2011 Le Mans, the Alan McNish crash

[davehenrie]

Thanks to YouTube I was rewatching the first few hours of the 2011 Le Mans. I remembered the crash McNish caused by his reckless passing attempt of the the leader(another Audi)
Seeing the replay again, it seems to me that McNish ACCELERATED after passing his team mate. Was there any definitive interview with McNish? Other than stating how strong the Audi/Dallara tub was? I wonder if the Ferrari 458 surprised him and the full throttle was a desperate attempt to squeeze through?

 

[Aysedasi]

At the time, sitting watching from the grandstand it was pretty shocking. It was a rash move from a driver who didn't make a lot of rash moves in his sportscar career. He should have realised that the Ferrari would begin to move right there. I think he just miscalculated and thought he could make it - yes, I think he was hard on the gas. I don't actually recall any interview with him afterwards.

 

[Nectaria Coutayar]

Don't forget that Rockenfeller (or was it Luhr) had the same kind of incident into Indianapolis that night.

 

[Aysedasi]

Yeah, that was pretty scary too. The fact that it was at night and the footage was difficult to see made it seem even worse.

 

[davehenrie]

Yeah, that was pretty scary too. The fact that it was at night and the footage was difficult to see made it seem even worse.

kinda the same issue, both drivers attempted a pass and didn't get clear. Was that the Michael Waltrip car he tagged?

 

[Aysedasi]

Yes it was, driven by Kaufmann.

 

[davehenrie]

Yes it was, driven by Kaufmann.

I remember there was a lot of criticism about that team. I'm watching that year's race on you tube, in tiny bites, maybe that will refresh things more.