McLaren F1 GTR

Lore & Background

Gordon Murray, creator of the McLaren F1, originally saw his creation as the ultimate road car, with no intention to take the car racing. Although the car used many racing technologies and designs, it was felt that the car should be a road car first, without any intent built into the creation of the car to modify it into a racing car. However, soon after the launch of the McLaren F1, the BPR Global GT Series was created. Starting in the 1994 season, the series featured racing modifications of sports cars such as the Venturi 600 LM, Ferrari F40, and Porsche 911 Turbo.

Viewed as a possible replacement for the defunct World Sportscar Championship, major manufacturers were taking interest in the series. At the same time, teams were also looking for faster and more capable cars for the series top class, GT1. Many teams, such as those run by Ray Bellm and Thomas Bscher, seeing the potential in the McLaren F1 road cars, Le Mans winner John Nielsen turned to Gordon Murray in an attempt to convince him to offer factory backing on racing versions for the BPR series.

Finally, Murray relented and agreed to modify the F1 into a racing car, agreeing to build several chassis for competition in the 1995 season. An unused F1 chassis which was meant to become #019 was taken by McLaren and modified by the company as a developmental prototype. Because of the similarity to a race car, extensive modification was not needed to actually turn the F1 into a racing car. Bodywork modification saw the addition of various cooling ducts, most noticeably a large one in the center of the nose and two placed in the location of the storage lockers on the side of the car.

A large adjustable fixed wing was added to the rear of the car. Even the 1995 versions of F1 GTR generated enough downforce to run along the ceiling at 100 mph. The interior was stripped of all luxuries and given a full racing cage. Carbon brakes replaced the stock units.

Because of the rules at the time, the BMW S70 V12 engine was required to use an air restrictor to limit power output to around 600 PS, making the racing car less powerful than the road car, yet faster and more nimble due to a lowered overall weight. Features such as the central seating position, Butterfly doors, and even the standard gearbox were retained.

Reader's Guide

Debuting at the 1995 BPR season opener at Jerez, three F1 GTRs took to the track (two for GTC Competition, one for David Price Racing's West Competition). The McLarens showed their speed from the very start, taking the first three qualifying spots. In the race, facing stiff competition from a Porsche 911 GT2 Evo, the McLaren F1 GTR of Ray Bellm and Maurizio Sandro Sala was able to take victory by a mere 16 seconds. For the second race, French squad BBA Competition added their new F1 GTR to the series while Bellm and Sala would again take victory.

This would be followed by a victory for West Competition at Monza, then GTC winning again at the fourth round at Jarama. However at Jarama, GTC's second chassis, #04R would be badly damaged in a practice accident. This was replaced by #08R for the next race. At next race at the Nürburgring, McLaren would successfully take the first five positions for GTC, West Competition, and new F1 GTR owners Giroix Racing Team and Mach One Racing.

Following another victory at Donington, the F1 had a slight dry spell when it first lost to a Porsche in Montléry, then to a Ferrari at Anderstorp. However the F1 GTR would return to form by winning the final four races of the season. West Competition would take the teams championship with a total of two victories, while GTC would take third with five victories, and Mach One Racing fourth with three victories. Going into 1996, McLaren debuted their upgraded cars in an attempt to continue their dominance of the series.

Existing teams such as GTC Competition and Giroix Racing Team bought newer 1996-spec cars, while new teams such as BBA Competition, West Competition, and Mach One retained the older 1995-spec cars. BMW Motorsport, with the assistance of Bigazzi Team.

Did You Know?

• The 1996 F1 GTR hit 330 km/h on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans, making it the fastest variant in a straight line.
• Only three F1 GT road cars were built to homologate the 1997 'Long Tail' bodywork.