Even the mosquitoes are a danger at Le Mans! The legendary Allan Mcinish on the tension, spilling and unexpected challenges of the biggest test of Motor Sport endurance

Ask most motorcycle sports fans about Allan Mcinisse and they will probably be enthusiastic about his extraordinary success in endurance cars, ask themselves aloud about his short-lived journey in F1 and his passionate insights as a racing committee greeted.

The Scot is rarely mentioned in the same breath as Jim Clark, Stirling Moss, James Hunt, Colin Mcrae and Sir Jackie Stewart.

With Le Mans, however, it is a different story. Here McNish is praised as a legend by fans of the 24-hour race of the same name.

The 55-year-old is the holder of three Le Mans titles, 14 Starts and place in the Hall of Fame. It’s in his blood. And the blood of the host country.

“It’s not just a motorcycle armor,” says McNish. ‘It is ingrained in French culture.

‘You have the Tour de France. You have the French open Tennis, and then you have Le Mans.

‘The three largest sporting events are within a month in succession and that is where it is. So from that point of view it is a pity that the date clashes with Formula 1. But that is also the reality of 24 races in the modern world. ‘

AH, Formula 1. McNism racete for Toyota in 2002 for one season. Now, 23 years later, it seems to be withdrawing. But more of that later. First let’s talk about Le Mans. And what makes it so challenging. Including, believe it or not, the scourge of mosquitoes who usually make a nuisance of themselves at home in the country of McNism.

“There is actually an important element that is very different here than anywhere else – the evening time,” says McNish whose triumphs arrived in 1998, 2008 and 2013. He also almost intact from a horror 120 MPH Crash in 2011.

‘Think of when you drive at night and think about driving those 40 miles per hour faster. Your eyes process things so much faster in the dark. That is what your body has to train for.

‘The first time I racet here, I think it was 33 degrees outside. A smelly hot race. Inside the car would be another 15 degrees. So it is now 48 degrees in the car. You have a suit, you have a helmet – the heat was an important factor.

‘If you sweat that volume of water, you quickly lose your mental capacity. That is why there are many more mistakes from the driver, fatigue, therefore.

‘There are certainly a few things that stand out for this race. When you tank the sun and it is approximately 9.30 to 10.15, it has fallen slightly to the point where it does not affect you. But in that period there are a few things that happen.

‘One is when you go to the second chicane, there is a house on the right that has a small lake at the front. So with the lake there are millions of mosquitoes.

‘They come out and boom! You get these mosquitoes over your windshield.

‘Then there is the sun, when you come down in Indianapolis, because the trees are still quite low at that time, it is precisely in your eye line. By the time you arrive 5.30 am, the sun comes up. It is damn stunning. If you come from Terre Rouge, it’s dark. Then the sun suddenly starts to come here and it is orange.

‘Three and a half minutes later you pass by, because that is how long it takes to go the lake, and it is a bit more, and more. And it feels like a sunflower that just wakes up. It is absolutely amazing. ‘

One race eventually stands out for McNish; His first victory, in 1998

‘I came home to an answer message from Sir Jackie Stewart, who had been so crucial to push myself ahead in my early career.

“He immediately called me and said:” Bloody Hell, you won Le Mans! “I knew that this victory would be considerable. ‘

McNism is now strongly involved in Audi’s access to F1 next year, after he has seen considerable success at the manufacturer at Le Mans, and has led Audi Group Motor Sport and Formula E Racing Team.

“I have been involved in the F1 project that will be live next year since the start, which is why I will probably go half of the F1 races this year.”

When I meet McNish on the circuit in France, the air is near the news that McLaren will also participate in 2027.

‘It proves the success of Le Mans and what they have done with the regulations here, their vision of the future.

‘Since the late 90s, for a number of manufacturers, this is the best it has ever been. It has real depth and it is exactly what everyone wants. It is a very good balance between traditional sport and entertainment if you want to call it that.

“It’s a festival. And with McLaren who come in, it is just proof of the success of the place. Because, you know, Le Mans McLaren needs? Does it need Ferrari? It doesn’t really need one.

‘You have to remember that driving this race is just something very special.

Nicol Hulkenburg raced here and won. It accelerated his career in F1 and he still wants to do it again. He talks so much about it.

“Jacques Villeneuve was another. David Coulthard did it in the Jag with Tom Kristensen in 1993. “

So what about the current harvest of talented young drivers? Can Mcish see that McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ever participate?

“I think Lando will do it,” says McNish. ‘Oscar Piastri? I think he has a different price at the moment. I probably saw some of the other who may be at a different point in their career. ‘

McNism is in a floating mood and has just met a few legends in Roger Federer and Sir Chris Hoy. He loves his colleague scot because he keeps pushing himself to the limit ‘, even though he suffers from phase 4 cancer.

Hoy participated in the Dark Horse Stars class of the Mustang Challenge and returns to the track for the first time in nine years.

“He came to Le Mans here a few years ago,” says McNish. “That was like a full Mount Everest, and he recorded it. What I really respect is that he has his challenges and that he goes for it, he does not deteriorate. That is not his personality.

‘The other side of his personality is of course that he is a beautiful, enthusiast – but there is a ruthlessness in the person sitting opposite you. He is now clearly in this situation, but as he did with everything else, he just gone up immediately. He will fight all the way. That’s exactly what he knows. It’s all he knows. ‘

It is easy to see why Hoy might feel at home in the fast world of Motorsport. Risk – and the sensation of the chase – are all an important part of the dynamics. Such as the feeling of history.

“It is steeped in history, where you have all these somewhat archaic things that continue,” says McNish. ‘You know, the stands there has been the stands since the 1950s, the parade through the city. The cars, the race, it pushes you to the utmost of everything.

‘If you take Mario Andretti, for example, Mario won the Indy 500, he won the F1 World Championship. He never won here. So I did something that he never did, which is quite cool.

‘There are many people where the sand simply slipped with this, because it is as 17 Grands Prix back-to-back, hence the reason that it has this kind of mythical status about it. There are corners that are still exactly 100 percent the same as many years ago. ‘

The feeling of history continues while Mcin is preparing for a new evening of Le Mans.

“It’s just special,” he laughs. “It’s something you don’t appreciate until you come here.”