Sarthe
—  Department  —
Coat of arms
Location of Sarthe in France
Coordinates: 48°17′N 0°13′E / 48.283°N 0.217°E / 48.283; 0.217Coordinates: 48°17′N 0°13′E / 48.283°N 0.217°E / 48.283; 0.217
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Prefecture	Le Mans
Subprefectures	La Flèche Mamers
Government
• President of the General Council	Roland du Luart
Area1
• Total	6,206 km2 (2,396 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	556,946
• Rank	47th
• Density	90/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	72
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	40
Communes	375
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

The Château de Boisclaireau, residence of the Gueroust family, Counts of Boisclaireau, in Sarthe.

Sarthe (French pronunciation: [saʁt]) is a French department, named after the Sarthe River.

History[link]

The department was created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790, pursuant to the law of December 22, 1789, starting from a part of the province of Maine which was divided into two departments, Sarthe to the east and Mayenne to the west.^[1]

In Roman Times, this province contained the city of Mans, and many of its ruins are still left standing. The Thermal Bathhouse attracts many tourists, as does the Theater of Aubigné-Racan, both located on the outskirts of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine.

Marin Mersenne, perhaps the most important scientific figure in the early 1600s, was born in the vicinity of Sarthe.

Geography[link]

The department of Sarthe is at the north end of the administrative region of Pays-de-la-Loire. This places it south of Basse-Normandie and on the south edge of the Armorican Massif. It is bordered by the departments of Orne, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire and Mayenne.

Approximately 300,000 people, comprising more than half of the department's population, live in Le Mans, its conurbation or the essentially urban communes close by. The rest of the department retains its rural character, however, being dominated economically by agriculture.

The economy, especially in the Le Mans area, received a boost with the arrival of the railways in 1854 and of a TGV connection in 1989. In terms of road connections the A11 autoroute, which reached Le Mans from the east in 1978, also highlights Sarthe's strategic position as the gateway to the French west.

See also[link]

• Cantons of the Sarthe department
• Communes of the Sarthe department
• Arrondissements of the Sarthe department
• Circuit de la Sarthe Race circuit for car races
• Circuit de la Sarthe (cycling) Annual road cycling race

References[link]

External links[link]

• (French) Prefecture
• (French) General Council
• (French) Sarthe information
• (French) Sarthe on Wikitravel

Allan McNish

Born	(1969-12-29) 29 December 1969 (age 42)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	2002
Teams	Toyota, Renault (Test Driver)
Races	17 (16 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	2002 Australian Grand Prix
Last race	2002 Japanese Grand Prix

Allan McNish (born 29 December 1969) is a Scottish racing driver. He is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2008, and three-time American Le Mans Series champion.

Early life[link]

McNish who was born in Dumfries, Scotland played football while at school. He was a fan of Nottingham Forest and also supported his local club Queen of the South. It wasn't until McNish began in karting that he found something at which he excelled.^[1]

Early career[link]

McNish began his career in karting like fellow Dumfries and Galloway driver David Coulthard. McNish credited the start given to both of them and Dario Franchitti as being largely down to David Leslie senior and junior.^[2]

McNish and Coulthard both were recognised with a McLaren/Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year award having moved up to car racing. In 1988 he won the Formula Vauxhall Lotus championship and in 1989 finished runner up to David Brabham in a close fought British Formula Three Championship. During the late 1980s McNish shared a house with team mate Mika Häkkinen.^[3]

Tipped as a future F1 driver, he tested with both McLaren and Benetton, whilst also competing in F3000, then the recognised second tier of European motorsport, in 1990-1992. Whilst racing his first season in F3000, McNish suffered a crash at a race in Donington Park where a bystander was fatally injured.^[4] He went on to finish 4th overall in the championship that season. Concentrating on F1 opportunities meant he appeared in F3000 only once during 1994, at Pau.

When an F1 drive failed to materialise, he returned to F3000 in 1995 with Paul Stewart Racing (run by the son of Sir Jackie Stewart who went on to form Stewart Grand Prix). While he was arguably the fastest driver of the year, a series of mishaps saw him well beaten by Super Nova drivers Vincenzo Sospiri and Ricardo Rosset in the title race. McNish's career appeared to stall in early 1996 after a deal to race in Formula Nippon fell through and Mark Blundell was preferred for a drive with the PacWest CART team. He also tested for Benetton during the year.

