It’s a departure from the shadows and McLaren MCL-HY have entered the spotlight as McLaren announced its new LMDh prototype to thousands of motorsport fans at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The public premiere was a huge step in the ambitious re entry into the catalogue of endurance racing to which the MCL-HY is set to return during the 2027 season in the form of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the all-conquering 24 Hours of Le Mans. The prototype was honoured with the car being driven by Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris on his first public outing, marking the start of a new and exciting chapter for McLaren away from Formula 1.
Firstly, the Goodwood Festival of Speed was an excellent platform to get McLaren’s latest roadster into the world. The MCL-HY had been worked on and test-run indoors in Italy for months and a few open days were just the first to be held on the famous 1.16-mile hill climb. Norris finished two controlled demo drives before handing on the hot hatches and becoming the race car pilot for McLaren development driver Gregoire Saucy on Saturday. In the meantime, Norris had found his old stomping ground at the home of the Legends as he entertained fans of the F1 circuit in the 2023-specification McLaren MCL60 Formula 1 car. The stunt did not allow either driver to apply the prototype to the extreme but it did certainly present the car without putting the early development programme at risk.
That was a deliberate strategy of being careful. As the MCL-HY is still in the initial testing phase, McLaren didn’t think it was worth risking any potentially damaging exposure to the market. The team is well cognizant of the hardship endured by new endurance programmes – as witnessed by the problems Lamborghini had in getting the SC63 onto the road in the past – and they know the impact early setbacks can have on technical progress. To avoid losing valuable development time, McLaren decided that the Goodwood trip should be considered a controlled public performance rather than a performance showcase.
But that did nothing to dampen the jubilation of the car’s debut. It was just a great moment and a really memorable one to be one of the first drivers to get behind the wheel of McLaren’s next racecar,” said Norris. The Formula 1 champion praised the project and expressed his excitement about the brand’s return to endurance racing. He said Goodwood’s track was too narrow for him to explore the true capabilities of the car, but added he hopes it will be run on a permanent track in the future.
The MCL-HY (Museo della Competizione [The Racing Museum]) is actually one of McLaren’s boldest racing enterprises of the last few decades. The prototype features a structure base shared with some top carmakers like Acura, Alpine, Genesis and Ford and was developed on Oreca’s successful LMDh chassis platform. The power is provided through the twin-turbocharged V6 engine coupled with the standard LMDhybrid assembly in the rear. The full powertrain generates a maximum of 520kW, with the McLaren firmly in the mix of the rapidly expanding Hypercar ranks, which is being chipped at from the 2027 class.
Team Principal James Barclay has admitted plans had been made to drop the Goodwood start. However, since the testing programme is still at an early stage, it was never in the cards to hold the Festival of Speed, although it was still a possibility. But McLaren’s engineering staff managed to deliver all of the big project milestones and the project was “finished on time” and debuted in front of one of motorsport’s most exciting fans. Goodwood was an ideal place for Barclay to showcase the MCL HY, where the football community has already started to get a true look at the programme and has been hugely excited about since its official introduction earlier this year.
Meanwhile McLaren is just starting working on development. The final months of testing are to come, including challenging, exhausting 30-hour endurance sessions, which will ready the vehicle and crew for the special demands of long-distance racing. Being tied up with the unveiling of the car was like going to the base camp said Barclay, when he compared the programme to climbing Mount Everest. The team’s team selection also plays a key role in making a successful endurance programme, and he said the squad was the backbone of McLaren’s aspirations.
The development programme will proceed under the supervision of factory driver, Mikkel Jensen, but that is a commitment taken with IMSA in Canada, so he didn’t attend Goodwood. Additionally, Laurens Vanthoor, who has already been confirmed as a McLaren factory driver in light of his current Porsche IMSA competition will be with Jensen. Their experience will be invaluable in McLaren’s efforts for the MCL-HY to be ready for a more competitive launch.
Lastly, the Goodwood Festival of Speed was more than just a parade of new cars. It was the first public challenge for McLaren to return to the largest endurance events in the world. The MCL-HY is starting to shape up to be another season of winning teams, given their competitive technical package, their veteran management staff and a testing program that is well underway. And the journey towards the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2027) and World Endurance Championship will now be followed closely by motorsport enthusiasts.
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