Fifer to aid McLaren's GT3 return posted in MSPOR17 | 12 | 2010
FIFER ANDREW Kirkaldy and his CRS Racing team is to work with racing giant McLaren to bring its name back to sports cars racing. The new partnership will see the return of the McLaren name to GT3 grids around the world.
McLaren and CRS Racing will supply and support a limited number of GT3 racing cars based on the McLaren MP4-12C high-performance sports car for European-based privateers from 2012.
"It is a rare opportunity to work with a company like McLaren and we are proud to be involved," Kirkaldy, Team Principal of CRS Racing and a former winner of the McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year, said today.
"Together we aim to produce the highest quality GT car on the grid. The level of engineering experience at McLaren is unparalleled and this will be reflected in the 12C GT3.
"One of the most important aspects of this programme will be customer service and for that reason we will be building a limited number of cars at a competitive price. The result will be an incredible GT car with manageable running costs and good residual value that will provide its owner with an unrivalled experience."
McLaren won the Le Mans 24 Hours 15 years ago with its F1 GTR machine, its last sport scars machine. Together with CRS Racing, the team from Woking has begun the development of the 12C, hoping to turn it into a race-winning car in GT3.
"Racing is in our blood, so it was natural to develop a GT3 car alongside the 12C road car," McLaren F1 boss Martin Whitmarsh. said
"We have a legendary history in global motorsport, including GT racing, and we aim to maintain that reputation with this GT3 programme, and any future sports car projects that may evolve.
"The 12C's architecture and design was always aimed at high-performance and ease of maintenance - two key criteria for potential customers.
"Combine that with the vast amount of racing experience in our automotive team, and CRS Racing's specialist development experience, and the 12C GT3 should be an exciting proposition for the top teams planning to race in GT3 from 2012."
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Jim McGill