In 1995, the McLaren F1 GTR of JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas, and Masanori Sekiya beat the odds (and its fellow F1 GTR runners) to take a surprise Le Mans 24 Hours victory.
That car, entered by Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing and run by Paul Lanzante, was only ever meant to run as a test car as McLaren scaled up its F1 road car into an endurance racing machine. After winning Le Mans, this version of the GTR – dubbed the 01R internally – never raced again. Thus, in its only race, it won motorsport’s most prestigious endurance event.
Ahead of Lehto’s reunion at 2025’s Goodwood Festival of Speed with the car that spawned a Le Mans legend, McLaren invited us to film its shakedown of the F1 GTR at Pembrey – making this the first time it had been filmed on-track in 30 years.
We delve into what made this car so special, and how it managed to win the 1995 edition of Le Mans in torrential conditions – with a little help from Lehto and his recollections of that famous 24 hours in France.
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