McNISH & AUDI AIM FOR MORE SUCCESS AT PETIT LE MANS ON R18 TDI U.S. DEBUT

Allan McNish is hoping for an upturn in fortune when the Scotsman returns to a previous happy and successful hunting ground in Road Atlanta and the annual Petit Le Mans race which marks the American début of the Audi R18 TDI.The Dumfries-born ace bids for his fifth and Audi’s 10th victory in the annual 1,000-mile race on Saturday (1 Oct) – the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.  McNish has endured a difficult season to date having posted a third (Spa), two fourths (Sebring & Imola) plus a seventh (Silverstone) from the previous five races.The double Le Mans 24 Hour race winner is partnered by Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Dindo Capello (Italy) in what is the third longest race of the ILMC that concludes in China in November.“Some of my most memorable races and wins have been at Petit with Dindo,” reflects McNish. “Like in 2007 when we won by just 0.923 seconds after 1,000-miles of racing!“Then in 2008 we came out on top of a fierce battle with Peugeot to win by less than five seconds.”The Petit Le Mans race staged on the fast and undulating 2.54-mile Road Atlanta circuit located 50-miles northwest of Atlanta marks the fourth and final event this year in which McNish, Kristensen and Capello share the R18 TDI.Allan continued: “It is good the three of us are back as a team. The last time was at Le Mans in June but of course Tom and Dindo unfortunately didn’t get to race after my accident. So in effect Petit is only the second time the three of us have raced the R18 TDI together – the last time being at Spa in May.”Since the last race at Silverstone earlier this month, McNish finished 11th in class in the Trial des Alpes-Maritimes, an 18km “slog” from Sopel over Col de Razet to Menton near Monte Carlo last weekend (18 Sep).Meanwhile Kristensen, who has won once from only four previous Petit starts, spent last weekend (18 Sep) winning the Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration race at the Goodwood Revival meeting.Capello, already a five-time Petit winner, has dovetailed his sports-prototype commitments contesting the Italian GT Championship in which he has scored one win and five runners-up placings in a GT3 class Audi R8 LMS.“I’m looking forward to Petit very much,” continued Allan who arrives in Atlanta today (23 Sep) and begins testing on Sunday. “I was there at the first-ever running in 1998 and have enjoyed all my races there ever since. It has a real carnival atmosphere with around 120,000 fans in attendance while the circuit is beautiful – fast and one that you as a driver can attack.Audi has finished on the Petit Le Mans race winner’s rostrum each year since the German manufacturer’s race début in 2000 – which includes nine outright race victories.Allan concluded: “Having finished third for the past two years I’m hungry to get that fifth win and Audi’s 10th – that you can be assured of.“That said, having seen the level of competitiveness between ourselves [Audi] and our major competition [Peugeot] in the previous five races, everything points towards another ultra-close contest so the fans are in for another cracker.”A second Audi Sport Team Joest R18 TDI is entered for Timo Bernhard (D)/ Marcel Fässler (CH)/Romain Dumas (F). The 14th running of the Petit Le Mans is likely to see a capacity 53-car grid with organisers having received 60 entries.Provisional Timetable:Sunday 25 Sep: 0800-1000 & 1200-1700 Test SessionsMonday 26 Sep: 0800-120 & 1300-1700 Test SessionsWednesday 28 Sep: 1445-1645 Test SessionThursday 29 Sep: 1000-1100, 1455-1555 1900-2100 Practice SessionsFriday 30 Sep: 1015-1115 Practice; 1530-1545 QualifyingSaturday 1 Oct: 0915-0940 Warm-up; 1130 RaceAllan McNish “Petit Le Mans” Formguide (4 wins from 8 starts):1998 (Porsche 911 GT1): Qualified – 1st (AM). Race – Retired1999 (Porsche 911 GT1 EVO): Qualified – 15th. Race – 7th 2000 (Audi R8): Qualified – 1st (AM). Race – 1st + AM fastest lap (1:11.782, 127.386mph)2006 (Audi R10 TDI): Qualified – 2nd (AM). Race – 1st  2007 (Audi R10 TDI): Qualified – 3rd. Race – 1st + AM fastest lap (1:09.195, 132.148mph)2008 (Audi R10 TDI): Qualified – 2nd (AM). Race – 1st2009 (Audi R15 TDI): Qualified – 3rd. Race – 3rd + AM Fastest lap (1:08.063secs, 134.346mph)2010 (Audi R15 TDI): Qualified – 4th. Race – 3rdAudi “Petit Le Mans” Formguide (9 wins from 11 starts):2000 (Audi R8): 1st (Allan McNish/Dindo Capello/Michele Alboreto)2001 (Audi R8): 1st (Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro)2002 (Audi R8): 1st (Dindo Capello/Tom Kristensen)2003 (Audi R8): 1st (Johnny Herbert/JJ Lehto)2004 (Audi R8): 1st (JJ Lehto/Marco Werner)2005 (Audi R8): 1st (Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro)2006 (Audi R10 TDI): 1st (Allan McNish/Dindo Capello)2007 (Audi R10 TDI): 1st (Allan McNish/Dindo Capello)2008 (Audi R10 TDI): 1st (Allan McNish/Dindo Capello/Emanuele Pirro)