McLAREN TAKES DOUBLE BRITISH GT VICTORY AS 570S GT4 DEVELOPMENT SEASON ENDS ON A HIGH

September 12, 2016 by McLaren Automotive

The drive by McLaren GT Factory Driver Rob Bell to the flag headlined a clean sweep in the GT3 and GT4 classes for McLaren GT customer team Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse in the 2016 British GT Championship season finale at Donington Park. The result marked the first win of the season for the 650S GT3 in the championship and the second for the 570S GT4, concluding a highly successful developmental season for the newest model. The second consecutive victory for Haggerty and Mitchell saw the pair claim second in the British GT4 Drivers championship – Silver and third overall in the British GT4 Drivers championship.

A strong weekend in Austria also saw three examples of the 650S GT3 lined up in the International GT Open at the Red Bull Ring run by customer teams Balfe Motorsport and Garage 59, with McLaren GT Factory Driver – and 2015 championship winner – Alvaro Parente making a one-off appearance in the championship. With two races across the course of the weekend, the 650S GT3 secured a double podium and three further top five finishes.

The result of the weekend though, came from Bell and teammate Alisdair McCaig in the #79 650S GT3 and Sandy Mitchell and Ciaran Haggerty in the #59 570S GT4. Both cars lined up on the front row of the respective classes for the two-hour race to end the season after qualifying, and the McLaren pair came through to take victory against a strong field.

McCaig started the race in the #79 Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse 650S GT3 and held station in P2 throughout his stint. Fighting through traffic, he managed to stay close to the leading car, and handed the car over to Rob Bell, who after a quicker stop than the leader, emerged from the pits in the lead. In the second hour of the race, Bell, like McCaig was able to set consistent lap times through traffic and maintained a comfortable lead until the end of the race.

In GT4, taking the second-ever victory for the McLaren 570S GT4, Sandy Mitchell and Ciaran Haggerty combined for a faultless performance in the race. Mitchell started the race, and took the lead early as the pole-sitting car slipped down the order. He then handed over to Haggerty at half-distance, who extended the lead from six seconds to over 10 in the final hour, crossing the line to cap an impressive first season which saw it score two pole positions and two wins. With this victory, Haggerty and Mitchell concluded the debut season with the 570S GT4 second in the driver championship for silver drivers, and third overall.

About McLaren Automotive:

McLaren Automotive is a British manufacturer of luxury, high-performance sports cars, located at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, Surrey.

Following the global launch of McLaren Automotive in 2010, the groundbreaking 12C was launched in 2011, the 12C Spider in 2012, and the limited-run McLaren P1™ went into production in 2013. In keeping with its plan to introduce a new model each year, the company unveiled the 650S, in coupe and Spider form in 2014, and has announced the Sports Series among the models to be introduced in 2015. The brand continues to expand, and McLaren posted a profit during 2013 – only the third year of vehicle production. This was followed in 2014, by a third consecutive year of growth in sales with a record 1,649 vehicles delivered via a dedicated global network of retailers in every major automotive market.

McLaren Automotive Partners

To support the development, engineering and manufacture of its range of innovative and highly acclaimed sports cars, McLaren Automotive has partnered with world leading companies to provide specialist expertise and technology including, AkzoNobel, ExxonMobil, Pirelli and SAP.

Designed for the track; Developed for the road

The connection between Formula 1 and road cars at McLaren is a natural process of experience, knowledge, principles and process transfer. Through the integration of 50 years of Formula 1™ racing expertise and knowledge, and over 20 years of heritage in producing landmark sports cars, McLaren Automotive designs, develops and builds a range of technologically advanced and groundbreaking high performance sports cars which are designed to be a no compromise drive on both road and track.

McLaren has pioneered the use of carbon fibre in vehicle production over the past 30 years, and since introducing a carbon chassis into racing and road cars with the 1981 McLaren MP4/1 and 1993 McLaren F1 respectively, McLaren has not built a car without a carbon fibre chassis.

Visit cars.mclaren.com for more details.

Photo credit: McLaren Automotive
posted on conceptcarz.com