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GRAND-AM
IN THE COCKPIT: Allan McNish, Rolex 24
Going into the race, if you were to say you were going to be on pole, have the fastest lap and lead the most laps but finish second, you'd be disappointed but would take it in reality...
Allan McNish earned another runner-up finish in the Rolex 24, this time coming less than seven seconds from victory. (Photo: John Dagys)
I didn't know what to expect going into the 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona, if I'm honest. With all of the performance balancing, new cars and us not having actually turned a wheel with our new car until race week, I didn't get a clear read of anything, especially at the test. What I did feel, though, was that the Corvettes were going to be the cars to beat. But as it turned out, they had so many problems of their own that it wasn't actually the case.
We had an engine problem and had to change to our race motor before we had even did a roll-out with the car on Thursday. At that point, you were sort of thinking if this was the start of everything going wrong. But with 10 laps of pre-qualifying and Ryan putting it on pole, we knew the speed was there.
I then did my total running of five laps, during the night practice, before the race and I felt good and comfortable and stable with the car if we could fine-tune it on Friday. But as it turned out, it rained on Friday, so there was no running.
At the start of the race, we single stinted and ran everybody through until they got to me and I went in and ended up with nearly three-and-a-half stints, I think it was, on my first run in the car. It was a bit more than expected because I thought I was going for a double, but the way the yellows ran and we were going, it turned out to be a pretty long one.
I then had a triple-stint through the night and had some great races with Justin Wilson and AJ Allmendinger from two to five in the morning. Then I had another cracking race with Ozz Negri at about 9 a.m., and then obviously the one that most remember with AJ towards the end. But it was probably not the one I remember most.
From my point of view, I got to grips with that type of car fairly quickly. For me, the driving style is completely different from the way I drive the Audi, and I had to constantly remind myself of that and what the capabilities and limits of the car were.
My run was clean and tidy and no incidents along the way. From a speed point of view, we got it into the lead every time and had some pretty good, hard dices as well. When I was in the car, I gave it back in first place, so from that point of view, I was quite happy.
Going into the race, if you were to say you were going to be on pole, have the fastest lap and lead the most laps but finish second, you'd be disappointed but would take it in reality. Second was slightly disappointing, there's no doubt about that. We had a very strong car, the team did an absolute brilliant job considering they only got the car a couple of weeks ago and it was the last new Riley to be built up.
To be honest, Starworks isn't the biggest budgeted team either, but everybody pulled together very, very well. The engineers and the mechanics on the pit wall deserve a big mention as well. For them to put a balance on a car and to also build a car that had no technical problems in that race with the type of pace and aggression we were driving it, I think it was a sterling job.
These cars are built to a budget and there were a lot of other teams that had a lot more preparation time and setup time. You just have to look at Ganassi, which had a gearbox problem and ripped a gear lever off. For our guys to have done that in basically a week and create a setup for the race in 30 laps, was a stunning job.
The incredible effort included all the drivers as well, like Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow, who compromised themselves a little bit to ensure we were up there. We just played every card we could to make sure we could do it. So there was an element where second was slightly disappointing, but on the other side of it, I think it was actually a fantastic result.
My congratulations goes out to the entire Starworks team, but also to Shank and their drivers. At least we entertained everybody, and it was certainly some hard-fought stuff.
I also have to thank Audi Sport for the opportunity to again let me drive. Quite a lot of people tell me they’re quite surprised they would let me race. But I have to say that Audi's Head of Motorsport Dr. Ullrich and Audi are always supportive of racing and their drivers racing in sports cars. They were very pleased I was able to get out there and do it.
I did Daytona for a few reasons, one because I enjoy the race. I had done it quite a few times in the past. It's outside of my main schedule and a relaxed race. And with 60-odd cars on the grid, there was a lot of overtaking and hard racing. It was good preparation for the World Championship and a good kick start to the new year.
To some extent, I know there were a few people who were saying, "McNish and incidents" and things that happened last year and pointing fingers without necessarily knowing details. I think it was a good reminder that I'm still not a bad driver!
I was very positively surprised by the crowd that was there to cheer us on as well. They had made a great effort to bring out some of the stars from the past. I had dinner the night before the race and was sitting next to my countryman, Jackie Stewart. There were a lot of old drivers or ex-drivers and ex-winners that had been there. It was quite a special weekend in that respect.
Will I return? Nothing is set in stone, but there’s certainly a possibility that I would like to come back. But now, all of my focus is on chasing the World Endurance Championship, which kicks off next month at Sebring.
