The story of how the McLaren F1 conquered Le Mans in 1995
The McLaren F1 was never intended for racing until the mid 1990s when it was adapted for the BPR Global GT Series, leading to a successful 1995 Le Mans race.
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Car to remember
McLaren F1 GTR
Creator Gordon Murray never intended to adapt his McLaren F1 for racing, but the spirit of the age made such a conversion inevitable. It was the mid 1990s: Blur and Oasis squabbled for radio airtime and endurance racing was in the throes of resurrection. The BPR Global GT Series paved the way ahead – and while drivers were initially happy with Porsche 911s, Venturi 400s, Ferrari F40s and suchlike, McLaren’s new BMW V12-powered F1 looked irresistible. When the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours began, there were seven on the grid.
There wasn’t a seismic shift from road to track. The GTR was 90kg lighter than its progenitor, had fractionally narrower/wider front/rear track and bigger wheels and brakes.
“It was lovely to drive,” says Andy Wallace, who that year shared David Price Racing’s Harrods-backed McLaren with the Bells, Derek and Justin. “I’d raced only prototypes at Le Mans, so the McLaren was very different, but I was surprised by just how good it felt. You had to be aware of the big, heavy engine behind you, because you didn’t want all that weight stepping out of line, but I’d had that with the Jaguar XJR-9’s 7.0 V12, too, so it wasn’t too hard to get my head around it. The braking and traction were particularly impressive.”
It wasn’t beyond the bounds of possibility that a McLaren might win outright: there were some brisk prototypes entered – Kremer K8s, a couple of Courages and the fast, frail WRs, one of which took pole – but the GT ranks had strength and depth.
“We had a reasonable chance,” says Wallace. “We knew the car was robust – the engine could have done a full season without a rebuild, never mind 24 hours. In a prototype you usually feel a slight power loss over the race, but the McLaren recorded 326kph through the first chicane at the start and 336 towards the end! There was quite a bit of rain that year and I have vivid memories of a river than ran across the circuit just beyond Tertre Rouge. In a GT you had a 170mph tankslapper… which did wonders for your concentration.”
Wallace and the Bells were victory contenders for a long time, but clutch slave-cylinder failure scuppered their chances. They used only fifth and sixth gears for the last couple of hours, but still finished third.
JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya won as McLarens filled four of the top five places, the most recent Le Mans victory for a genuinely road-derived car (and also the last time a venereal disease clinic served as winning title sponsor).
Stars of the decade
Mark Blundell
The Brit saw Group C out in style. At 24 years old he became the youngest ever Le Mans pole-sitter with an incredible lap for Nissan in 1990. Two years later he won with Peugeot.
Yannick Dalmas
He won with Peugeot in 1992, in the Dauer 962 in 1994, the McLaren F1 in 1995 – beating the prototypes in a GT – and BMW in 1999. Dalmas was one of the few constants in a topsy-turvy decade.
Bob Wollek
The French star finished on the podium four times in the ’90s. Often in contention, but his luck never held. Was on the verge of retiring from the sport when he lost his life in a cycling accident in 2001.
Yojiro Terada
Obscure to some, perhaps, but has raced at Le Mans 29 times. Only Pescarolo and Wollek managed more starts. Terada took two class wins in the ’90s. Scored his best result – seventh – in ’95.
