41 replies to this topic

[pacificquay]

Allan McNish retiring from motorsport.

 

Going out on a high as World Champion.

 

A great career, one of the finest drivers of his generation - and having that rare chance of deciding to stop on his own terms.

 

Thanks for the memories!

[Victor_RO]

Bowing out at the top is always the best way to do it. I may not be an Audi fan, but I have a lot of respect for McNish and what he's done in sportscars over the years, so a huge amount of congratulations are in order for a long and illustrious career.  

[ArnageWRC]

Bit a of a shocker - has there been any inkling that he was thinking of this? Has Dario retiring had any influence?

 

Wish him well in his retirement - and probable future media career.

[DampMongoose]

Don't recall any mention of retirement in this months Motorsport where he was guest editor.  Will have to have another look.

[SonnyViceR]

Don't recall any mention of retirement in this months Motorsport where he was guest editor.  Will have to have another look.

 

Why would he hint to retirement before making official announcement...

 

Apparently he made his decision at Spa 6h this year but I think it came into real fruition after clinching third LM win

[f1fan1998]

I have only met him a couple of times, but a biz partner of mine has known him for many many years and raced against him when they were younger. He went onto have management involvement with Allan too. Not knowing him, but by proxy having an insight into his mindset, I can only imagine, that the deaths of Allan Simonsen and Sean Edwards, not to mention Rik Westbrook's monster shunt and his good pal Dario's career ending injury all in the space of a few months (not forgetting that he had his own 'not quite' career ending shunt at Le Mans a couple of years ago) have had a massive effect. 

 

He's a smart cookie, and he will probably do a lot of good for motorsport from this day forwards; with the FIA and nurturing young drivers, like Harry Tinkenell who he has worked with for a few years now. 

 

Congrats on a fabulous career!

[BRG]

Don't recall any mention of retirement in this months Motorsport where he was guest editor.  Will have to have another look.

He said that he 'wouldn't be racing in five years time', but certainly didn't seem to even hint that he was already done with it,  He said that he had 'still got the pace'.  But maybe he has received an interesting non-driving offer, perhaps from TV, that persuaded him?

[sheepgobba]

Bit of surprise that he is retiring, I seem to remember him talking up about racing Webber at Le Mans next year. But nonetheless a great career! 

[d246]

Feeling old as I have followed his career from when he first entered single seaters. A fast and pragmatic bloke with a terrific career behind him to be proud of.

 

Been a bad year for Scots dropping out of front-line racing this year!

[LB]

Yeah the scots are dropping like flies

[William Hunt]

I have been supporting him since his F3000 days at DAMS, when he was also a McLaren F1 test driver. He's had a fabulous carreer. I didn't expect it yet but probably a wise choice to stop when you are still competitive. This suddenly opens up a top seat at Audi for Le Mans!

[jonpollak]

What was the line JYS used to use when he was a commentator?..'crashed in sympathy'?

Well you get the idea..

 

I say Great Call Allan !!

 

Anyway, here's my McNish story.

 

Back in '99 I brought Lenny Kravitz to the season opening CART race at Homestead.
Knowing as I did, that the Players team was fairly sure to blitz the event, I arranged a party at Lenny's retro-pad in Miami to celebrate Greg's win. I made sure that all Greg's best buds were invited and asked Dario to get him there around 8pm. Upon arrival the guys were impressed with the place and as soon as they got through the entrance Dario said..'I GOTTA ring Allan'. So as Greg received plaudits from the gathered supporters in the living room,  Dario and I snuck off to a corner and he made the call. "Hey Allan, you'll NEVER guess where I am RIGHT NOW" "Lenny Kravitz' house in Miami".  I could hear McNish's reaction even with the brick style phone was pressed tight against Dario's ear. 

"WHAT?..You're WHERE?.... The Hell you are" ..and with that statement Dario passed the phone to me. I introduced myself to him and during our conversation discovered he is a huge Kravitz fan. I then offered passes to any concert he could attend.

Fast forward to early May when the Lenny tour was in Japan.

I get called into the production office and asked who is the Scottish guy dropping your name at the box office?

D'oh.

Off I ran with Japanese translator in tow only to find him P1 in the Will Call queue with a huge smile on his face asking "Jon Pollak?".

