There’s a real sense of energy and excitement around McLaren Racing’s FIA WEC Hypercar programme, as the start of its track testing phase draws near ahead of its race debut in 2027.
James Barclay, the team principal for the endurance project, is at the core of the forward momentum. He has deeply embedded himself in the project since joining the brand last summer, leading the recruitment drive and building working relationships with service provider United Autosports and key partners such as Dallara and ATM (Autotecnica Motori).
Barclay brings a wealth of motorsport experience to the Woking brand’s effort to win Le Mans overall for a second time and clinch a Hypercar World Championship. His CV is littered with notable stints, from early days in single-make racing with Vauxhall in the mid-90s as a driver, to jobs at Lotus to establish a motorsport division, Bentley during the Le Mans-winning effort and its later GT3 project, and, most recently, Jaguar in Formula E. The reputation he has built along the way prompted McLaren to come knocking and present him with an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“I’ve been really fortunate to work for incredible British car companies, and then when the phone called and it was Zak (Brown) to say he’d like me to come and head up the programme for McLaren Endurance, it was a hard decision to leave where I was,” he admitted to the media at MTC yesterday. “But it’s an honour to join McLaren in this incredible era for sportscar racing. It’s a very special opportunity, taking something which is very meaningful and writing new chapters of success.”
As it stands, the recruitment drive is ongoing, though the majority of the key positions were filled months ago. Chris Dyer, for instance, was named as technical director (moving over from McLaren’s previous Formula E division) and Maarten Youngman as technical programme director early on.
“There’s a broad talent pool here. We can’t share staff (across racing disciplines) because of financial regulations (in Formula One), but we have a real benefit if talent moves around between programmes,” Barclay added when asked about the makeup of the Hypercar team from McLaren’s side. “We’re on track with the recruitment strategy, which will be at about 100 people (including non-operational) when we’re fully recruited.”
The driver roster is also coming together, starting with yesterday’s news that ex-Peugeot factory racer Mikkel Jensen has been signed up and working with McLaren since the dust settled on the 2025 WEC season finale in Bahrain.
“I was not super happy with the performance (at Peugeot), and I thought that I was in a golden time in my career,” Jensen said when asked about the motivation behind the switch of brands. “31 is a good age for an endurance driver, and I felt I wasn’t getting the success I deserved. So I saw McLaren announce the project, and naturally, my eyes went in that direction.
“It was a great fit,” he said of his switch to McLaren. “We started talking, we were on the right page with everything, and it was just a great match. I came here (to MTC) just after my last race in Bahrain and felt the spirit. I saw the boulevard, the atmosphere and the history of the brand. It was emotional.”
The plan is for McLaren Racing and United Autosports to begin track testing at the end of Q1, start of Q2. The test plan has been fully mapped out and will see the team visit a diverse set of circuits and complete several types of run plans. In the meantime, engine dyno work is already underway, and simulator work has been ongoing in partnership with Dallara for “a number of months”.
“We’ve always had the intention of running the car from May onwards. We’re on schedule, which is fantastic,” Barclay noted. “We’ve heard the engine do its first laps of Le Mans on the dyno, and that was a special moment. But as always, there are a lot of things to achieve between now and then.
We’ve always had the intention of running the car from May onwards
“The great thing is that this programme brings two fantastic groups together, with United and its experience racing sportscars, and blending what it can bring in terms of operating the team, the mechanics, the sporting side, the logistics, process and procedures that are critical to success. That’s with the benefit that McLaren can bring.
“The programme management is operated from here, all our commercial aspects are here, but technically it’s a hub for the team as well. All our performance development will also operate from here. Our driver in the loop simulator will be based in MTC (as part of a transition from using Dallara’s facilities), so the racing and engineering team will spend a lot of time here preparing for races, correlating data, doing simulations and developing systems and software.
“The cars will live at United Autosports, and the preparation will live up there. The team is incredibly integrated.”
Barclay kept his cards close to his chest when asked for more details on the test plan for the McLaren Dallara-based, V6-powered LMDh. But he made it clear that we’ll hear a lot more in the weeks and months to come as key milestones are reached.
What stood out most from yesterday’s media visit to MTC was just how seriously McLaren is taking this venture back to the top level of sportscar racing, and how nicely it fits alongside its F1 and IndyCar programmes.
A short stroll down the boulevard at the McLaren Technology Centre underlines that. The 1995 Le Mans-winning F1 GTR, for instance, is on display amongst the line-up of priceless road and race cars from the brand, as is the long-tail spec F1 GTR that placed second at the 1997 edition of the race. Front and centre, too, as you enter the complex, is a ‘Triple Crown’ display with a car representing each of the three events, including one of three specially liveried Hypercars that have been produced to mark the brand’s unique achievement.
It’s also encouraging that Barclay and those around him appear to be under no illusions that they are at the start of what’s likely to be a tough multi-year journey, made even tougher by the fact that the formula is deep into its regulatory cycle. Achieving McLaren’s lofty goal of winning a Hypercar World Championship and a ‘Triple Crown’ in a single year will require smart decision-making, plenty of resources, and a dash or two of luck.
“We are setting things up from scratch,” Barclay explained. “We have a team here with a lot of experience and United. But we’re building together. For us to come in in 2027 and win is an incredibly challenging and big ask.
“We have to be humble. We let our racing do the talking at McLaren, but there’s a big learning curve. But, if you can be successful in this era, it will mean more. We need to do our homework well this year, take stock of where we are at the end of 2026. It’s too early to say where we expect to be, but it’s a lofty ambition to be fighting for podiums and wins straight away.
“The ingredients that WEC and IMSA have are incredibly strong at the moment,” he added when asked about the future of the era and the attraction to manufacturers like McLaren. “When we look at the landscape and the automotive environment, the hybrid era of sportscar racing has huge potential for the future.
“We’re really excited and motivated by the 2030 regulation discussions, which we hope will be finalised this year. I have no doubt they’ll be very attractive and that other manufacturers will want to come from 2030 and beyond.
“The excitement in our sport has been growing, and I think it will continue. We’re looking forward to being part of that for the long term.”
