Gordon Murray, creator of the McLaren F1, originally intended the car solely as a road car with no plan to race it. However, soon after its launch, the BPR Global GT Series was created, featuring racing modifications of sports cars such as the Venturi 600 LM, Ferrari F40, and Porsche 911 Turbo. Teams including those run by Ray Bellm and Thomas Bscher, along with Le Mans winner John Nielsen, approached Murray to obtain factory backing for racing versions. Murray eventually agreed to modify the F1 into a racing car and build several chassis for the 1995 season.
An unused F1 chassis intended to become #019 was taken by McLaren as a developmental prototype. Modifications included cooling ducts — notably a large one in the center of the nose and two in the location of the storage lockers — a large adjustable fixed rear wing, a stripped interior with a full racing cage, and carbon brakes. The BMW S70 V12 was required to use an air restrictor limiting power output to around 600 PS (592 hp; 441 kW), making the racing car less powerful than the road car but faster and more nimble due to lower overall weight. The central seating position, butterfly doors, and standard gearbox were retained. McLaren coordinated a 24-hour test at Magny-Cours to identify weaknesses.
Nine chassis were built for the 1995 season. Chassis #01R was retained by the factory as a test mule except for a one-off use by Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing at Le Mans. GTC Racing received two F1 GTRs plus a replacement for a destroyed car. David Price Racing, BBA Competition, Mach One Racing, and Giroix Racing Team each received one chassis. Chassis #09R was sold to Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei.
Following the 1995 season, McLaren upgraded the car to remain competitive against the Ferrari F50 GT (quickly withdrawn) and the Porsche 911 GT1. BMW Motorsport assisted, entering sports car racing with their own team running F1 GTRs. Modifications included extended front and rear bodywork with a larger front splitter, bodywork redesigned for quicker removal, and a gearbox with a lighter magnesium housing and more robust mechanicals, reducing overall weight by 38 kg. Nine new GTRs were built for 1996, while two older cars (#03R and #06R) were upgraded to 1996 specification. The 1996-spec car was the fastest variant in terms of straight-line speed, reaching 330 km/h on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans — 13 km/h faster than the 1997 long-tail and 6 km/h faster than the 1996 Porsche GT1.
With the BPR series reformed into the FIA GT Championship in 1997, new competitors including the Porsche 911 GT1 and Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR forced McLaren to extensively modify the F1. The entire exterior was purpose-built while retaining the same carbon-fibre monocoque as the road car. A much longer nose and tail, a wider rear wing, and widened wheel arches were designed to maximize aerodynamic downforce. Ground clearance was set to 70 mm front and rear. The BMW S70 V12 was stroked down to 5,990 cc to prolong engine life while maintaining the restrictor-controlled 600 metric horsepower. The standard gearbox was replaced with a new X-trac 6-speed sequential transmission.
Ten 1997-spec GTRs were built; no previous cars were upgraded to this specification. To homologate cars so radically different from the road car, McLaren was required to build production road cars using the GTR '97's bodywork, resulting in just three examples of the road-going McLaren F1 GT.
The F1 GTR debuted at the 1995 BPR season opener at Jerez. Three cars took the first three qualifying spots, and in the race Ray Bellm and Maurizio Sandro Sala won by 16 seconds over a Porsche 911 GT2 Evo. McLaren dominated the season; GTC Competition took five victories and West Competition two. West Competition won the teams championship; McLaren suffered defeats only at Montléry (lost to a Porsche) and Anderstorp (lost to a Ferrari) before winning the final four races.
In 1996 the upgraded cars continued to dominate early, with GTC Competition, West Competition, and Mach One sharing victories. BMW Motorsport, assisted by the Bigazzi Team, entered three F1 GTRs. Porsche debuted the 911 GT1 at Brands Hatch, taking victory there and at Spa; McLaren still secured the teams championship through GTC Competition.
In 1997, major teams included BMW Motorsport-backed Schnitzer Motorsport, Team Davidoff, and Parabolica Motorsports. At the opening round the new McLarens took a 1-2-3 victory over six trailing 911 GT1s. However Mercedes-Benz overcame early mechanical problems and eventually dominated the season with successive 1-2 victories. BMW Motorsport secured McLaren's only wins that year and finished second in the teams championship; Team Davidoff took third.
BMW officially left the project at the end of 1997 to build their own Le Mans Prototype, the BMW V12 LM. McLaren withdrew factory backing for 1998. Team Davidoff and Parabolica Motorsports attempted to continue with older cars in 1998 but could finish no better than fifth. After 1998 the GT1 class was abolished due to Mercedes dominance, and McLaren F1s never raced in FIA GT again.
In 1996, Team Goh of Japan purchased two 1996-spec F1 GTRs (chassis #13R and #14R) for the JGTC GT500 class under the name Team Lark. At the opening round at Suzuka Circuit, Naoki Hattori and Ralf Schumacher took a 1-2 finish for the team. Team Lark won four of the season's six rounds, capturing the GT500 teams championship ahead of factory Toyota and Nissan squads. It was the second time in JGTC/Super GT history that the GT500 championship was won by a non-Japanese manufacturer.
Team Lark did not return in 1997 due to disputes with the GT Association over car handicaps. McLarens returned in 1999 with Team Take One purchasing 1997-spec #19R. In 2001, Team Take One secured an outright victory at Mine Circuit, nine seconds ahead of a factory Nissan Skyline GT-R. Hitotsuyama Racing also competed with a 1997-spec car from 2000, taking a best finish of 3rd at Motegi in 2002. The final McLaren F1 GTR in competition anywhere in the world was Hitotsuyama's car, retired after two brief appearances at Fuji in 2005.
Starting in 1996, Lanzante Motorsports ran a 1995-spec F1 GTR in the BRDC GT Championship. Drivers Ian Flux and Jake Ulrich took six pole positions and the GT1 class drivers championship, though they failed to beat GT2 and GT3 class teams for the overall championship. Lanzante abandoned the McLaren after the season.
In 1998, Steve O'Rourke's EMKA Racing ran a 1997-spec chassis, taking two race victories; O'Rourke and Tim Sugden finished second in the overall drivers championship. EMKA continued in 1999, taking one victory but consistently beaten by Porsche 911 GT1s and Lister Storms. British GT abandoned the GT1 class for 2000, ending McLaren F1 GTR eligibility.
McLaren first entered Le Mans in 1995 with all seven chassis built at the time. Chassis #01R was entered for Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing and reached a practice top speed of 281 km/h (174.605 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight — the highest of the year. Pre-race expectations held that WSC-class Le Mans Prototypes would win easily, but during the race various WSC cars suffered mechanical failures. In the closing hours five McLaren F1 GTRs were still running against only three WSC cars. The Kokusai Kaihatsu McLaren took the overall win; other McLarens finished 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 13th overall. The winning car was driven by Yannick Dalmas, Masanori Sekiya, and JJ Lehto and was retained by McLaren, never raced again. McLaren developed five special F1 LM road cars for customers to mark the five finishers.
In 1996 McLaren entered seven cars again; six finished 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, and 11th overall, beaten only by the two new Porsche 911 GT1s and the overall-winning Porsche LMP. In 1997 six 1997-spec entries were made; only two finished, taking 2nd and 3rd overall (1st and 2nd in GT class) behind the repeat-winning Porsche LMP. The 1997-spec car reached 317 km/h on the Mulsanne that year. In 1998 only two privateer McLarens were entered, with one taking fourth place.
A total of 28 F1 GTR chassis were built: nine in 1995-spec, nine in 1996-spec, and ten in 1997-spec. Some cars were upgraded from one specification to another; the count covers only cars built from scratch to each specification.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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