LE MANS, France — In a year’s time, McLaren will be back in the top class of endurance racing with the aim of adding a second 24 Hours of Le Mans trophy to the Woking silver cabinet.
The eagerly-awaited return will rekindle an intense relationship between the manufacturer and Le Mans.
One Sunday in June 1995, on a circuit drenched by incessant rain, McLaren entered the history books with an incredible achievement. The McLaren F1, designed for the road, not the race track, became the F1 GTR thanks to a specially-developed kit, and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans on first attempt despite very little preparation. The thousands of spectators present witnessed an unimaginable feat.
Thirty-two years later, McLaren is getting ready to return to the pinnacle of endurance racing. The manufacturer has elected to reflect past glory in the car’s test livery. The MCL-HY appeared last May dressed in the papaya colour that harks back to Bruce McLaren’s M6A, the car that sparked the desire to win Le Mans.
McLaren will be back in the top class with their MCL-HY Hypercar factory entry in 2027. Under the bonnet, power comes from a twin-turbocharged V6 race engine developed in-house, paired with a hybrid MGU system, delivering up to 520kW (707PS) to the driven rear axle.
The carbon chassis was built by Italian manufacturer Dallara, also the supplier of the BMW and Cadillac chassis, and with which McLaren already works in IndyCar.
To orchestrate the return, McLaren has appointed James Barclay Executive Director of McLaren Endurance Racing and Team Principal of McLaren Hypercar Team.
In Formula E Barclay learned to lead a team to success starting from scratch. He heads a team whose name McLaren United, reflects a mindset. The name isn’t chosen by chance. This is a group effort, with United Autosports contributing their experience in LMP2 and GT3.
Chris Dyer (Technical Director) knows the way to the top. As key engineer from Michael Schumacher’s dominant Ferrari Formula One period, he has first-hand experience of the moments when a race hangs on a detail. You can’t get that knowledge from books. It’s passed on from one generation to the next.
Neil Oatley also brings a wealth of experience to the team. As a child, he collected autographs of Bruce McLaren, and when he became an engineer, he designed the McLarens of the Prost-Senna-Häkkinen era. Today, at 70, he is a consultant on the project.
As for the people in the cockpit, two drivers are confirmed for the moment. First, Mikkel Jensen. At 31, he already boasts seven participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He’s driven in GTE, LMP2 and Hypercar.
The man by his side, Laurence Vanthoor, was World Endurance Champion in 2024. The Belgian has been at the top for 10 years, as factory driver at Audi, then Porsche. He has won the major endurance races: Nürburgring, Bathurst, and Daytona. Le Mans too.
“I’ve been fortunate to be in the right position to win many major sports car races, but I’ve made no secret that, in recent years, everything I do is geared towards an overall win at Le Mans,” Vanthoor said. “I’m not even joking when I say it keeps me awake at night. We came so close last year and, when the Porsche Penske Motorsport WEC program ended, I had to consider which team on the grid could give me the best chance of winning.”
In 2027, the McLaren flame will be back in La Sarthe, ready to shine brighter than ever.