Sports cars[link]

Having devoted his career to the pursuit of an F1 chance, it is ironic that McNish has become one of the world's most highly rated sportscar drivers. His sportscar career began in 1996 with Porsche, at a time when their 911 GT1 model revolutionized sportscar racing. With the factory team he took this car to victory in the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans, partnered by Laurent Aïello and Stephane Ortelli. He subsequently appeared for Toyota and Audi in the race, and after losing a likely victory in the dying stages of the 2007 event, scored a second triumph in 2008 with Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello driving an Audi R10.^[5] He has also raced with great success for Audi in the American Le Mans Series, winning the title with Dindo Capello in 2006 and 2007, and taking four overall victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring (2004, 2006, 2009 and 2012).

Formula One[link]

McNish's Toyota engine fails at the 2002 French Grand Prix.

McNish finally found an opening into Formula One in 2001, when the newly formed Toyota F1 team required a development driver. Given his link with Toyota through sportscars he was an obvious choice for this role, and after impressing in testing he was hired to race for the season. He did not score any points during the season's 17 races, and he and team-mate Mika Salo were replaced with a new line-up of Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta for 2003. Salo had scored points for the team on their debut in Melbourne and McNish had very nearly done the same in the Malaysian Grand Prix, only for a pit lane mistake by the team to cost him the result. Both drivers were told of their replacement before Da Matta was announced, and ITV's Martin Brundle commented that "replacing Salo and McNish with Panis and A.N. Other" was not, in his view, a step forward^{[citation needed]}.

McNish had a dramatic accident at the 130R corner while practising for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, but escaped serious injury. This led to the corner being reprofiled the following year^{[citation needed]}.

After Formula One[link]

McNish driving an Audi R10 TDI at the 2008 1000km of Silverstone

In 2003 he was a test driver for Renault F1, also doing a little TV work for ITV, but the next year he returned to his successful sports car racing career, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring, combining this in 2005 with a venture into the highly competitive DTM (German Touring Car Championship), where he competed against the likes of former F1 men Mika Häkkinen and Jean Alesi. He also won Sportscar Driver of the Year awards from the Autosport and Le Mans magazines and the (Jackie) Stewart Medal Award for services to Scottish Motor Sport. He was made the President of the Scottish Motor Racing Club at their annual Prize Giving and Dinner in 2007, succeeding Sir Jackie Stewart.

In 2006, he continued racing with the Audi factory team and was part of the driving line up which won the 12 Hours of Sebring in the new Audi R10 TDI diesel, setting pole position and breaking the lap record. In 2008, McNish won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Audi alongside Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello. It was his first win at la Sarthe since 1998.

Since Formula 1 has introduced the Drivers' Representative on the stewards panel at all Grands Prix, McNish has featured as the Drivers' Representative twice in the 2011 season, in Monaco and most recently in Hungary and on both occasions he has penalised the McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton for various trangressions. He has also appeared in a Scania video test driving their new R730 V8.

Other formulae[link]

As well as those above, McNish has also raced in the following racing series:

• Karting
• Formula Ford
• Vauxhall Lotus
• British Formula 3
• North American GT
• FIA GT

Personal life[link]

He lives in Monaco with his wife Kelly and their two children. Prior to his marriage, McNish's stag party in Dumfries was attended by Dario Franchitti and Marino Franchitti and included taking in a Queen of the South football match.^[1]

Racing record[link]

Complete International Formula 3000 results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results[link]

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1997	GT1	32	M	Porsche 911 GT1 Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	Roock Racing	Stéphane Ortelli Karl Wendlinger	8	DNF	DNF
1998	GT1	26	M	Porsche 911 GT1-98 Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	Porsche AG	Laurent Aïello Stéphane Ortelli	351	1st	1st
1999	LMGTP	2	M	Toyota GT-One Toyota R36V 3.6L Turbo V8	Toyota Motorsports Toyota Team Europe	Thierry Boutsen Ralf Kelleners	173	DNF	DNF
2000	LMP900	9	M	Audi R8 Audi 3.6L Turbo V8	Audi Sport Team Joest	Laurent Aïello Stéphane Ortelli	367	2nd	2nd
2004	LMP1	8	M	Audi R8 Audi 3.6L Turbo V8	Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx	Frank Biela Pierre Kaffer	350	5th	5th
2005	LMP1	2	M	Audi R8 Audi 3.6L Turbo V8	ADT Champion Racing	Frank Biela Emanuele Pirro	364	3rd	3rd
2006	LMP1	7	M	Audi R10 TDI Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)	Audi Sport Team Joest	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	367	3rd	3rd
2007	LMP1	2	M	Audi R10 TDI Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)	Audi Sport North America	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	262	DNF	DNF
2008	LMP1	2	M	Audi R10 TDI Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)	Audi Sport North America	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	381	1st	1st
2009	LMP1	1	M	Audi R15 TDI Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V10 (Diesel)	Audi Sport Team Joest	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	376	3rd	3rd
2010	LMP1	7	M	Audi R15 TDI plus Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V10 (Diesel)	Audi Sport Team Joest	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	394	3rd	3rd
2011	LMP1	3	M	Audi R18 TDI Audi TDI 3.7L Turbo V6 (Diesel)	Audi Sport North America	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	14	DNF	DNF

