McLaren

Founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren, the British marque built its legend in Formula 1 and Can-Am before gatecrashing the summit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its single overall victory, taken at its very first attempt, remains one of the most resounding feats in the race's modern history. In 1995, the F1 GTR — the racing version of Gordon Murray's McLaren F1, with its BMW V12 and central driving position — arrived at La Sarthe to face the prototypes. Under almost ceaseless rain, the number 59 F1 GTR of Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing, crewed by Yannick Dalmas, JJ Lehto and Masanori Sekiya, won outright. A car derived from a road model beating the prototypes at its first try: the achievement was immense. That day Sekiya became the first Japanese winner in the history of the 24 Hours, Lehto delivered night stints in the deluge that remain the stuff of legend, and Dalmas added another line to his remarkable Le Mans record. The F1 GTRs filled most of the top positions that year, turning the debut into a collective demonstration. After the F1 GTR was retired at the end of the 1990s, McLaren devoted itself to Formula 1 and to developing its road cars. Its return to world endurance racing came through the LMGT3 category of the FIA World Endurance Championship, where the Woking marque is entered with United Autosports, the team co-founded by McLaren boss Zak Brown. McLaren is thus on the WEC and 24 Hours of Le Mans grid in 2026. And the story is only beginning: McLaren has confirmed its arrival in the top Hypercar class for 2027, with the openly stated ambition of fighting for overall victory once again, some thirty years after the masterstroke of 1995. For a marque that has contested the overall win only a handful of times and won it at the first attempt, the promise is a tantalising one.

• Country : GBR
• Founded : 1963
• Le Mans wins : 1
• First win : 1995
• Last win : 1995