On Tuesday 15 April 2014 the Royal Automobile Club awarded the historic Segrave Trophy to racing driver Allan McNish. Acknowledging the Scotsman’s success with the “factory” Audi works sportscar team, the citation read; ‘First Briton to win the Tourist Trophy, the Le Mans 24 Hours and the FIA World Endurance Championship in the same season’.
Speaking at the awards Tom Purves, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club, said: ‘Two of the qualities we award the Segrave trophy for are outstanding skill and courage. Allan certainly showed his skill and natural talent from his earliest days in a racing car. He has also proved himself in one of the toughest areas of motorsport; 24-hour endurance racing. In awarding him this trophy, the Club is acknowledging those essential qualities as much as the considerable achievement of winning the Tourist Trophy, Le Mans and the Championship in the same season. As he retires we honour one of this country’s great racing drivers.’
Upon receiving the trophy, Allan said “I am extremely honoured to receive this prestigious trophy. I have tried to tick all the boxes in my racing career, and excel in every kind of racing I have taken part in. I’d also like to accept it on behalf of all those who have helped me achieve success in my career, both those in the teams I have raced with, and my family.’
About the Segrave Trophy
The Segrave trophy is named after British pilot and pre-war racing driver Sir Henry Segrave; a man who pushed himself and his machines to the very limit in the pursuit of ultimate speed. He was the first man to hold both land and water speed records, though the latter would cost him his life in 1930. With such drive and determination in mind, the trophy is awarded for ‘outstanding skill, courage and initiative on land, water and in air – the Spirit of Adventure’.
Previous holders of the trophy have included Amy Johnson (1932), Donald Campbell (1958), Sir Jackie Stewart (1973) and Carl Fogarty (1994).
Background on Allan’s Career History:
Allan McNish, 44, began karting in Scotland at the age of 11 and between 1981 and 1986 won no less than three British and six Scottish championships. By 1987 he had moved up to open-wheel racing cars and between then and 1995 he would compete in the Vauxhall Lotus Championship (winner in 1988) as well as Formula 3000 and Formula 3 where he was the runner-up in 1989. With an eye on a F1 team seat, he was also a test driver for McLaren and Benetton during this time.
With progress in single-seaters proving frustrating, McNish turned to sports cars in 1997. By 1998 he was driving for the Porsche factory team and won the Le Mans 24-hour in a 911 GT1 alongside co-drivers Laurent Aiello and Stephane Ortelli. He also drove for Toyota during the Nineties.
The Toyota link brought him back to Formula One in 2001 in its newly-formed F1 team, both as a development driver and as a team driver in their first season. But race success was elusive, and after a period as a test and reserve driver for Renault F1 (2003), he again turned to sports cars.
In 2000, McNish began what would develop into a brilliantly successful relationship with Audi. Driving for them in the American Le Mans Series (alongside Dindo Capello), he would win the title in 2000, 2006 and 2007. Among many endurance racing podiums, he took the chequered flag at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2012. In 2008 he scored his second Le Mans triumph in a diesel-engined Audi R10 TDI, with Capello and Tom Kristensen. He would win Le Mans for a third time in 2013 at the wheel of a hybrid-diesel Audi R18 e-tron quattro with Kristensen and Loïc Duval.
Indeed, 2013 proved a significant year for the Scotsman. He also went on to win the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship with Kristensen and Duval and, at the end of the year, announced his retirement from Audi Sport’s sportscar racing programme.
At the end of his career, his tally as a sports car driver placed him at the head of the pack. Out of 89 races during his 13 years with Audi, he took 66 podiums and 29 outright wins.
