Contained in the McLaren that received its first and solely race at Le Mans

In 1995, the McLaren F1 GTR of JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas, and Masanori Sekiya beat the chances (and its fellow F1 GTR runners) to take a shock Le Mans 24 Hours victory. 

That automobile, entered by Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing and run by Paul Lanzante, was solely ever meant to run as a check automobile as McLaren scaled up its F1 highway automobile into an endurance racing machine. After successful Le Mans, this model of the GTR – dubbed the 01R internally – by no means raced once more. Thus, in its solely race, it received motorsport’s most prestigious endurance occasion.

Forward of Lehto’s reunion at 2025’s Goodwood Competition of Velocity with the automobile that spawned a Le Mans legend, McLaren invited us to movie its shakedown of the F1 GTR at Pembrey – making this the primary time it had been filmed on-track in 30 years. 

We delve into what made this automobile so particular, and the way it managed to win the 1995 version of Le Mans in torrential circumstances – with just a little assist from Lehto and his recollections of that well-known 24 hours in France.

 

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