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McLaren gets on track with 570S GT4 and 570S Sprint

McLaren may be producing road-going sports cars these days, but it hasn't forgotten its racing roots. So it should come as little surprise that each of its model lines has found its way from the road to the track: the Super Series with the 650S GT3, the Ultimate Series with the P1 GTR, and soon the Sports Series with the announcement of not one, but two new variants of the 570S. First up is the 570S GT4, a racing model developed jointly by the McLaren GT competition division and independent motorsport firm CRS GT Limited to comply with the lowest of the FIA's sports racing categories. It's based on the road-going model, but features a number of upgrades. The powertrain carries over unchanged, but bodywork has been redone to accommodate the wider track. It rolls on Pirelli racing slicks with center-lock magnesium alloys. The suspension has adjustable dampers and coil-over springs with an on-board air jack. The aerodynamics are more aggressive with a large rear wing, front splitter, and underfloor, a larger radiator up front, and more ducts to keep it all cool. The 570S GT4 is set to debut at the British GT Championship race at Brands Hatch next month before it's made available to privateer teams. With it, McLaren Automotive has hired Ansar Ali (formerly of Caterham and Lotus and founder of Zenos) to serve as its Motorsport Director, separate from the GT and F1 racing divisions in Woking. McLaren is also planning a 570S Sprint. It'll be similar to the GT4 model, but instead of having to fit under any specific racing regulations, the Sprint is being designed for private track enthusiasts – just like the 650S Sprint and the P1 GTR. That ought to make it a hoot to drive, and we're looking forward to its arrival as well "in the coming weeks." Related Video: THE McLAREN SPORTS SERIES EXPANDS TRACK APPEAL WITH 570S GT4 AND 570S SPRINT · Track-only 570S GT4 and 570S Sprint models to be added to the McLaren Sports Series · Ansar Ali joins McLaren Automotive as Motorsport Director · 570S GT4 to enter a season-long competitive development program in British championship with Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse Woking, UK (March 15, 2016) – McLaren Automotive has confirmed two new track-only models of the recently-launched Sports Series with the introduction of the 570S GT4 and the 570S Sprint, developed in conjunction with the motorsport division of the Woking brand, McLaren GT and GT racing specialists, CRS GT.

Fernando Alonso reportedly will race for Toyota at Le Mans

When it was recently announced that Fernando Alonso would race in the 24 Hours of Daytona in January, it was described as a warm-up for an eventual attempt to win Le Mans. "Eventual" may come pretty fast: It now looks like the Formula One champion will race in the Le Mans 24 Hours next season as well. Or so reports BBC Sport, which says he'll race for Toyota. But wait, there's more: The BBC also says he's in talks with Toyota to drive most of the entire World Endurance Championship — while keeping his day job driving for McLaren in F1. "Le Mans is agreed," a source close to Toyota told the BBC. "The rest of the season is still being negotiated, but it looks like he will do most of the races." BBC's sources say Alonso will drive a Toyota WEC car in the season's last race, in Bahrain on Nov. 19, to get his feet wet. The season's final Formula One race is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Nov. 26. Neither Alonso nor Toyota would confirm an impending deal. Alonso said at practice for this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix: "So far, nothing to comment. We will see. Just rumors." What's motivating him is this: He's 36 years old and is intent on becoming only the second driver, after Briton Graham Hill, to win motorsport's Triple Crown. That entails winning the Formula One title (or just the Monaco Grand Prix according to one interpretation) as well as Indianapolis and Le Mans. He has won Monaco as well as the 2004 and 2005 world titles. He recently signed a contract extension keeping him at McLaren in 2018. As for the Indy piece of the Triple Crown, Alonso famously raced there this year and was running competitively when his Honda engine failed in the closing stages of the race. So expect to see him there again as well. Racing with Toyota at Le Mans and other endurance races should give him better luck than he had this season with McLaren-Honda in F1 and at Indy. Though Toyota has never won Le Mans, it is known to be developing a new WEC car. Traveling the globe to race in both the WEC and F1 in the same season sounds grueling, but it might be possible. The circuits have provisional schedules, and there's just one conflict — the U.S. Grand Prix and a WEC race in Japan are both penciled in for Oct. 21. But McLaren sounds none too keen on him doing the whole WEC schedule. McLaren racing director Eric Boullier told the BBC: "He has said he is keen to do some races outside. There is a case-by-case discussion. His main and first focus is F1, so that has to be the priority.

Oregonians use supercar collection to make sick children smile

Portland, Oregon couple Eric Peterson and his wife Amity own ten exotic cars and, said Amity, they "didn't want the cars to sit." Instead of the random track day or regular trips to Cars 'n' Coffee, they started a project called Dream Drives for Kids, which brings ill youngsters to the Peterson garage and takes them for a ride in the car of their choice. The couple aims to take a new kid for a ride every week. Portland's KGW news covered the project while a four-year-old named Gideon, who has a rare childhood melanoma, stopped by for a jaunt in a McLaren MP4-12C. And Gideon's a champ in his own right: the kid likes cars so much he would take Hot Wheels to other sick children in the ward, and he gave the Petersons a box of Hot Wheels gift sets to give to other children when they come for rides. You can watch the heartwarming segment in the video above. News Source: Eric Peterson via YouTube, Motor Authority McLaren Coupe Luxury Performance charity portland