Marred by reliability issues, McLaren and the Nürburgring have not been a happy marriage. In spite of its handsome looks and outright speed, the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 never lived up to its potential, reaching the finish line in only seven of its nineteen appearances over the past three seasons.
While the reliability of the MP4-12C had been notorious from the get-go, on occasion, though, the Dörr Motorsport-ran machine did shine, even if it was for the briefest of moments. Never shined it any brighter than on 20 June 2014 during qualification for the Nürburgring 24 hours, when GT superstar Kévin Estre shattered the track lap record with a time of 8:10.921.
With Dörr still undecided whether to continue the McLaren project with the new-for-2015 McLaren 650S GT3 or not, the Nürburgring-based VLN championship might be missing out on a car that already showed some of its strength in the Australian GT Championship season opener in Adelaide, where Tony Walls showed a steady speed at the top end of the field without suffering any mechanical issues. Could this necessary design overhaul redeem the inglorious past of the McLaren MP4-12C?
Facts and numbers
3 seasons spanning 30 months (31 March 2012 to 23 August 2014)
19 races in VLN and Nürburgring 24 hours
28 entries
2 pole positions
1 track lap record
1 second place
1 third place
5 top 5’s
18 DNF’s
2 teams (Dörr Motorsport and Gemballa Racing)
21 drivers (Sascha Bert, Hendrik Vieth, Klaus Ludwig, Nick Heidfeld, Arno Klasen, Kai Riemer, Peter Kox, Henri Moser, Rudi Adams, Chris Goodwin, Lucas di Grassi, Jochen Übler, Stefan Aust, Peter Posavac, Pedro Lamy, Tom Coronel, Tim Mullen, Kévin Estre, Sebastian Asch, Álvaro Parente, Nicky Catsburg)
Please consider making a donation so we can keep bringing you our best content from the racetrack.
