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- Racing Car Diecast Museum
- 1F Le Mans 24 Hours
- 1997 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail #44 (LM24)
1997 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail #44 (LM24)
Kyosho 1/64
Car: McLaren F1 GTR Longtail #44
Series: 1997 Le Mans 24 Hours
Class: LMGT1
Team: Team Lark McLaren
Drivers: Gary Ayles, Akihiko Nakaya, Keiichi Tsuchiya
Result: DNF
For the 1997 FIA GT season, McLaren realized that their older short-tail McLaren F1 GTR would no longer be able compete against the purpose-built 911 GT1 from Porsche and the upcoming CLK-GTR from Mercedes-Benz. With that, they did some modifications which ended up as this long-tail version. They also had to produce some road-cars based on this new long-tail version and I believe these road-cars are one of the rarest McLaren F1's.
Regarding the actual car, this is the #44 Team Lark entry in the 1997 Le Mans 24 Hours. Team Lark was actually the reigning champions in the JGTC, having won the GT500 Drivers and Teams championship with their short-tail McLaren F1 GTR's. The McLarens were not as quick as some of their GT1 rivals from Nissan and Porsche but these other cars eventually suffered some issues which allowed 2 of the newer McLarens to finish 2nd and 3rd overall. Unfortunately, this #44 car from the Lark team was one of the non-finishers, suffering an accident rather early in the race.
