Scottish drivers denied in Daytona

MOTORSPORT: Scots duo Allan McNish and Ryan Dalziel were controversially denied victory in the 50th running of the Daytona 24 Hours by just six seconds. American AJ Allmendinger, partnered by England’s Justin Wilson, pipped the Scots in his Riley-Ford.

Wishaw-born Dalziel, who started from pole position at the 3.56-mile circuit in Florida, led the race through its early stages before his Starworks Motorsport car hit trouble.

Having dominated the opening stages, German driver Lucas Luhr took the car for an offroad excursion during the night. The damage to the rear of the car caused by the incident affected the handling of the Riley-Ford for the remaining seven hours of the race.

Yet, with 2hrs 40mins of the race remaining, McNish, the 42-year-old from Dumfries and a double Le Mans 24-Hours winner, had taken the Starworks car back into the lead. But Allmendinger controversially barged his way to the front, battering McNish out of the way at 180mph as they rejoined the steeply banked circuit after the tricky infield section.