There are super car companies who think it's ok not to race, Mclaren is not one of those. We have arguments about this occasionally at Axis: CG and Stee love Paganis, I appreciate the craftsmanship and the passion Horatio builds into his cars but I will never really hold Pagani (or Konissegg or other self proclaimed super cars) on the same level as Ferrari, Porsche or any other company willing to stake its reputation on track. Mclaren is doing it right.
Not that it has worked out so well for the Woking boys in the first year of development but they were out there not just parked on the Place du Casino.
For 2012, thirteen teams will be running MP4-12C GT3 cars in six different series,
NEW MP4-12C GT3 SET FOR COMPETITIVE WORLD RACING DEBUT AS McLAREN GT ANNOUNCES 2012 RACE PLANS
Mar 29, 2012
25 new MP4-12C GT3 cars to race across Europe and in FIA GT1 World Championship in 2012
Full list of McLaren GT customer teams and race series entries now confirmed
McLaren MP4-12C sports car selected as safety car for FIA GT1 World Championship race at Nogaro on 8-9 April
High quality short films featuring new 12C GT3 cars on track, and McLaren GT ‘works’ drivers testing the 12C sports car available to view and share at:
Blancpain test video - http://youtu.be/ggO2EM1Cio0
GT drivers test 12C - http://youtu.be/EBqy6YCZN2s
The new McLaren MP4-12C GT3 is set for its competitive race debut in 2012, following an intensive development programme in 2011. Prototype versions of the 12C covered more than 35,000 miles on real world and simulated test tracks last year as McLaren GT worked towards the delivery of an incredibly efficient, reliable and rewarding to drive race car in 2012. The competitive race season begins for new McLaren GT customer teams in Germany on 31 March, with the opening rounds of the VLN and ADAC GT Masters championships at the Nürburgring Nordschliefe and Oschersleben respectively.
The MP4-12C sports car, on which the GT3 racer is based, will also make its debut as a safety car in the FIA GT1 World Championship race at the Nogaro circuit in France on 8-9 April.
Blancpain Endurance Series entry list swells as ten McLaren MP4-12C GT3s line up in 2012
Fans of the Blancpain Endurance Series can look forward to seeing ten 12C GT3s line up on the grid for the season opener in Monza next month, after completing the competition’s official first test last week at Paul Ricard HTTT. The McLaren race cars will wear the unique liveries of ART, ASM, Boutsen Energy, Gulf Racing, United Autosports and Von Ryan Racing. The JAS team will also take part in selected rounds of the championship. Footage of the new 12C GT3s at the test event in southern France can be seen at www.youtube.com/mclarenautomotivetv.
Gemballa Racing and Doerr Motorsport will compete in the 12C GT3 in the German VLN series, which includes the famous 24 Hour Nürburgring endurance race in May.
Molitor Racing and Gemballa Racing will run in ADAC GT Masters, and French FIA GT1 Champions Hexis Racing will line up on the grid of the FIA GT1 World Championship. Series Champions Apex Motorsport will enter a new 12C GT3 in selected rounds of this year’s British GT championship, while the Lapidus Racing team will contest the International GT Open series, and also compete in forthcoming 24-hour races at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.
Teams racing the 12C GT3 in 2012 have enlisted the services of highly successful racing drivers for the 2012 season. Former Formula 1 drivers Mark Blundell and David Brabham (also a Le Mans 24hr winning driver) will race for United Autosports and 2011 Formula 2 competitor Jack Clarke will drive for Boutsen Energy. Rob Bell, Alvaro Parente and Alexander Sims, who recently joined the McLaren GT driver line-up for 2012, will be placed with customer teams, while McLaren Automotive Chief Test Driver Chris Goodwin will also contest selected races in a 12C GT3 throughout the season.
Andrew Kirkaldy, Project Manager for McLaren GT said: “I’m excited that we are so close to seeing the 12C GT3 in its first full race season. The feedback I have received from customers that have already taken delivery of the car is very positive.
“The 2011 development programme was challenging, but had many highlights. We started with a pole position in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps in the British GT Championship, and ended the race season with a third place finish in Macau.
“In one year, McLaren GT has taken the 12C GT3 from concept to race readiness. We will learn more about the car in the early part of the season - and expectations will naturally be high of a car full of Formula 1 technology - but our objective is to makes the 12C GT3 as much a pleasure to own and run as it is race.”
