Allan McNish on the Le Mans 24 hour race

Audi and two-time Le Mans winner Allan McNish have prepared this excellent short film about the rigours of racing in the world’s most famous 24 hour race.

The promo will premiere on television screens this weekend during the final of the UEFA Champions League at Wembley.

It’s damn good, too, and the team at UK ad agency BBH should be very proud. Watch the clip above and then read more in Audi’s official presser after the break.

Audi racing star Allan McNish gets animated about Le Mans in 3D

• New 2.5-minute 2D and 3D film premiering during Saturday’s Champions League Final brings the experience of endurance racing for Audi vividly to life.

The incredible feats of physical and mechanical endurance behind Audi’s decade-long dominance of the world-famous Le Mans 24-hour race have been brought vividly to life in a spectacular 3D film narrated by British racer Allan McNish.

Part of a new multi-million-pound campaign created for Audi UK by advertising agency BBH, the two and half minute film will be shown in traditional 2D and 3D formats, the latter marking a first for the Audi brand in the UK. It is intriguingly entitled “A Day in the Life of an Audi Driver”, and will premiere on Saturday 28 May immediately before the kick-off of ITV’s live coverage of the Champions League Final between the Audi-sponsored clubs Manchester United and Barcelona at Wembley as well as in 3D on Sky’s live coverage. It will subsequently feature in cinemas nationwide alongside the final “Harry Potter” film. Collective audiences will amount to at least 20 million viewers.

The film also marks the first time that Audi has used a spokesperson in its promotional campaigns. Very appropriately, the presenter is none other than Allan McNish, two-time Le Mans winner and current Audi „factory“ driver. He explains how Audi’s dedication to perfection, encapsulated in the brand’s philosophy of “Vorsprung durch Technik” (advancement through technology), exceptional planning, team work and the driver’s remarkable skill and physical prowess have helped the German manufacturer win the 24 Heures du Mans race nine times in the last 11 years.

“I am very pleased with the way the advert has already been received, by motorsport fans, competitors and general public alike,” confirmed McNish, who will be taking time out from his Le Mans preparations to be the FIA’s steward at this weekend’s Monaco Formula One Grand Prix. “As with most things Audi, it is technically a first being in 3D and when I saw the full advert I was amazed on how it brought everything to life, it is pretty cool.

“When I did the presentation to Audi UK dealers, I never imagined my view on our Le Mans programme would turn into an advertisement, I was just relaying my personal experience of why Audi has been so successful. We all know about Vorsprung durch Technik but often we do not see the passion, effort and dedication that is behind it – enormous reserves of all these are required to design, build and then race a car to victory.”

Stereoscopic 3D technology

In the film, McNish explains how his driving expertise, allied to the trust which the whole racing team has in each other, has helped them to eliminate luck and become leading players in the race. His monologue is brought to life by a striking combination of live action and animation, fusing traditional hand-drawn black-and-white illustrations with cutting-edge ‘stereoscopic’ 3D technology. The film features the striking new Audi R18 TDI sports-prototype. Three, numbered 1, 2 and 3 in recognition of the Audi ‘podium sweep’ at Le Mans in 2010, will start this year’s race on Saturday 11 June.

The film will be shown in 3D cinemas, in traditional 2D cinemas and in high-profile TV slots for the rest of 2011, and will also be available to download from the audi.co.uk website or the Audi channel on YouTube. It will also be augmented with a print campaign, as well as a special supplement in the Sunday Times “24”, which tells 24 stories of Audi’s famous feats of performance and technological innovation at Le Mans. Audi is also producing a special app for iPads, iPhones and other smartphones.

“Le Mans is the biggest endurance race in motorsport and Audi is proud to be a dominant force,“ says Eve Tyers, National Communications Manager for Audi UK. “Our success has showcased Audi’s cutting-edge technology both in terms of performance, technology and reliability, and this film – our first-ever about Le Mans – shows the human side of what it is like to take part in the race and the strength of Audi Sport’s teamwork that has brought such great success over the past decade.“

The film is currently available to view on the Audi Channel on YouTube by visiting www.youtube.com/audichannel