McNish flying at Le Mans

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Jun 15, 2008 | by DERICK ALLSOP

ALLAN McNISH grabbed a surprise lead in his diesel-powered Audi in the Le Mans 24-hour race and warned the fancied Peugeot teams: "We can win this."

The 38-year-old Scot couldn't match the sheer pace of the three French cars, but as they ran into problems he took the lead.

McNish was always confident that reliability and slick pit-stops could tilt the balance of power in his favour, and a succession of dramas saw him lead, just over three hours into the sports car classic.

McNish, seeking his second victory here, 10 years after his first, said: "It was a bit of a battle at the start, but after that I settled into a rhythm taking no unnecessary risks.

"Our pit work was excellent, as I knew it would be. We know how to win this race. Peugeot have to show they can."

McNish took the fight to Peugeot from the grid and briefly snatched third place, only to lose it again on the Mulsanne Straight.

He was fastest of the Audi drivers yet still dropped three seconds a lap to the leading Peugeot but stuck to his game plan.

Then it all went wrong for Peugeot. One of their cars had a gearbox glitch, another was penalised for a faulty light.

McNish capitalised in a faultless two-and-three-quarter hour stint. Audi's other two cars moved up to third and fifth.