McNish teams up with Kristensen posted in LMANS25 | 08 | 2010
SCOTS DOUBLE Le Mans 24-Hours winner Allan McNish will partner Dane Tom Kristensen in the No7 Audi R15 TDI for the full inaugural Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season which gets underway with the 1000km race at Silverstone in September.
The 40-year-old from Dumfries has previously always teamed up with Italian Dindo Capello when they have shared a car in Audi championship campaigns, with Kristensen joining them for the major endurance events. In the ILMC, it's Capello who will join the McNish/Kristensen duo at Road Atlanta. The new three-race series also includes Petit Le Mans and a new six-hour race at Zhuhai in China. It's expected the ILMC will evolve into a full championship in 2011.
Capello though will join Timo Bernhard in the No8 Audi at Silverstone and Romain Dumas at Zhuhai, while Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer will come in to drive the No9 Audi for Petit Le Mans.
"It's going to be great to be back in the car and racing," McNish, who hasn't raced since this year's Le Mans 24-Hours in June, admitted. "Driving with Tom is always great fun and we'll be doing everything we can to win the first ILMC for Audi."
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, the Audi motorsport boss, confirmed the decision to rotate the driver pairings were part of the team's build-up to 2011 when it intends to field an unchanged line-up in the R18 it is developing for the new Le Mans rules.
"Because there's only a make and team but no driver classification we're using the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup as an opportunity to integrate the drivers who haven't competed for us very often, even better with our team," Ullrich explained. "Our aim is to compete at Le Mans in 2011 with the same drivers as this year.
"Audi has been involved in sports prototype racing since 1999 and has had the vision of a worldwide racing series for these types of vehicles ever since. We're delighted the ACO is now translating this vision into reality. The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup gives us the opportunity to compete with our sports prototypes in very important markets."
Jim McGill