Allan, as it turned out, went to numerous Lenny shows from '99-2002. In 2003 he got me a paddock pass to hang out at Imola when he was a Friday driver for Renault and introduced me to Fernando and Jarno during lunch.
Never met a nicer guy.

Jp

[InSearchOfThe]

Jp, you're such a name dropper.

 

Who else have you rubbed shoulders with? Mick and Keith and Dale Sr.?

 

Good story.

[stewie]

Excellent story!

Good on Allan for retiring on his own terms. He didn't really have much left to prove sportscars wise. I enjoy listening to him on BBC Radio 5 so hopefully there will be more of that in 2014.

[whitewaterMkII]

Jp, you're such a name dropper.
 
Who else have you rubbed shoulders with? Mick and Keith and Dale Sr.?
 
Good story.

I would guess yes on Mick and Keith, but maybe not Dale,sr.

[OSX]

A damn shame. I would have wanted to see him race against the Porsche 919 Hybrids at next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. But happy retiring and thanks for the memories in case you happen to read this, Allan.

[Dolph]

That was sudden, I have to say. Usually retirements are announced before the season is over. Announcing at this stage is very sudden.

[pacificquay]

He made the decision ages ago but clearly chose to wait until the season was complete before going public. Credit to him.

[Risil]

What was the line JYS used to use when he was a commentator?..'crashed in sympathy'?

Well you get the idea..

 

I say Great Call Allan !!

 

Anyway, here's my McNish story.

 

Back in '99 I brought Lenny Kravitz to the season opening CART race at Homestead.
Knowing as I did, that the Players team was fairly sure to blitz the event, I arranged a party at Lenny's retro-pad in Miami to celebrate Greg's win. I made sure that all Greg's best buds were invited and asked Dario to get him there around 8pm. Upon arrival the guys were impressed with the place and as soon as they got through the entrance Dario said..'I GOTTA ring Allan'. So as Greg received plaudits from the gathered supporters in the living room,  Dario and I snuck off to a corner and he made the call. "Hey Allan, you'll NEVER guess where I am RIGHT NOW" "Lenny Kravitz' house in Miami".  I could hear McNish's reaction even with the brick style phone was pressed tight against Dario's ear. 

"WHAT?..You're WHERE?.... The Hell you are" ..and with that statement Dario passed the phone to me. I introduced myself to him and during our conversation discovered he is a huge Kravitz fan. I then offered passes to any concert he could attend.

Fast forward to early May when the Lenny tour was in Japan.

I get called into the production office and asked who is the Scottish guy dropping your name at the box office?

D'oh.

Off I ran with Japanese translator in tow only to find him P1 in the Will Call queue with a huge smile on his face asking "Jon Pollak?".

Allan, as it turned out, went to numerous Lenny shows from '99-2002. In 2003 he got me a paddock pass to hang out at Imola when he was a Friday driver for Renault and introduced me to Fernando and Jarno during lunch.
Never met a nicer guy.

Jp

 

But the real question is ... how did you know Greg Moore was going to blitz the Homestead event?

[Dolph]

But the real question is ... how did you know Greg Moore was going to blitz the Homestead event?

 

That's what I'd like to know as well. Well!?

[DanardiF1]

Bowing out at the top is always the best way to do it. I may not be an Audi fan, but I have a lot of respect for McNish and what he's done in sportscars over the years, so a huge amount of congratulations are in order for a long and illustrious career.  

 

My sentiments exactly... thanks Allan for being a true star of the sport and giving motorsport fans a lot of exciting moments.

[DanardiF1]

I get the feeling that with Dindo and now McNish gone, TK may find himself calling it a day in the next couple of seasons as well... he wants another LM win to dedicate to his father (after he changed his win this year to his departed countryman Allan Simonsen) and get to 10 Le Mans wins...

[SonnyViceR]

He made the decision ages ago but clearly chose to wait until the season was complete before going public.

 

If we are to believe him...

 

For Allan's credit, I think he drove considerably better this year than in the last two previous seasons. I mean really, most of his performances in 2011 ILMC and 2012 WEC were just... horrid. Silly mistakes and crashings into GT cars every other event. Now granted that the visibility out of the R18 coupe isn't the best and Duval replacing Capello this year certainly helped to improve the overall performance of #2 car, but I still think he managed to have a much better year.

