Divyank Kushagra Bansal 
McLaren Automotive has confirmed its participation as a manufacturer in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The Woking-based carmaker will contest the championship with UK-based racing partner United Autosports, which has prior winning experience in endurance racing. The team will compete in the new LMGT3 class with two 720S GT3 EVO cars. The news was also confirmed by the 2024 season entry list recently released by the WEC.
This also means a return to Le Mans for McLaren. The team last competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998 and won the iconic race on its debut in 1995, a year when the team also managed to bring home the ‘Triple Crown’ by claiming victories in the Indianapolis 500 and Monaco Grand Prix as well. To mark McLaren’s return, the 720S GT3 EVO entries will pay homage to the 1995 win with competition numbers #59 (the race number of the winning F1 GTR) and #95, the year of the win.
For the 2024 Le Mans round, McLaren will enter not two but three 720S GT3 EVOs, with customer racing team Inception Racing expected to make a grid appearance alongside the two United Autosport cars. This was made possible by Inception Racing’s success in the GTD class of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. Their driver, Brendan Iribe, secured automatic entry into the Le Mans race for winning the Bob Akin Award for the highest-placed Bronze-rated driver in the GTD class. This is one of the biggest rewards for claiming the top spot in the Bob Akin Award standings.
Sharing his thoughts on the announcement, Michael Leiters, CEO of McLaren Automotive said, “We are delighted to have been confirmed for the 2024 WEC season and I would like to thank the Automobile Club de l’Ouest for our inclusion within a hugely competitive LMGT3 class…It will be a very exciting season and extremely close between the teams, which is why we have nominated United Autosports as our racing partner. This team has an excellent reputation in the endurance racing arena, and I look forward to our return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in which we will see 720S GT3 EVO cars in action.”
