Allan McNish’s Stars of Silverstone
What a great start to Season 8 of the FIA WEC. Hear what Allan McNish had to say about last month’s FIA WEC season-opener at Silverstone.
“There were so many top-notch performances from a variety of drivers that it is actually hard to pick one out in so much close and exciting racing. But, here goes…
“In LMP1 it may sound quite obvious but I thought all three of the No.7 Toyota drivers had really stellar weekends. From Kobayashi’s fastest ever WEC lap at Silverstone on Saturday, through to Conway’s brilliant opening stint and then Lopez’s race defining final hour, they were all on top form.
“I must say that in the LMGTE Pro category there weren’t any real weak links. I thought that Gimmi Bruni’s final efforts in the race were superb. He really hustled the car but was so assertive in that crucial period after the rain cleared. They had to come back from a penalty and he and Richard [Lietz] recovered superbly.
“An unfortunate one was the No.51 Ferrari incident after the Molina and Jarvis coming together. That was a shame because Rigon and Molina I think would have been in contention in the final hour.
“LMP2 was clear for me in that Job van Uitert was the real star. I expected Nico Lapierre to be a star because he usually is, but the standout for me was this young Dutch guy who I thought was phenomenal.
“Considering that he was quicker than anything apart from the Toyotas in the wet weather was astounding and showed a real sure-footedness.
“To come from LMP3 so quickly like that and in only his fourth or fifth race in LMP2 is remarkable and a big thumbs up from me for this guy who is definitely one to watch.
“The LMGTE Am class was actually the most entertaining of the categories because there were so many potential winners.
“We had wheel-to-wheel action and multiple leaders. It was fascinating to see the bronze and silver guys and how they approached the race. There were several great performances but it was nice to see Francois Perrodo back after a few years away as he went LMP2 racing.
“The cherry on the cake was that we had Emmanuel Collard returning too. He’s a real professional and someone I raced against in my younger career too so it is nice to see him still be able to crank out the lap times.
“There was also a nice debut win in WEC for Nicklas Nielsen who obviously knows how to pedal too. So, we have a really exciting one in store in the LMGTE Am class this season for sure.”
