SEBRING, Fl — Allan McNish waited less than one minute to begin the retirement party for the Audi R18 TDI — as he grabbed the lead to the start the second lap of the 60th 12 Hours of Sebring and spent the majority of the next 12 hours playing tag with his Audi mates before taking the checkered flag. The No. 3 Audi was second while the No. 1 Audi lost time to the front runners when it had to put with an issue with shifter electronics. Third place overall went to the Starworks Motorsports HPD (Honda) ARX-03b also the winner of the P2 category.

The victory for McNish, Dindo Capello, and Tom Kristensen washed away two years of frustration in which they have suffered through a series of crashes and car issues that has kept them from the victory circle. McNish cast away these ghosts of past in a thrilling drive at the 24 Hours of Dayton where he and his team finished second four or five seconds from victory. It was two years ago the McNish, nicknamed by fans “Bulldog”, bulled his way to a narrow victory at this same race, beating the at the time arch-rival Peugeot to the checkered flag.

But Peugeot found hard times financially and pulled the plug on its Le Mans team leaving the race at Sebring ostensibly to the Audi team. Audi did not disappoint as it qualified one, two, and three and when the white flag dropped split from the field. The three Audis took turns trading the lead between pit stops and yellow flags until the No. 1 Audi which had turned the best time in qualifying had an extended stay in the pits due to an issue with the electronics that help shift the car. That cost the defending 24 Hours of Le Mans winner 17 minutes, pretty much putting them out of a chance for the win.

However, the No. 3 car with Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, and Loic Duval kept the pressure on the No. 2 car  and it appeared as if the race was setting up for a classic down to the wire finish. But with 23 laps left in the race the No. 3 car tangled with a slower car and in its next pit stop (lap 302) took on fuel, tires, and a new set of tail feathers, which virtually gave the race to the McNish and the No. 2 Audi, who finished with a four lap advantage.