United Autosports and McLaren have announced they will team up to enter the FIA World Endurance Championship’s new-for-2024 LMGT3 class next season.
The partnership will see United Autosports, which currently runs two Oreca 07-Gibsons in the LMP2 class in WEC, switch to the new LMGT3 category, running two McLaren 720s EVO GT3s.
LMP2 is being scrapped from the WEC next year, with both the existing Hypercar class and LMGT3 being oversubscribed for entries. United Autosports will also switch its LMP2 campaign to the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.
Of course, the LMGT3 programme is subject to approval by the FIA and ACO’s selection committee, which decides and selects all WEC entries. If selected, the United Autosports/McLaren partnership may compete against the likes of Porsche and Manthey, Ford and Proton, Ferrari and AF Corse, BMW and WRT, and Lamborghini and Iron Lynx.
McLaren have notable history at Le Mans, winning the race overall in 1995 with the McLaren F1, both the car and manufacturer’s debut in the French endurance classic. United Autosports, meanwhile, have also won the race once in the LMP2, in 2020. They have also won the LMP2 WEC title once, in 2019-20, and currently sit third in the LMP2 teams standings with one race remaining this year.
“This is a very important project for McLaren on their return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, so we are extremely proud to have been selected as the team to represent McLaren in LMGT3 at Le Mans and indeed in the WEC,” said United Autosports CEO Richard Dean.
“United Autosports’ experience at Le Mans and in the World Endurance Championship will be invaluable but we know this is a seriously competitive place to be and we are ready for the challenge.”
Meanwhile, Michael Leiters, CEO, McLaren Automotive, said: “Motorsport remains a fundamental part of McLaren’s future of performance strategy, and we have long viewed the WEC as a natural fit for demonstrating the performance capabilities of our cars.”
“This includes a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans that is an intrinsic part of our enduring success in motorsport and in particular, the Triple Crown which is unique to McLaren as a supercar manufacturer and racing car constructor.
“We have selected United Autosports, who we feel shares our passion for endurance GT racing as well as the McLaren brand and, like McLaren, has a history of success in motorsport.
“United Autosports has communicated to the Automobile Club de l’Ouest its intent to field two McLaren 720S GT3 EVOs in the 2024 WEC and we hope that their entry will be accepted. And we are looking forward to racing our rivals in the WEC from 2024.”
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