[WEC] Allan McNish Retires from Racing

[Victor_RO]

Massive news from Audi today:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111886

https://www.dailysportscar.com/?p=19664

https://www.dailysportscar.com/?p=19678

Wow. Certainly not something I would have expected, but it's good to see him bow out on top.

[wewantourdarbyback]

Going to be weird without him, but he steps out at the very top.

Looks like he will take a break and concentrate on his TV role before returning to do one off races.

[Gingers4Justice]

On reflection, I can't believe I didn't see this coming.

What a career he's had. He's probably got the most entries in the top 10 best drives I've seen.

Top driver, top bloke. Really pleased he can retire with a World Championship to his name - boy does he deserve it.

[fieldodreams79]

Just saw a tweet from Audi Sport. Rather sudden news but sure it wasn't sudden for him.

Agreed on calling quits while still at the top of the game - never really liked the "retirement" tours, but yes, not going to be same next June.

Good for him. We'll probably see him at Goodwood.

[rdjones]

Wow I didn't see that one coming, I am start here in shock.

[deggis]

Most shocking part: didn't realize he was already 44.

[LMP1]

Who am I going to support in different race categories next season!?

Paul di Resta punted from F1.
Dario Franchitti forced to retire from Indycars.
Allan choosing to end his WEC career at the very top level.

What a career it was though! Three le Mans wins was a fantastic highlight, I got the impression that being crowned an FIA World Champion meant a lot to him as a driver. And that now he's achieved absolutely everything he can in sportscars, it's time to step aside and let somebody else have their chance.

[Paradise City]

A very accomplished career. It'll look odd seeing him outside a race suit. He's retired on his own terms which is good. He'll be missed.

[Gingers4Justice]

The term "legend" gets brandished about way too easily these days. But I don't think it's outrageous to say he'll be mentioned in the same breath as Ickx, Bell, Pescarolo and the rest (I think it's universally acknowledged that TK is already in this group).

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by deggis

Most shocking part: didn't realize he was already 44.

I'm afraid so. I used to race against him in karts back in the 1980s when he was a kid. He was so small for his age that his dad had to fit pedal extensions... boy could he drive though !

I'm kinda happy he's got out when he has. He has achieved a lot and has far more to loose than to gain at this stage. A great racer and a really nice guy too.

[chunterer]

Yes, used to chat to Allan a bit in the Paddocks when he was in F3 and F3000, always very approachable, friendly and professional. I was convinced he was going to be world champion, so that didn't happen but he most definitely could have and should have had a lengthy F1 career.

Instead he became one of the best sportscar pilots of all time, a great ambassador for the sport, his country and of course the likes of Audi, Porsche and Toyota.

He will be missed as a driver and wonder what he's planning to do next? Team owner maybe? Professional pundit?

[jeast]

I'm really going to miss seeing him race. He was always mine and my girlfriends favorite, She even wants to name our 1st born son after him.

[TheNewBob]

Takes guts to make a decision like that at the height of your game, must have been a difficult choice. Have to congratulate him on a great career, some pretty special comeback drives in there.

News states he's only stepped down from prototypes, and doesn't say he's completely stopped, so it would be great to see him doing a few different things every now and then - Daytona 24h, Bathurst 12h, Spa 24h, Nurburgring 24h, some of the big historic events... must be quite a few things he still fancies having a go at!?

[wdave0]

I was right, there was an earth tremor overnight!
This explains his strange entry in the Daytona 24 - one last chance at the one that got away.

[chernaudi]

Now we know why there were the Muller recruitment rumors--he'd be replacing someone. I'd have thought that it was Tom, because of his age (he's a couple of years older than Allan), and he'll probably soon will be showing signs of the effects of the DTM accident from '07. There were also some rumors of TK heading to Porsche.

Instead, Allan has elected to retire from driving prototypes for Audi, aside from possibly testing. There were rumors of a driver shake up at Audi due to one of their older drivers retiring or scaling back, didn't expect it to be Allan, though. But he has a young family, and he's probably accomplished everything that he ever wanted to achieve in sportscar racing.

LM grid won't be the same without Allan, even if he's in the TV booth--he's got a real talent for that--or if he's there with Audi, but not slated to race.

[Acid09]

Shocking news. He was one of the few Audi drivers I truly liked and admired, his mad first-lap dashes at Le Mans will truly be missed.

[FstrthnU]

I'm kind of sad, but at the same time glad that he's retiring at the height of his career rather than the bottom. Truly an amazing driver.

[JoestForEver]

Oh my god. That's the most shocking news I've heard these days, but why? He is younger than TK so age shouldn't be a problem. What am I going to expect from Audi next year? TK only? :'(

[nobster]

Originally Posted by Acid09

Shocking news. He was one of the few Audi drivers I truly liked and admired, his mad first-lap dashes at Le Mans will truly be missed.

That will be for sure a big miss from now on!

[Brownj]

This took my breath away. I've only ever known sportscars when McNish was a part of it! He will be majorly missed. Good to see him go out as a World Champion, though.

Cheers, and thanks for the memories, Allan!

[chernaudi]

Audi were trying (and possibly have done so) to recruit Nico Muller.

I also though that TK would be the first to retire, considering the DTM neck injury and concussion that bothered him for nearly a year, and the effects of the neck injury might show up soon, and he's a couple of years older than Allan.

But as Allan's press release has said, and as others have said about him, he felt that the time is right and he accomplished everything that he dreamed of in sportscar racing. And this was in the works for a while--there were reports from Audi personnel, speaking under anonymity, that Allan had stated his intention to Audi to scale back his driving duties as early as COTA, if not earlier.

And as Allan's press piece mentioned, sportscar racing is starting to become a young man's game, too.

[Simmi]

Very surprised to see the news earlier. But what a legend, plain and simple.

[pach233]

Bitter sweet reading this news, he was always my favorite driver especially as I was growing up. I remember talking to some Audi folks at Sebring 2001 during Allan's year in F1 and being asked if I was an Audi fan. My response was that I was an Allan McNish fan. He is one of the few drivers I've ever actively rooted for.

He had a few close calls in recent years, LeMans 2011 and Monza '08 come to mind. Glad to see him walk away on top of the sport and healthy. I'll no doubt enjoy his commentary in the future. His enthusiasm for the sport comes across in every interview and from afar he seems like a genuinely good guy. When TK retires then truly an era of sports car racing will have ended (Biela, Pirro, Werner, Capello, McNish and TK.)

[chernaudi]

Small note: Allan McNish is trending on Twitter. He's currently #7 on their top 10 trends.

As pointed out, an era is definitely closing. Tom is the last of the original Audi Sport drivers from the R8 era to be racing for Audi actively on track with the new R18.

[CyberMotor]

Quite a shock! He will be missed. One of my favorite drivers. He is very articulate and I'm sure he will have a very long career as an announcer.