ANDY Meyrick carried the weight of a nation on his shoulders to produce a magical debut display at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
The 24-year-old from Delamere thrived on the pressure of leading his team home at the world’s biggest sports car endurance race as he powered his Oreca-Matmut-AIM 01 prototype to a fourth-placed finish on Sunday.
That ensured the French team took the honour of being the first petrol-powered car home behind the three podium-placed German Audi diesels – and restored the host country’s pride after the Oreca team’s diesel Peugeot blew up.
Chester-born Meyrick said: “I will never forget the moment our team’s owner and principal Hugues de Chaunac said to me that I had to go out there and get us a result. The faith the team shown in me, as a rookie, was incredible.
“People were in tears in the garage after what had happened to our Peugeot. The pressure was on, so to finish fourth and be first petrol was unbelievable.
“It was just a phenomenal moment bringing the car into the grandstand and seeing a sea of a thousand faces.”
Meyrick, who went to The King’s School, Chester, and Helsby High, was the second Briton finisher behind former Formula 1 driver and two-time Le Mans winner Allan McNish, who was part of the Audi team that finished third.
Meyrick revelled in such exalted company but admits his first experience of the famous event, which this year attracted nearly 300,000 spectators, is still sinking in.
“It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind,” said Meyrick, who was joined in the Oreca-Matmut-AIM team by French duo Soheil Ayari and Didier Andre. “I only had about three or four hours sleep on Sunday and when I woke up I had 122 text messages and emails. I can’t wait to come home, meet my friends and family and let my hair down.”
