McLaren to enter major new motorsport series

McLaren has announced that it is to enter the Hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship from 2027.  Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren Racing simply said in a statement: "We're Back", with the team looking to re-capture the victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours, after winning in 1995 with the iconic McLaren F1 road car.  McLaren has never formally entered the WEC, with the Le Mans outing in 1995 being a one-off to celebrate the F1, which finished 1-3-4-5. Although McLaren road cars have since been raced at Le Mans, there has not a works entry.  This is to change for 2027, with McLaren entering into the LMDh class, which has attracted the likes of Ferrari back to the top-class of sportscar racing, the Scuderia famously winning at Le Mans in 2024 on its return.  McLaren is the only marque in the history of motorsport to have won the 'Triple Crown' of motorsport - this being the Le Mans 24 Hours, Monaco Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500.  Under Brown's leadership since assuming control in 2017 in the aftermath of Ron Dennis's departure, he has taken McLaren back into IndyCar, with driver Pato O'Ward a regular race-winner and championship contender.  McLaren has also extended into electric motorsports, with teams in Formula E and Extreme E.  Brown's United Autosports team is a well-established team in sportscar racing, and won the LMP2 class at Le Mans in 2020.