~Allan
Allan McNish, a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, is a factory driver for Audi Sport, competing in this year's FIA World Endurance Championship. A three-time ALMS champion, McNish has also racked up multiple wins at Sebring and Petit Le Mans. For more information, visit allanmcnish.com and follow him on Twitter @AllanMcNish.
We had an engine problem and had to change to our race motor before we had even did a roll-out with the car on Thursday. At that point, you were sort of thinking if this was the start of everything going wrong. But with 10 laps of pre-qualifying and Ryan putting it on pole, we knew the speed was there.
I then did my total running of five laps, during the night practice, before the race and I felt good and comfortable and stable with the car if we could fine-tune it on Friday. But as it turned out, it rained on Friday, so there was no running.
At the start of the race, we single stinted and ran everybody through until they got to me and I went in and ended up with nearly three-and-a-half stints, I think it was, on my first run in the car. It was a bit more than expected because I thought I was going for a double, but the way the yellows ran and we were going, it turned out to be a pretty long one.
I then had a triple-stint through the night and had some great races with Justin Wilson and AJ Allmendinger from two to five in the morning. Then I had another cracking race with Ozz Negri at about 9 a.m., and then obviously the one that most remember with AJ towards the end. But it was probably not the one I remember most.
From my point of view, I got to grips with that type of car fairly quickly. For me, the driving style is completely different from the way I drive the Audi, and I had to constantly remind myself of that and what the capabilities and limits of the car were.
My run was clean and tidy and no incidents along the way. From a speed point of view, we got it into the lead every time and had some pretty good, hard dices as well. When I was in the car, I gave it back in first place, so from that point of view, I was quite happy.
Going into the race, if you were to say you were going to be on pole, have the fastest lap and lead the most laps but finish second, you'd be disappointed but would take it in reality. Second was slightly disappointing, there's no doubt about that. We had a very strong car, the team did an absolute brilliant job considering they only got the car a couple of weeks ago and it was the last new Riley to be built up.
To be honest, Starworks isn't the biggest budgeted team either, but everybody pulled together very, very well. The engineers and the mechanics on the pit wall deserve a big mention as well. For them to put a balance on a car and to also build a car that had no technical problems in that race with the type of pace and aggression we were driving it, I think it was a sterling job.
These cars are built to a budget and there were a lot of other teams that had a lot more preparation time and setup time. You just have to look at Ganassi, which had a gearbox problem and ripped a gear lever off. For our guys to have done that in basically a week and create a setup for the race in 30 laps, was a stunning job.
The incredible effort included all the drivers as well, like Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow, who compromised themselves a little bit to ensure we were up there. We just played every card we could to make sure we could do it. So there was an element where second was slightly disappointing, but on the other side of it, I think it was actually a fantastic result.
My congratulations goes out to the entire Starworks team, but also to Shank and their drivers. At least we entertained everybody, and it was certainly some hard-fought stuff.
I also have to thank Audi Sport for the opportunity to again let me drive. Quite a lot of people tell me they’re quite surprised they would let me race. But I have to say that Audi's Head of Motorsport Dr. Ullrich and Audi are always supportive of racing and their drivers racing in sports cars. They were very pleased I was able to get out there and do it.
I did Daytona for a few reasons, one because I enjoy the race. I had done it quite a few times in the past. It's outside of my main schedule and a relaxed race. And with 60-odd cars on the grid, there was a lot of overtaking and hard racing. It was good preparation for the World Championship and a good kick start to the new year.
To some extent, I know there were a few people who were saying, "McNish and incidents" and things that happened last year and pointing fingers without necessarily knowing details. I think it was a good reminder that I'm still not a bad driver!
I was very positively surprised by the crowd that was there to cheer us on as well. They had made a great effort to bring out some of the stars from the past. I had dinner the night before the race and was sitting next to my countryman, Jackie Stewart. There were a lot of old drivers or ex-drivers and ex-winners that had been there. It was quite a special weekend in that respect.
Will I return? Nothing is set in stone, but there’s certainly a possibility that I would like to come back. But now, all of my focus is on chasing the World Endurance Championship, which kicks off next month at Sebring.
~Allan
Allan McNish, a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, is a factory driver for Audi Sport, competing in this year's FIA World Endurance Championship. A three-time ALMS champion, McNish has also racked up multiple wins at Sebring and Petit Le Mans. For more information, visit allanmcnish.com and follow him on Twitter @AllanMcNish.
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