by Russell Atkins

TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW IN FULL: CLICK HERE

Allan McNish says he is keen to get his 2008 season off to the best possible start in this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours – by beating his results from 1998 and 1999, climbing onto the top step of the podium outright and taking home a Rolex watch for his troubles.

The Dumfries-born ace has twice finished second in the prestigious round-the-clock Florida curtain-raiser, and will be making his sixth appearance in the race this year. Having joined SAMAX Motorsport – the team which finished second at Daytona in 2007 and where he will be partnered by fellow Audi 'works' drivers Lucas Luhr and Mike Rockenfeller as well as American Henri Zogaib behind the wheel of a Riley-Pontiac – he is hopeful of storming to glory.

“It's a very different race, a one-off event,” McNish told Crash.net Radio. “The Daytona 24 Hours is a nice easy way to get yourself into the year if you like, but it's also a good race to do from my point-of-view. I like it, and it's got a nice Rolex Daytona watch at the end of it if you're victorious, so we'll start with that one and see how we get on.”

Beyond that, the seasoned sportscar veteran has a busy schedule ahead of him, with a title to defend in the American Le Mans Series, a score to settle in the Le Mans 24 Hours and a potential and no doubt popular return to Britain to compete in the Le Mans Series' Silverstone round in September.

“2008 is a very heavy campaign from Audi's point-of-view,” he confirmed. “They're hopefully defending the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) championship that Dindo Capello and I won for the second year, and also the Le Mans 24 Hours.

“On top of that we've possibly got another campaign which is the Le Mans Series in Europe, which will be head-to-head with Peugeot. There's going to be the new Porsche coming across as well with Oreca, and with Pescarolo in the mix too I can see some really fierce battles ahead in the 1,000km races.

“It's clear that Peugeot are going to be very strong at Le Mans, so if we can have a chance to get a sniff and see how good they are and where their strengths and weaknesses are [first] it will be very helpful. However, saying that, when we're doing it to them they're doing it to us as well, but I think both companies – both teams, if you like – are very concentrated and very focussed and they both want to win.

“That can't be bad for anybody, because it just means we're going to have to step up our game to make sure we beat them, and they're going to have to do the same, and the winner I would say is going to be the fans because they're going to see some excellent racing.

“Unfortunately it's not 100 per cent confirmed yet that the driver line-up is going to be in America or Europe for myself, but I certainly would like to race in Europe there's no question, and if I can come back to Silverstone – having won that particular 1,000km race twice, in 2004 and 2005 – I think it would be very nice to have a hat-trick of wins.”