Laurens Vanthoor feels he has the “dream ticket” race programme for 2027.
The Belgian will combine an IMSA GTP Endurance Cup drive with Porsche Penske Motorsport and a full-time WEC season with McLaren Racing before transitioning to become McLaren-exclusive when his contract with Porsche expires in 2028.
It’s a blockbuster move for the Woking-based brand to sign the longstanding Porsche ace whose last major career goal is to win the Le Mans 24 Hours, and a bold one for Vanthoor, to join a Hypercar programme still very much in its embryonic stage.
“Talks started near the end of last year,” he tells DSC. “Probably somewhere in October, November, and the trigger was the announcement that Porsche was leaving WEC and not going to be in Le Mans. I felt it coming before that announcement, and that was around the time I started speaking with McLaren.”
The 35-year-old’s CV is so loaded (with overall wins at the 24-Hour races at Daytona, Spa and the Nürburgring, plus the 12-hour classics at Bathurst and Sebring) that most, if not all, of the current and future Hypercar manufacturers would fight for his signature given the opportunity. The big question is: in a field with major factories and years of experience under their belt, why McLaren?
“I must admit, there was a lot of interest, but McLaren was the brand that appealed to me most, and the option I pursued from the beginning,” he explains. “When McLaren announced they were going to join WEC and race at Le Mans in Hypercar, I found it interesting.
“I went to Woking, I walked through the boulevard, I saw the history and the little child in me started to smile. It’s why I do this, it’s why I dreamed about being in motorsport, because of names like McLaren and its cars. And as they’re in the WEC, it has an appeal. Le Mans is the big goal for me now. I’ve been lucky to win so many big races and titles in my career, and the only major endurance race missing is that one.
“It was a career goal and dream to join Porsche Penske, and I never thought about leaving. But for me, if I race for another brand, I have to be proud to be wearing the badge on my chest. It’s something I have with Porsche Penske, and it’s something you have with a brand like McLaren.”
Another part of the appeal is the personnel behind the programme. By moving to the McLaren Hypercar set up, Vanthoor gets to work with, among others, McLaren CEO Zak Brown, McLaren endurance boss James Barclay and the highly successful management team behind United Autosports in Richard Dean and Max Gregory.
“The conversations I had with James at the beginning were very positive, honest and straightforward. It felt right,” he adds. “I have a good, honest relationship with everyone already, and there are multiple other people involved in the project who are giving me a positive feeling.”
The chance to drive with Mikkel Jensen – McLaren’s first confirmed Hypercar driver – also ticked a box, though not the one you’d expect.
“I said to James that Mikkel would be the perfect teammate to me, because he’s a talented driver and he’s gluten-free, like I am, and loves his food. So dinner plans would be easy!”
With a deal that’s as complex and sensitive as this one, though, there are many moving parts, unknowns and key details. Vanthoor’s long-term future ultimately lies with McLaren, though he admits that if Porsche Penske Motorsport remains in GTP beyond 2027 and McLaren delays its introduction to the class further than that, then there may be a discussion to be had about rolling over this current arrangement.
He’ll be involved with the MCL-HY test programme soon, with his first taste of the car set to come at Imola at the end of the month, and in the future, in addition to competing with the brand in GTP, there’s potential for him to compete in McLaren GT3 cars, though there have been no deep discussions about what his GT commitments could look like.
Ultimately, for Vanthoor to sign with McLaren ahead of his Porsche contract expiring and see out his final year with a dual programme required a level of compromise that the higher-ups at Porsche deserve praise for.
“I have a contract with Porsche, and a commitment with Porsche that I wish to honour,” Vanthoor concludes. “So to continue with Porsche next year and compete at the big IMSA races is a no-brainer. But there is give and take, and Porsche and McLaren had to agree on so many things to make it work, some of which were out of my control and made for a weird situation. So I have to be grateful that they are allowing me to pursue my dream like this.
“I said to my wife a couple of months ago when it became clearer things were happening, and one day we were in Mooresville, then two days later I was at McLaren, and I sat in the hotel room and said to her: ‘This is a hard situation to top. It might be impossible to top.’ It can’t get any better as a driver. It’s a dream come true.
“But it wasn’t easy to get here. There were many sleepless nights. because it was all positive and going in the right direction, but with these things, it’s not in your hands. So it was quite a big relief when it was all finalised.”
Images courtesy of McLaren
