For years, abandoned the idea of creating a plan to get involved in sports car racing and in particular at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In fact, a registration has been waiting on the table since 2018, but until now those in Woking have not dared.
According to a report from Daily sports carimportant decisions have already been taken in this regard. Internally, a complete e-work program would have received the green lightbecause engaging in IMSA seems less likely.
Regarding its chassis LMDh, Dallara would be in pole position, which would make McLaren's hypercar the third LMDh alongside And built in the Italian chassis giant's factory.
It is also mentioned a date for the announcement: the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, 30 years after its victory in 1995, according to a senior McLaren executive as a source.
However, This information disconcerts McLaren itself. In fact, as you learned Motorsport-Total.comthe sister site of the green light would still be far away.
McLaren has been a candidate since the first hypercar conversations
Photo: WEC
The CEO of McLaren, Zak Brownsaid at the time that extending the approval period had helped the business model, but revealed nothing else.
If reports are correct, McLaren should have made the decision before Le Mans. However, Michael Leitersdirector of McLaren Automotive, said at the time about the engine that it remained to be decided whether the project would be 100% completed before making any technical decisions.
Motorsport.com has also asked McLaren directly for a statement on the matter: “The FIA World Endurance championship (WEC) Hypercars category is one that continues to be of interest to McLaren and we will be monitoring its development closely.”
“We certainly see benefits to competing in this high profile and highly competitive category, but we cannot speculate on future participation at this time,” they added.
Time is running out for McLaren
McLaren has been seen as a clear candidate to enter the WEC Hypercar category since 2018, but has yet to make a decision. At the same time, they are on the verge of winning their first world title in since 2008 (constructors' championship) and also participates in the Extreme E/Extreme H and, from 2023, in the . The manufacturer's mantra is: programs must not harm each other.
Until now, creating your own Hypercar didn't happen for several reasons: first there were doubts about the regulations, then about the balance between the LMH and the LMDh, then came the pandemic, the economic turbulence after the war in Ukraine and, finally, the timing was not everything just not appropriate. More recently, rumors circulated that there was no suitable engine.
However, 2027 would also be somewhat of a last chance to jump on the bandwagon. The oldest LMDhs will then enter their fifth year and the current accreditation period ends in 2029.
It cannot be ruled out that Hypercars could continue to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2030, but whether they will then be able to win on their own is another question. Everything actually depends on the evolution of the hydrogen category. Once this is reliable, it seems very likely that conventional thrusters will be left behind.
The fact that McLaren sometimes takes longer or even requires a change in regulations is demonstrated by the example of GT: they were candidates for a GT project at Le Mans since 2012, but this only became a reality in 2024.
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