Allan McNish: “Everyone should have a Dindo Capello in their life!” »

Allan McNish celebrates his 55th birthday this Sunday, December 29, 2024. For the occasion, find his interview below carpooling appeared in the n°2471 of AUTOhebdo.

Hello Allan! We found you a last-minute Audi A3 borrowed from someone you know extremely well: Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, who was your boss with the brand with the Rings (see Carpooling AH No. 2377)! Let him be thanked here!

Ah “Doctor Ullrich”, what a great man! All the pilots were motivated by the desire to win, but Dr. Ullrich guided us with an iron fist in a velvet glove. I never argued with him, although I remember very heated conversations. We have strong characters, and we agreed to disagree. (Laughs) His great quality was to banish all secrets between us. When something was wrong, Dr. Ullrich addressed the subject head-on. We didn't talk to the press about it, it was strictly between him and the drivers. Sometimes the debriefings were heated, but 10 minutes later, we gathered for a friendly coffee.

I'll let you navigate the circuit's aisles, as I'm told you know the places like the back of your hand.

My first time at Le Mans was for the Junior Karting World Championships in 1985. It was a 20-hour road trip in a minivan from my home in Scotland! We only had a pair of cassettes, I remember Alison Moyet's music (English pop singer. Ed.); we rewound several times, we knew the words by heart at the end of the journey. (Laughs) But, as the road was tedious, I had a huge desire to come home with a trophy. I didn't want all this effort to be in vain. My