Meet Andy Wallace, Bugatti’s legendary record-breaker

Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in his first participation, the discreet Andy Wallace used to drive at 350 km/h. Now a Bugatti test driver, he holds the world speed record at the wheel of a production car… at nearly 500 km/h! Fasten your seatbelts…

What is your first memory of a car?

From the age of 6, I was crazy about cars. In the street, I could name all the models. My father would have liked to race but couldn’t afford it. When he had free time, he would sometimes take me to the circuits. We went to see club races and then a few Grand Prix.

Sometimes, I would go to Silverstone alone, by bike. 3 hours and 30 minutes of pedaling to see the cars through the gates, from the outside. Later, we went to the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times.

There was a special bus that left from London, for about forty euros today! We slept on the floor. This race fascinated me from a very early age. However, my first goal was to do F1.

What was the first step towards your career as a driver?

When I was 15, my parents offered me a lesson at the Jim Russell driving school in Silverstone. It was basic, but for me it was a real turning point. From then on, I only had one idea in mind: to follow the entire course.

It took me two years and two months to be able to afford the two weeks of lessons! I left school early to join British Gas as a technician. I found a cheap second-hand Formula Ford and made an appointment at the bank to take out a loan.

Even though I explained that I was going to become world champion, they refused me the loan! So I bought a second-hand car on credit that I immediately sold to be able to buy this single-seater. I went to Silverstone to test it. Very quickly, I felt comfortable.

At the end of the session, another driver overtook me before the last corner and lost control of his car. I took off on his wheel and rolled over! I landed right on pole position but upside down. Everyone then advised me to sell the car and leave it there.

Is that what you did?

No, of course not. It took me several months to repair it and I started racing in 1980, in a championship reserved for old Formula Fords. I won 6 of the 12 races and I was champion!

I was able to sell the car for double the purchase price and, with the help of my father's boss, I was able to afford a car of the year, but after a few races, I already had no more money. Thanks to my engine manufacturer, I was able to finish the season and continue to F3 where I was able to win the British title in 1986.

You also won the Macau Grand Prix, the Formula 3 World Cup...

Yes. In the first race, Jan Lammers lost control of his single-seater, just in front of me. Our wheels touched, and that put him back on the right track. I then took the lead. Once on the podium, he thanked me for that!

We got on very well and kept in touch. Of all the drivers I know, he is certainly the one with the best "car control". Right after that, Benetton invited me to an F1 test session and Tyrrell offered me a grand prix drive in 1987… for €600,000!

I couldn’t even afford to dream of it. I raced in F3000 but with a very small budget and without much success.

Is that when you got a call from Jaguar?

Yes. The TWR Jaguar team was looking for a driver for Le Mans, and Jan Lammers had recommended me. I was invited to a test at the Paul Ricard circuit. I had never driven anything as fast as this Group C which produced a lot of ground effect.

At one point, the team called me back to the pits and I started to unclip myself. They said to me: “What are you doing? You’re going back for an hour!” I was already totally exhausted and I didn’t see how I could hold out any longer. Finally, I held on and the team signed me. I had my first race at Jerez.

We were leading and a driver spun in front of me. Yes, again! I managed by some miracle to avoid him, at the cost of a foray into the verge which made us lose first place. At the time, there were no cameras everywhere like today.

Nobody had seen what had happened. Fortunately, after the race, the driver at fault came to thank me for having avoided him. I then begged him to go and explain to Tom Walkinshaw what had happened!

How was the first contact with the Le Mans circuit?

That year, there was no preliminary testing and I found myself right at the deep end. During my first test laps, I already thought I was going very fast, but another Jaguar literally dropped me on the straight! There was no chicane yet, and it was quite impressive.

It took me a few laps to go full speed through the bend before Mulsanne. But my team-mates Jan Lammers and Johnny Dumfries helped me. We did a lap on foot and they explained everything to me, metre by metre. At the time, the weak point of these cars was the gearbox.

So, on car no. 2, we had made a pact between the three of us to preserve it as much as possible. We had decided to save a lot of gear changes by keeping a gear up in certain corners. The race went well.

We were often in the lead, but despite our precautions, the gearbox of our XJR-9 failed half an hour from the finish. It went into neutral, and Jan chose to stay in first gear, which engaged and ended up in 4th gear.

It was complicated during the final refuelling, but he managed to get going again and finish. When the mechanics took the gearbox apart after the race, its insides were in pieces! It was incredible for me to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans on my first participation! It earned me a full-time contract.

You won on your first attempt but never managed to win again in 20 attempts! Why?

It was very close a number of times! Like in 1990 when I finished 2nd, in a Jaguar XJR-12 with Jan and Franz Konrad. There was also 1995 when I shared the wheel of a McLaren F1 with Derek and Justin Bell. It rained almost the whole time.

It was awful. We led the second half of the race, but our clutch failed on the finish line. We finished in 3rd place.