Customer teams will be supported by official McLaren GT engineers throughout the 2012 season, and will also have access to a full range of spare parts at each race. Away from the track, the teams will be offered the use of McLaren’s simulator, which was used by McLaren Automotive to specify the groundbreaking 12C road car, and by McLaren Racing to develop all of its successful recent Formula 1 cars.
New McLaren GT drivers track test the MP4-12C road car
McLaren GT recently announced its official 2012 driver line-up with the acquisition of Rob Bell, Alexander Sims and Alvaro Parente. As part of an induction programme to McLaren GT and McLaren Automotive, the top trio of GT racing drivers were given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of brand new MP4-12C sports cars at the circuit ‘home’ of McLaren Automotive, Dunsfold Park. The challenging ‘figure-of-eight’ circuit is also known worldwide for being the BBC Top Gear test track.
The 12C GT3 shares the same V8 twin turbo engine and carbon ‘MonoCell’ chassis as its road car sibling, and its aerodynamic package was developed by McLaren GT in partnership with specialist engineers and designers at McLaren Automotive.
Full list of McLaren GT customer teams and drivers competing in the 2012 season
Team Championship
Apex Selected British GT rounds
ART Blancpain Endurance Series
ASM Blancpain Endurance Series
Boutsen Energy Blancpain Endurance Series
Doerr Motorsport VLN
Gemballa Racing ADAC GT Masters
VLN
Gulf Racing Blancpain Endurance Series
Hexis Racing FIA GT1 World
JAS Selected Blancpain Endurance Series rounds
Lapidus Racing International GT Open
Molitor Racing ADAC GT Masters
United Autosports Blancpain Endurance Series
Von Ryan Racing Blancpain Endurance Series
Koenigsegg and Pagani don't race because there are no racing series that they could enter in anymore. Koenigsegg built the CCGT to go racing in the GT1 World Championship about four years ago, but sadly the regulations changed, meaning that they couldn't enter (they don't produce enough cars to be eligible). I suppose it's a similar story at Pagani. While they are both now considered world class manufacturers, they simply cannot race because they don't meet the requirements anymore - production it too limited. Unless they ramp up production, which is an impossibility because their cars are so bespoke, we won't be seeing them in competition any time soon. Sad.
ReplyDeleteI don't buy it, Mercedes managed to make a GT3 SLS, Maserati somehow omologated the MC12.... Where there's a will there's a way
ReplyDeleteWhen the MC12 was homologated, the rules were far less strict as to how many cars had to be produced for entry. These days, cars have to me more mass-produced. As for the SLS, that is a production car that is not made in limited numbers. Here's what it says on the Koenigsegg site about the CCGT:
ReplyDelete"The CCGT was created for the sole purpose of racing in FIA GT1. As the car was being finished, the regulations in FIA GT1 were changed. Now a minimum of 350 examples of the actual model that is going to compete must be produced per year. As Koenigsegg's production volumes are much less than this, we have not been able to enter the car in GT1 racing.
The one existing car showed very promising results in its testing program and has laid the foundation for Koenigsegg's future racing aspirations. The CCGT is still driven several times per year for closed track sessions and events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed."
Be that as it may, Pagani or Koeniggsegg are just vying for the track day world championship.
ReplyDelete"I don't buy it, Mercedes managed to make a GT3 SLS, Maserati somehow [sic] omologated the MC12..."
ReplyDeleteAC, that's an absolutely bullshit argument. You're effectively saying Mercedes or Fiat Group doesn't have the same money or connection to get their cars into race series as Pagani or Koenigsegg. While I agree it would be great to see those cars in professional series, a very small car manufacturer is limited in resources.
"I don't buy it, Mercedes managed to make a GT3 SLS, Maserati somehow [sic] omologated the MC12..."
ReplyDeleteAC, that's an absolutely bullshit argument. You're effectively saying Mercedes or Fiat Group doesn't have the same money or connection to get their cars into race series as Pagani or Koenigsegg. While I agree it would be great to see those cars in professional series, a very small car manufacturer is limited in resources.
Was that an Akebono brake caliper?? (at 24s) I didn't know they make brake calipers, I thought they just focus brake pads.
ReplyDelete