Audi's McNish collects prestigious motorsport awards in honour of Le Mans victory

Dumfries-born McNish, 39 later this month (29 Dec), has won the Autosport "British Competition Driver of the Year" Award and the British Racing Drivers' Club ACO Plate. McNish picked up both awards from record Le Mans 24 Hour race winner and Audi Sport co-driver Tom Kristensen in London.

The BRDC ACO Plate is presented annually to the highest-placed British driver in the French twice-around-the-clock sportscar endurance race. McNish and "Great Dane" Kristensen (41), who has won Le Mans eight times, plus Italian Dindo Capello (44), scored Audi's third consecutive Le Mans victory with its diesel-engined sportscar this year (14-15 Jun). Audi has now won the Le Mans race eight times since making its debut in 1999.

McNish, President of the Scottish Motor Racing Club, also picked up the BRDC's Silverstone - Le Mans Challenge Award - awarded to the driver(s) who achieved the highest combined finishing record in the combined results of the Silverstone Le Mans Series race and the Le Mans 24 hour race, at the Cafe Royal today, which was attended by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (Mon 8 Dec). McNish and Capello had also steered their Audi R10 TDI to victory in the Autosport 1,000km of Silverstone (14 Sep).

"I'm extremely proud to have claimed these awards, especially after this year's Le Mans which was one of the best races in recent history and definitely the hardest fought for a decade, while winning at Silverstone was very satisfying," said McNish.

"But these Awards are as much for our guys at Audi Sport and Joest Racing as it is for me. Dindo, Tom and I were only one part of a great team."

The previous evening (Sun 7 Dec) Allan was voted "British Competition Driver of the Year" by readers of Autosport, an award presented annually to "an outstanding British driver in any class at International level". Previous winners have included John Watson, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill. McNish, who was also nominated for the "International Racing Driver of the Year" Award last night, was a former winner of the British motorsport magazine's "British Club Driver of the Year" Award while the Audi R10 TDI - the first and still the only - diesel-engined car to win the Le Mans 24 Hours won the Autosport "Pioneering and Innovation" Award two years ago. The R10 TDI was nominated for the Autosport "Racing Car of the Year" Award this year.

Two-time Le Mans winner McNish was appointed as an Ambassador for the Motor Sports Association's Go Motorsport campaign earlier this year and was recently voted the "Driver of the Decade" in the American Le Mans Series and Audi Driver magazine's "Audi Personality of the Year" for a third consecutive year.

[IMG]http://www.oneshift.com/showroom/uploadimages/resized-20081209193956188.jpg[/IMG]
[I]Allan McNish (far right) with Audi Sport co-driver Tom Kristensen plus Audi UK's Product & Technology PR, David Ingram, at the BRDC Awards in London[/I]

Credits: JRC