You raced for several manufacturers and even drove a Batmobile!

Yes, at Panoz. I got on really well with Don Panoz. We explained to him all the good reasons why racing cars have a mid-rear engine, but he would say: "I don't care, I want to make a front-engined car!" And it was an interesting car to drive. Too bad his Ford V8 wasn't really competitive.

What do you remember about the podium with Bentley in 2001?

It was a great car to drive and I integrated well into this great team. It was quite an eventful race. I took the start, and after a few minutes, it started to rain very hard at the back of the circuit. A real trap!

In front of me, Stefan Johansson went into a series of spins on the approach to Indianapolis. He ended up 37th by hitting the rail. I couldn't see anything! I approached the first part of the Indianapolis corner thinking he had taken off and that his car was on top of mine!

In the end, he had just lost his front bonnet which hit the top of my car! Later in the race, the compressor operating the gear changes stopped working because of the rain. I arrived at Mulsanne at full speed, I braked... and I couldn't change down!

I was stuck in 5th. I did my best to get back to the pits. It was a bit hot at Arnage. I cut through the grass and went through. My teammate Guy Smith had the same problem as me, but his engine stopped at Arnage.

Once in the pits, the mechanics replaced the compressor very quickly and we were off again. There was a political dimension to this project. Let’s just say that it wasn’t necessary for Bentley to win in the first year… We finished in 3rd position behind two Audis.

How did you make the decision to retire from competition?

We live in an ultra-competitive world, and there comes a time when you lose a little bit of performance. Your reaction time is slightly slower. In your early forties, your experience compensates, but as you approach your fifties, it’s less the case.

I was 49 years old at the 2010 edition. With the RML team, we finished 3rd in LMP2. I considered that this podium marked the right time to stop. That's when I joined Bugatti.

How did your collaboration with Bugatti develop?

I had no idea how fast this type of car was. Absolutely none! At the time I started racing, racing cars were very powerful, but road cars not so much.

And it completely reversed at one point. The regulations reduced the power of racing cars while sports cars became incredibly lively. At that time, I participated in the development of the Chiron and the Bolide, which is intended for the track only.

It's super exciting for me. Instead of being lost, everything I learned in my racing career is used in the development of these cars.

How did this idea of ​​a world record with the Chiron Super Sport 300+ come about?

They just called me one day to tell me that they wanted to get closer to 490 km/h and asked me to be the driver for this operation. You should know that I had already held this record. The first time in 1991 with a Jaguar XJ220 at 349 km/h.

Then I beat it again in 1998 in a McLaren F1 with 389 km/h. Bugatti's idea seemed a bit crazy to me at first, but when they embark on a project, they don't do it by halves! Despite the preparatory work done, there were two problems that had to be taken into account.

First, the tires. Fortunately, we were in partnership with Michelin, who are in my opinion - and by far - the best manufacturer. We did a lot of tests to be sure that the tires could withstand this stress because at 490 km/h, the tire is subjected to a pressure of 7 t!

The second problem to manage is keeping the car on the ground. We spent the whole week checking that it would work.

What are the sensations at almost 500 km/h?

That week, I think we must have covered a thousand kilometers on the Ehra-Lessien circuit, most of the time above 400 km/h. It’s a big step. At the very beginning, I said to myself: “I’ll never be able to drive at 480 km/h!”

And then, after an hour, my brain got used to it. The threshold of 450-460 km/h is a new level. You really realize that you have to be extremely careful. We waited for a while without wind, and on Friday morning, the conditions were right.

We looked at each other and said: “Let’s go!” I accelerated to an agreed mark that I passed at 482 km/h (or 300 miles per hour), and I started to take my foot off the gas slightly. There was no question of braking because that would have unbalanced the car too much.

The straight is 8.8 km long, and at this speed, it takes 2 km to slow down. My mission was to come back down at a speed not exceeding 250 km/h before the banking.

But when I saw the bend coming up, I was still at 362 km/h! There, I braked hard! It seems like something completely crazy, but it was a very good experience.

Do you think a record at 500 km/h is possible?

I think the Tourbillon is capable of it, but at this stage, I am not aware of such a project.

Compared to your racing career, what value do you give to this record?

On a record, most of the work comes from intelligent engineers. The driver's part is limited and easy: you just have to press the pedal! However, for a car fan like me who didn’t have a penny when I started out, finding yourself in such a machine is an absolutely incredible experience!

You haven’t completely broken off from competition. You also sometimes take part in historic races…

Yes, it’s very interesting to drive these cars. They certainly have four wheels and a steering wheel, but that’s the only thing they have in common with modern cars. They often behave in unexpected ways, but I really enjoy driving them, especially at Le Mans Classic. It’s a superbly organised event, and it’s always a privilege to drive on the 24 Hours circuit. What’s more, out of my three participations, I’ve had the joy of winning twice at the wheel of a Jaguar Type D!