grip he seeks. This is a might lap that further cements that Peugeot has no answer for the Scot.
(10:55-11:40) Final lap. With five seconds in hand, McNish keeps up the pace, but without taking any risks.
(11:45) With his final car passed, Allan pumps his fist – he knows victory belongs to Audi.
(12:06-14:05) Arms raised in celebration, McNish can’t hide his emotions. He’ll continue to celebrate for the rest of the lap!
(14:27-End) McNish leaps from the car as flashes go off and fireworks burst in the distance. What an amazing day for Allan and the #1 Audi R10 TDI team.
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