Complete American Le Mans Series results[link]

Complete Formula One results[link]

(key)

Complete DTM results[link]

(key)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Allan McNish

• Allan McNish's official website
• Allan McNish's official blog
• Richard's F1 interview with Allan McNish
• Profile - by FIA GT Championship official website

Jonny Kane

Embassy Racing garage at Le Mans 2008 with Warren Hughes in the car and Jonny Kane looking on.
Nationality	British
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years	2001 - 2002, 2006 -
Teams	MG Sport & Racing Ltd., Spyker Squadron, Embassy Racing, Speedy Racing Team Sebah, Strakka Racing
Best finish	5th (2010)
Class wins	1 (2010)

Kane driving the Lola B08/80 during the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Jonny Kane (born May 14, 1973) is a racing driver who has competed at various levels of motorsport. He currently drives for Strakka Racing in the Le Mans Series.

Kane, who was born in Comber, Northern Ireland, began his career in karting and Formula Ford. In 1994 and 1995 he raced in Formula Vauxhall and Formula Opel where he was the 1994 British winter champion and the 1995 overall British champion. He then spent two years in British Formula Three driving for Paul Stewart Racing where he captured 6 wins and won the 1997 championship. He made four starts in Formula 3000 in 1998 with marginal results, then came to the United States and raced in Indy Lights in 1999 and 2000, winning two races and finishing 4th in series points in 1999 for Team KOOL Green. He was a test driver for the Arrows Formula One team in 2001, then moved to sports cars, driving in the Le Mans Series and American Le Mans Series with among other Aston Martin.^[1] In 2005 he made his FIA GT debut and has driven for TVR and Spyker.^[2]

Since 2006 Kane has competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a best finish of 5th overall at the 2010 event which was also a LMP2 class victory in the HPD ARX-01C for Strakka Racing. Since 2008 Kane has completed in the LMP2 class of Le Mans Series for a number of teams including Embassy Racing and Strakka. At the 2010 1000 km of Hungaroring Kane, made history by winning the race outright in a LMP2 car co-driven by Danny Watts and Nick Leventis. This was the first time that a LMP2 car has taken first, both in qualifying (pole position) and the race.^[3]

24 Hours of Le Mans results[link]

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2001	LMP675	34	M	MG-Lola EX257 MG (AER) XP20 2.0L Turbo I4	MG Sport & Racing Ltd.	Anthony Reid Warren Hughes	30	DNF	DNF
2002	LMP675	26	M	MG-Lola EX257 MG (AER) XP20 2.0L Turbo I4	MG Sport & Racing Ltd.	Anthony Reid Warren Hughes	129	DNF	DNF
2006	GT2	86	M	Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R Audi 3.8L V8	Spyker Squadron b.v.	Jeroen Bleekemolen Mike Hezemans	202	DNF	DNF
2007	GT2	86	M	Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R Audi 3.8L V8	Spyker Squadron b.v.	Jaroslav Janiš Mike Hezemans	70	DNF	DNF
2008	LMP2	45	M	Embassy WF01 Zytek ZG348 3.4L V8	Embassy Racing	Warren Hughes Joey Foster	213	DNF	DNF
2009	LMP2	33	M	Lola B08/80 Judd DB 3.4L V8	Speedy Racing Team Sebah Automotive	Benjamin Leuenberger Xavier Pompidou	343	12th	2nd
2010	LMP2	42	M	HPD ARX-01C HPD AL7R 3.4L V8	Strakka Racing	Nick Leventis Danny Watts	367	5th	1st
2011	LMP2	42	M	HPD ARX-01d HPD HR28TT 2.8L Turbo V6	Strakka Racing	Nick Leventis Danny Watts	144	DNF	DNF

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website (under construction - October 2010)
• FIA GT bio page