McLaren could develop racing version of MP4-12C for privateers

When a world-championship racing team unveils a new supercar, some inevitable questions are bound to follow. In the case of the McLaren MP4-12C, people want to know if the company plans on racing it. Seems like logical enough a question, especially considering that McLaren's racing experience extends beyond Formula One, most notably the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans where a McLaren F1 GTR pipped the prototypes to claim overall victory.

According to McLaren chief Ron Dennis, the company is not planning their own racing campaign for the MP4. But having learned from the F1 project, which was never designed as a race car but was later adapted to the purpose following demand from racing teams, Dennis suggested that the company could offer and support competition spec versions of the car for privateer entries.

While it remains a question mark as to which series the car might be best suited, neither the FIA GT1 World Championship nor Le Mans (and its associated series around the world) would seem out of the realm of possibility. Maybe those renderings of long-tail MP4-12Cs weren't so far-fetched after all.

[Source: Autosport]