The winners
1990
Jaguar XJR-12
John Nielsen/Price Cobb/Martin Brundle,
4882km
Two chicanes added to the Mulsanne Straight
1991
Mazda 787B
Volker Weidler/Johnny Herbert/Bertrand Gachot,
4923km
New pit complex opens. Mazda becomes first Japanese winner. Race reinstated in WSCC
1992
Peugeot 905 Evo 1B
Derek Warwick/Yannick Dalmas/Mark Blundell,
4787km
Peugeot 905 Spyder becomes first single-seater to race at Le Mans. Only 28 cars start, the smallest field since the war
1993
Peugeot 905 Evo 1B
Eric Hélary/Christophe Bouchut/Geoff Brabham,
5100km
1994
Dauer 962 Le Mans
Yannick Dalmas/Hurley Haywood/Mauro Baldi
4686km
After 26 participations, Derek Bell announces his retirement
1995
McLaren F1 GTR
Yannick Dalmas/Masanori Sekiya/JJ Lehto,
4056km
First win for McLaren… and also for a three-seater. Derek Bell comes out of retirement to share third-place F1 GTR with son Justin
1996
TWR Porsche WSC-95
Davy Jones/Alexander Wurz/Manuel Reuter,
4814km
1997
TWR Porsche WSC-95
Michele Alboreto/Stefan Johansson/Tom Kristensen
4910km
1998
Porsche 911 GT1-98
Laurent Aïello/Allan McNish/Stéphane Ortelli,
4784km
Suzuki/Hoshino/Kageyama finish third to become the first all-Japanese crew on the podium
1999
BMW V12 LMR
Joachim Winkelhock/Pierluigi Martini/Yannick Dalmas,
4983km
Gallery
Flip out! Mark Webber’s Mercedes CLR gets airborne during Saturday morning warm-up in 1999. Despite front aero tweaks, this would be the second time for the Aussie, and the third – for Peter Dumbreck during the race – would lead to the team’s withdrawal
While Mercedes struggled, BMW played a blinder in 1999 with its V12 LMR running like clockwork. The car, designed with the help of the Williams F1 Team, took the Munich brand to its first, and so far only, Le Mans victory with Dalmas, Pierluigi Martini and Joachim Winkelhock
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Group C in all but name and regulation. Dauer’s ‘road-going’ Porsche 962 iteration was driven to Le Mans victory in 1994 by Mauro Baldi, Yannick Dalmas and Hurley Haywood. This would be the final hurrah for the 962 design
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With the new pits complex covered by a monster grandstand, the home straight at La Sarthe had never looked so impressive
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Le Mans 1994 was an eventful one for the Dauer Porsche that didn’t win. Having battled back from the headlights failing for Thierry Boutsen at high speed approaching Tertre Rouge, the team had to change a transmission shaft. But the car still finished third. Here, Danny Sullivan waits patiently as the team goes to work
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Jaguar was back on top of the world by 1990, even if it needed some trickery. After his own car failed, Martin Brundle was plugged into the sister XJR-12 in place of Eliseo Salazar, and went on to win alongside Price Cobb and John Nielsen. Outraged, Salazar quit sportscar racing
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Asia’s arrival: As well as Nissan and Toyota, Mazda took a shot at Le Mans glory as Japanese brands went all-out for glory. Here promotional models dressed in traditional Japanese Geisha costume stand before the Mazdaspeed 787s on the grid before the 1990 race
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Nissan found itself at the front of the field for the 1990 race, purely due to some heroic work from Mark Blundell, who wrestled his over boosting R90CK to pole, six seconds faster than anybody else. He clocked 238mph on the Mulsanne, the fastest ever since the chicanes arrived.
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Peugeot claimed honours with its 3-litre 905 Evo in both 1992 and 1993
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Team Nissan driver Mark Blundell in 1990. Blundell would go on to win Le Mans outright with Peugeot in 1992, and finish second with Bentley in 2003
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While the big brands dominated up front, the C2 class proved very close in 1990. Here the Cougar C20S leads the cars
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Porsche has a long history of innovating its way between the rules at Le Mans. Its 911 GT1-98 was perhaps the ultimate homologation special, taking a clear one-two in 1998. Allan McNish, Laurent Aiello and Stephane Ortelli took glory
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Swedish driver Stefan Johansson chats with his new team-mate, Dane Tom Kristensen ahead of the 1997 race. Kristensen would be a late addition to the Joest Porsche team, but would make a stellar debut to begin his incredible Le Mans record
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