ALLAN McNish has been voted Driver of the Decade in the American Le Mans Series.
The Audi driver, who won the 2000, 2006 and 2007 ALMS championship titles, received the most votes cast by fans of the North American-based endurance sportscar series.
En route to the three championship titles, the 38-year-old Dumfries-born Scot
recorded 26 victories, 12 pole positions and 15 fastest race laps.
"It is an accolade that has come completely out of the blue," said McNish.
"Over 70 drivers, including all of the legendary names from the past ten years of sportscar racing, were eligible and I'm honoured to have been chosen by the fans – especially as I've only completed three full seasons in the ALMS and just two races this year."
McNish added to his legacy with a sterling showing at the Petit Le Mans race (4 October) by making up two laps in the first two hours and 45 minutes after crashing his Audi R10 TDI on the pre-race reconnaissance lap. McNish went on to win the 1,000-mile race with Dindo Capello and Emanuele Pirro by 4.512 seconds.
Meanwhile McNish, president of the Scottish Motor Racing Club, has been awarded Audi Driver magazine's Audi Personality of the Year for a third consecutive year and receives the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) ACO Award in London on 8 December – for the highest-placed British driver in the Le Mans 24 Hours – a race he won for the second time in his career this year.
The full article contains 263 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
