The name of the Woking brand has been repeatedly compared to the premier category of endurance after the announcement of the convergence of regulations between FIA-ACO and IMSA. On several occasions, Zak Brown has expressed his interest in bringing McLaren back to the top of endurance racing, after the successes achieved at the turn of the 60s and 70s, especially overseas in the historic Can-Am. Brown on the other hand also already boasts a great knowledge of the sport-GT environment, leading the United Autosport stable whose palmares include successes in the WEC, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the European Le Mans Series and numerous GT competitions.
Just Brown was present in Bahrain on the occasion of the last stage of the WEC 2022. As reported by the French editorial staff of AutoHebdohis visit was not linked solely to the presence of United Autosport on the track, but to a concrete interest in enrolling McLaren in the premier category of endurance from 2025. The Woking-based brand is currently involved in Formula 1, IndyCar, Extreme E and will race in Formula E from 2023, with Brown having repeatedly repeated how McLaren’s individual sporting programs must be self-sustaining without taking resources away from each other. Should the news be confirmed in official form, the knot on the membership regulation would remain to be resolved. A Hypercar would guarantee greater design freedom with the possibility of developing the entire car on your own, while an LMDh would involve the use of various approved components, above all the hybrid system and the chassis, with the advantage, however, of substantial cost savings. Furthermore, in the case of a LMDh, McLaren should secure collaboration with one of the four recognized chassis builders. Oreca already has an agreement with Acura and Alpine, Multimatic will supply the chassis to the Porsche squadron, Dallara manufactures the bodies for BMW and Cadillac while Ligier currently collaborates only with Lamborghini. In any case, there is little doubt that a possible entry into Hypercar and/or GTP would see United Autosport in charge of sports management on the track.
McLaren would add to the long list of manufacturers involved in the premier class of endurance, in which they figure Toyota, Peugeot, Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, BMW, Acura, Lamborghini, Alpine, Glickenhaus, Isotta Fraschini and Vanwall. Graham Goodwin, editor of the masthead Daily Sports Car, during the commentary of the last 24 hours of Le Mans he had anticipated the imminent announcement of the entry of a large manufacturer and two smaller companies. The latter could be Isotta Fraschini, officially announced in the past few weeks, and De Tomaso, on whom increasingly insistent rumors are chasing each other. The manufacturer indicated by Goodwin could therefore be McLaren, without neglecting the rumored interest of Ford.
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