 

Btw pity that Allan didn't have a proper farewell (professional) race at WORTHY sportscar event - like PLM - but instead he just retired from Six Hours of Something held at universally hated desert parking lot circuit.

Edited by SonnyViceR, 17 December 2013 - 19:16.

[pacificquay]

If we are to believe him...

 

 

 

And why would we not?

[SonnyViceR]

And why would we not?

 

I think he made his mind after LM or something, but not before it as is said... nevermind the other reasons, quitting just suddenly with no major championship or event wins (except few Sebrings) since 2008 doesn't feel right.

 

Also I too remember reading McNish saying something about racing Webber next year, but whatever.

Edited by SonnyViceR, 17 December 2013 - 19:27.

[JHSingo]

First Dario, now Allan. Suddenly the UK is in short supply of top international racing drivers.

 

Joking aside, wish him the best for the future. Great timing too, going out as a World Champion.

[redreni]

What a shock! Still, he can do what he wants and I‘m not going to second guess his motives. His record speaks for itslf and he can be incredibly proud of everything he has achieved in his long career.

By the by, as a Brit I must say it was unsurprising, but nonetheless disgraceful, that the BBC gave quite a noteable amount of its air time during its annual Sports Personality of the Year Award programme to motorsport, all of it to F1, all of it to Red Bull, yet giving no credit at all to the genius British designer who has designed the F1 world championship winning car for the last four years straight, giving airtime to Mark Webber even though he‘s won naff all this year, and saying Webber had "retired from the sport" as if racing outside F1 didn‘t exist. If you‘re going to cover motorsport, BBC, on an awards show that‘s predominantly about recognising noteable achievements by British sportsmen and sportswomen, then you could do worse than recognise the fact that we have a British World Champion who also won tbis year‘s running of the greatest race on earth. How could they forget the Wee Jock? He works for them, for goodness sake!

[chunder27]

I think that fact people are calling it a shock means that Allan has got it just about right!

 

If Valentino suddenly announced his retirement would we all be shocked?  I don't think so. Would we be shocked if Tom K or Mark Martin did the same? I dont think so either

 

But Allan was at the very top of his game, still one of the fastest if not the fastest in a sports car, certainly at Le Mans, and maybe has had enough of the Audi PR machine using his undoubted talents at speaking and being their front man for years.

 

He has NOTHING to prove to anyone, has been perhaps one of the best ambassadors for sports car racingt there has ever been without being a toff or a bore. And the travelling and testing must be punishing with a family.

 

And even now, he will still give you the time of day no matter who you are.

 

The bloke to me is a true sportsman and professional and I dont even like Sports car racing, and I can proudly say I saw him in Vauxhall Lotus.

 

And who can forget that horrendous incident at Donington Park, to get over that must have been tough in so many ways.

 

As usual All, brilliant timing!

[P123]

Like most I'm surprised at McNish's decision, although he hasn't ruled out the odd appearance in a race car now and then.  Sounds like he's still going to be busy anyway, keeping his ties to Audi and having other media commitments; perhaps the other opportunities that he talks about.

 

I agree redreni that the Beebs' treatment of other forms of motorsport is shocking, but then again most mass media in the UK tends to ignore motorsport except for when it comes to F1 race reports (I've seen them shrunk down to a few columns, consigned to the far reaches of newspaper Sport sections at times). 

[Doughnut King]

It's a surprise, but he's had a respectable and varied career.

[DanardiF1]

I still get the feeling he'll be doing a lot of miles in the R18 in testing and possibly at Le Mans now and then... he's been too integral to the whole Audi project to not keep on for help on developments...

[Dan333SP]

What was the line JYS used to use when he was a commentator?..'crashed in sympathy'?

Well you get the idea..

 

I say Great Call Allan !!

 

Anyway, here's my McNish story.

 

Back in '99 I brought Lenny Kravitz to the season opening CART race at Homestead.
Knowing as I did, that the Players team was fairly sure to blitz the event, I arranged a party at Lenny's retro-pad in Miami to celebrate Greg's win. I made sure that all Greg's best buds were invited and asked Dario to get him there around 8pm. Upon arrival the guys were impressed with the place and as soon as they got through the entrance Dario said..'I GOTTA ring Allan'. So as Greg received plaudits from the gathered supporters in the living room,  Dario and I snuck off to a corner and he made the call. "Hey Allan, you'll NEVER guess where I am RIGHT NOW" "Lenny Kravitz' house in Miami".  I could hear McNish's reaction even with the brick style phone was pressed tight against Dario's ear. 

