0 MCNISH LOSES WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD WITH THIRD PLACE AT SILVERSTONE

• Scotsman slips to second in Driver’s standings after slow puncture costs him possible fourth Silverstone sportscar race victory
• Le Mans 24 Hour race winning Audi R18 e-tron quattro claims victory on UK competition début to secure WEC Manufacturer’s title

Ertswhile FIA World Endurance Championship leader Allan McNish slipped to second in the standings after the Briton could only manage third place at Silverstone today (Sunday 26 Aug).
Dumfries-born McNish and co-driver Tom Kristensen (Denmark) steered their conventional diesel-engined Audi home 74.427secs behind the diesel-hybrid Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Marcel Fässler (CH)/André Lotterer (D)/ Benoît Tréluyer in the Silverstone Six Hour race.
McNish & Kristensen, who finished 18.752secs adrift of the second-placed Toyota, are now 4.5-points behind “factory” Audi Sport team-mates Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer at the halfway stage in the eight-race championship which resumes in São Paulo, Brazil, on 15 September.
“Tom and I had good speed with our R18 and knew if we could save fuel, it would mean one less scheduled pit-stop,” reflected McNish.
“Unfortunately pitting due to a slow puncture put us out of contention then the Safety Car lost us any lingering chance that we had.
“From then on it was a case of battling to see where we could finish and unfortunately we just missed out on second.
“Congratulations to Marcel, André and Benoît. Tom and I drop to second place in the standings but Tom and I will be doubly determined to bounce back in Brazil.”
Kristensen started the annual race from second position on the 35-car grid – courtesy of McNish in qualifying the previous day, the Scotsman deprived of pole-position by Tréluyer by a mere 0.010secs in the dying moments but dropped to third at the first corner.
Having taken over the third-placed Audi with 1hr42m on the clock, McNish was cruelly forced to pit moments later with a right rear slow puncture caused by debris.
To compound the Scotsman’s misery, he then went a lap down to the leaders after the race’s first full course caution period following an on-track incident with almost two hours gone.
McNish moved to within five seconds of the second-placed Toyota after an energy sapping 160min stint while Kristensen unlapped himself in the closing stages.
The Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer Audi went on to clock up 194 untroubled laps – only a stop-go penalty for contact with a slower car causing any alarm – in the 711.98-mile race staged in dry weather conditions throughout which earned the German manufacturer the WEC Manufacturer’s title.
The McNish/Kristensen R18 ultra is powered by a V6 turbocharged diesel engine delivering around 510hp through the rear wheels while the R18 e-tron quattro, piloted by 2011 & ’12 Le Mans 24 Hour winning trio Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer, benefited from an extra near 200hp transmitted through its front axle above 75mph at four specific “zones” around Silverstone’s 3.67-mile Grand Prix track using power “harvested” under braking.