Sebring 12 Hour *spoiler*

Allan McNish just killed us. I was quite a bit quicker than the Audi when I was on the track, but as soon as Allan turned the heat up, we couldn't do anything.

It looks like traffic doesn't have any impact on his performance. He seems to be on another planet and there's nothing we can do about it. Franck's [Montagny] been trying like a mad man, but we just didn't have enough."

-Sebastian Bourdais. 2nd at Sebring.

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listened to Radio Le Mans for a bit last night and watched clips as they appeared on Youtube. Seemed like a cracker!

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One of the best ever. And McNish again showed why he is the best sportscar driver in the world.

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He seems to be able to deal with traffic alot better than anyone else at the mo. That or he's just plain lucky how he catches them...

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You can see at the start of this video how he deals with traffic. Most drivers would have been held up there. That was a bad place to catch the traffic, but McNish still got it done.

It isn't just 1 thing with McNish. His speed is incredibly, his consistency is incredible, and he makes far less mistakes than anyone else (how many times were the Peugeots off the track?), and then when he comes to traffic, he makes decisions and deals with them properly, rather than carefully. And it pays off. Someone from Audi said he wishes he had 3 Allans to plug into the car.

Edit for Youtube tags.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2009 08:43PM by DaveEllis.

You heard Seabass, the traffic didn't play much of a part, it was McNish's pace in the mid-part of the race that won them the battle. The fact the R15 is now almost on pace with the 908 in race trim suggests they have an almighty advantage for Le Mans, but you can bet Peugeot will find more pace in that car.

Also, anybody find it weird that Audi pulled out of ALMS and LMS after Acura and Aston Martin respectively announced full season programmes?

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Everyone knows that million-to-one chances happen 9 times out of 10; indeed, it's a common requirement in fairy tales. If the human didn't have to overcome huge odds, what would be the point? Terry Pratchett - The Science Of Discworld

GPGSL S5 Race driver for IED.

Also, anybody find it weird that Audi pulled out of ALMS and LMS after Acura and Aston Martin respectively announced full season programmes?

No. The Aston Martin is just a modified Lola. It won't beat the R15. They will be lucky if they beat the private Kolles R10s, nevermind the possible private 908. Like the Aston, the Acura is a petrol car. It won't beat the R15 either.

Audi said why they pulled out - because VW Group cut the funding. They won Sebring, they won Petit, they won LMS, they won Le Mans. To an executive, what else is there to do? They will run Sebring, Petit, Laguna Seca and Le Mans this year.

The 908 is at the end of its development life. Peugeot already announced the death of the hybrid and the development of a new car for the future. You won't get much more speed out of the 908 at all. The R15 has had a couple of bad test sessions and 1 race. There is a lot of speed left in that car. Remember how slowly the R8 (and the R8R/R8C) and the R10 started, and how good they got. The R15 will be no different.

In terms of raw speed, the 908 will be faster at Le Mans. A closed roof prototype at the end of its development will always be faster in these circumstances. But over a race distance, Audi will apply there usual precision and consistency, and McNish will be McNish and it will be up for grabs.

You heard Seabass, the traffic didn't play much of a part, it was McNish's pace in the mid-part of the race that won them the battle.

No, you read that wrong. The traffic DID play a part. McNish deals with it better than anyone else in the world at the moment. Whilst the Peugeot drivers (and other Audi drivers, really) get slowed by it, McNish cuts through it like butter. Audi were still behind with less than an hour to go, having to make an extra stop. McNish pulled it back in the last stint.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2009 08:55PM by DaveEllis.

Peugoet reckoned that without the slow puncture that Bourdais had that they would have won.

But I'm not convinced.. I think that puncture developed fairly quickly because the pace wasn't too bad before that and they were actually behind the Audi at that point anyway.

Bourdais actually set the fastest lap by some margin as well I think, but it was McNish who put the whole game together as in not making mistakes, being consistently quick and being razor sharp in traffic.

It was a good start for the R15, but it was also a lot down to McNish's magic.

I forgot to mention - Audi specifically entered LMS to take the fight to Peugeot. Of the 3 cars mentioned (Peugeot, Aston and Acura), Peugeot is by far the best. Audi wouldn't run from Aston and Acura after fighting Peugeot.

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