WEC: McLaren returns to endurance racing

McLaren has long been thinking about returning to endurance racing, but if Zak Brown, executive director of McLaren Racing, said in 2022 that participation in the WEC was only in the plans, things have now become clear.

There is no doubt that this has been influenced by the growing popularity of long races, and today it was announced that cars from 14 manufacturers, including McLaren, will compete on the 2024 World Cup circuit.

They will be entered by the British team United Autosports in collaboration with McLaren Automotive: two McLaren 720S GT3 EVO sports cars will be entered in the new LMGT3 class.

“This has been officially confirmed,” Zac Brown, co-owner of United Autosports, responded on his social media pages. – In 2024 there will be two McLaren cars on the WEC starting field. In collaboration with United Autosports, they will participate in interesting races of this championship, the calendar of which consists of 8 stages, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I can’t wait to see it, keep working hard guys!”

It is worth recalling that the McLaren car has already won at Le Mans – in 1995 the McLaren F1 GTR sports car of the Japanese team Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing was the first to the finish of the 24-hour marathon overall rankings. United Autosports also distinguished itself in 2020: the crew won the LMP2 category.

In honor of the 1995 triumph, one of the McLaren sports cars in 2024 will be number 59, such as the F1 GTR in which JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Mizanori Sekiya raced, while another sports car will be number 95 as a reminder of that glorious year, when a car of this brand entered the Sarthe ring for the first time and immediately won.

Testing of the McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, prepared within the technical requirements of the LMGT3 class, is already underway.