"WHAT?..You're WHERE?.... The Hell you are" ..and with that statement Dario passed the phone to me. I introduced myself to him and during our conversation discovered he is a huge Kravitz fan. I then offered passes to any concert he could attend.

Fast forward to early May when the Lenny tour was in Japan.

I get called into the production office and asked who is the Scottish guy dropping your name at the box office?

D'oh.

Off I ran with Japanese translator in tow only to find him P1 in the Will Call queue with a huge smile on his face asking "Jon Pollak?".

Allan, as it turned out, went to numerous Lenny shows from '99-2002. In 2003 he got me a paddock pass to hang out at Imola when he was a Friday driver for Renault and introduced me to Fernando and Jarno during lunch.
Never met a nicer guy.

Jp

 

Nice! I grew up in Miami and I was at that CART race as well. One of my best friends in high school lived on the same island as Lenny (Sunset, right?), so she'd see him around. I was only vaguely aware of who he was, but I did run into Allan at the 1998 FIA GT race at Homestead during the rain delay, he took the time to sign my program and have a friendly chat with a very young and excited fan. Great shame to see him retire, but I'd rather hear him making jokes with Hindaugh in the booth than have to worry about his next big shunt.

[Linther]

Devastatingly quick on and opinionated and witty off the track he was the driver to watch - and to listen to - at Le Mans for many years. I have many cherished memories of "the other wee scotsman". Sad to see him go but I would have hated to watch him to become one of the "steady" drivers instead of one of the quickest.

 

Thank you, Mr. McNish, for years of great motorracing.

Edited by Linther, 18 December 2013 - 07:55.

[DampMongoose]

He said that he 'wouldn't be racing in five years time', but certainly didn't seem to even hint that he was already done with it,  He said that he had 'still got the pace'.  But maybe he has received an interesting non-driving offer, perhaps from TV, that persuaded him?

 

He did say that he was very interested in TV in one of the Motorsport articles, but in the editorial he also said he couldn't wait to defend his championship.  But all credit to him for leaving as world champion and he did mention Jackie Stewart being the benchmark for choosing his retirement at the right time when talking about Dario's recent announcement also.

[jonpollak]

Who else have you rubbed shoulders with? Mick and Keith and Dale Sr.?

 

 

 

It's in the book, which I have been struggling with for the past 5 years or so.

But, as wwMkII said... Yes,Yes,No

 

 

But the real question is ... how did you know Greg Moore was going to blitz the Homestead event?

 

Spring Training...as we used to call it.

 

 

Nice! I grew up in Miami and I was at that CART race as well. One of my best friends in high school lived on the same island as Lenny (Sunset, right?),

I can't remember the name of it but I had to show my AllAccessPass to get through security on this gated community.

 

Back to Allan tributes now please.

 

Jp

 

 

[whitewaterMkII]

http://www.formula1b...sh-Movember.jpg


McNish, being McNish...

 

[pingu666]

hmm

joining the dots he may have really decided very recently, or got retired by audi one way or another, perhaps

[Dolph]

Kristensen shocked as well:

 

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/111910

[Victor_RO]

hmm

joining the dots he may have really decided very recently, or got retired by audi one way or another, perhaps

 

If he was considering it starting earlier this year, I'm thinking that his mind was probably made up by Dario's crash and subsequent enforced retirement, he must have thought... better to quit while on top than to be forced to quit after another crash.

[johnmhinds]

Peter Windsor just posted a 40min long interview of McNish that I think was probably done a few weeks ago.

 

 

He talks about his whole racing career in the interview and near end says he isn't ready to retire yet.

 

I wonder what changed his mind.

Edited by johnmhinds, 20 December 2013 - 13:41.

[DampMongoose]

He talks about his whole racing career in the interview and near end says he isn't ready to retire yet.

 

I wonder what changed his mind.

 

A P45?

[Option1]

I wish him the very best in his retirement.  He's been an outstanding driver, and pretty much an exemplary servant for Audi where he truly found his niche.

 

Neil