Audi and Toyota will meet on the race track for the first time on the 16th and 17th June, in the prestigious 80th Le Mans 24 Hours. These two manufacturers will both race hybrid prototypes, but have something else in common... Allan McNish.

The Scot joined Toyota in 1999 for 24 hours, in the wake of his victory at Le Mans in the Porsche 911 GT1 the previous year. The GT-One he shared with Ralf Kelleners and Thierry Boutsen started from the front row, but his race ended with an accident. This was the last appearance (to date) of Toyota at Le Mans. For two years, in 2000 and 2001, Allan McNish accompanied the preparation for the arrival of the Japanese manufacturer in Formula 1 in 2002 and raced the entire first season of Toyota F1 along with the Finn Mika Salo, before returning full time to endurance racing in 2003.

During this period, the talents of Allan McNish did not go un-noticed by Audi. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2000, he maintained an average speed of 226 km/h to take his first pole position in La Sarthe for Audi, and finished third in the race. That same year, in the Audi R8 he scored the first of his four wins at Petit Le Mans. It was after leaving both Toyota and Formula 1 that his career really took off in endurance racing: a second victory at Le Mans (2008), and four victories at the Sebring 12 hours (2004-2006-2009-2012) have made him a highly respected driver. In 2012 he is a favourite of the FIA World Endurance Championship, at the wheel of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, in a bid to be the first hybrid prototype to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Toyota's TS030 hybrid as the main opponent.

Jean-Philippe Doret.

Photo: SEBRING (FLORIDA, USA), SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, 12 HOURS OF SEBRING, PODIUM, March 17, 2012. Allan McNish (right) celebrates his fourth win at Sebring with his team-mates Tom Kristensen (left) and Dindo Capello (centre).