McLaren Announces Its Racing Plans For 2016, Shows New 650S GT3

McLaren had a good run with its GT3 program last year, winning on each of the four continents its competed on. In 2016, the British car maker plans to hit even harder with the finely-tweaked 650S GT3 and its new factory driver line-up.

Rob Bell and Alvaro Parente will continue the relationship with McLaren GT, as both have been part of the team since 2012, and both claimed championship wins with the 650 GT3.

However, Bell will now compete throughout Europe, taking part on the Blancpain Endurance Series and the Blancpain Sprint Series, while Parente joins customer team K-PAX Racing / Flying Lizard Motorsports as part of the assault on the Pirelli World Challenge, making his championship debut at the Circuit of the Americas in March.

2014 Porsche Carrera Cup France champion, Côme Ledogar, will the “new blood”, competing in the Blancpain Endurance Series in a 650S GT3.

The McLaren GT Driver Academy – the youth initiative division created to develop young drivers – has also a new recruit, as Colin Thompson joins Alex Fontana, Struan Moore and Andrew Watson in the program.

Along with the official announcement of its 2016 racing plans, the company confirmed the 650S GT3’s presence at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, as part of an impressive display shared with McLaren’s three “tier model range”.

The technical specifications remain the same, as the machine must comply to the FIA GT3 standard in order to be eligible for racing in the series. So its 3.8-litre V8 twin-turbo engine delivers the same 493 horsepower output, while the power-to-weight-ratio keeps to a steady 483 hp/ton, thanks to the vehicle’s 1240 kilograms.