‘Longtail’ McLaren F1 GTR ’28R’ made its racing debut on June 29, 1997 in the FIA GT Championship-qualifying Nurburgring 4-Hour race in Germany. It was co-driven there by Britain’s Andrew Gilbert-Scott and Anders Olofsson as race number ‘1’ but was sidelined by accident damage and did not finish. At Spa on July 20 – shared by the same pairing – ’28R’ was involved in the opening lap team collision and again retired. A wheel problem caused withdrawal from the A1-Ring 4-Hours in Austria where Geoff Lees joined Gilbert-Scott and Olofsson in the driver team, but on August 4 in Japan’s grueling Suzuka 1,000 Kilometer race Andrew Gilbert-Scott/Geoff Lees/John Nielsen qualified ’28R’ offered here seventh fastest overall, and finished sixth. Back home in England on September 14th, Anders Olofsson/Geoff Lees drove the car to finish seventh in the FIA GT Championship Donington Park 4-Hours, and the same pairing followed up with eighth place at Mugello, Italy. In the penultimate round at Sebring they finished tenth, and in the deciding round at Laguna Seca on October 6 they helped salvage McLaren pride by bringing ‘028R’ home into another sixth place overall. We understand from the vendor that the car remained with GTC after its active FIA career, upon which it made its way back to the McLaren Works in Woking. The car was preserved for several years, and was reportedly sold through McLaren to the Jim Gainer Racing operation in Japan in 2004. According to the vendor, it was imported to Japan in factory-restored condition, reportedly being prepared to Suzuka circuit specification prior to delivery. In 2006, ’28R’ was acquired by the current owner, who has had the car started and run annually since that time, though to our knowledge it has not been track-tested. We are advised that the engine was run as recently as this past January. Most significantly, McLaren has offered to undertake a full technical inspection of the car free of charge for the new owner following this Sale.
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‘Longtail’ McLaren F1 GTR ’28R’ made its racing debut on June 29, 1997 in the FIA GT Championship-qualifying Nurburgring 4-Hour race in Germany. It was co-driven there by Britain’s Andrew Gilbert-Scott and Anders Olofsson as race number ‘1’ but was sidelined by accident damage and did not finish. At Spa on July 20 – shared by the same pairing – ’28R’ was involved in the opening lap team collision and again retired. A wheel problem caused withdrawal from the A1-Ring 4-Hours in Austria where Geoff Lees joined Gilbert-Scott and Olofsson in the driver team, but on August 4 in Japan’s grueling Suzuka 1,000 Kilometer race Andrew Gilbert-Scott/Geoff Lees/John Nielsen qualified ’28R’ offered here seventh fastest overall, and finished sixth. Back home in England on September 14th, Anders Olofsson/Geoff Lees drove the car to finish seventh in the FIA GT Championship Donington Park 4-Hours, and the same pairing followed up with eighth place at Mugello, Italy. In the penultimate round at Sebring they finished tenth, and in the deciding round at Laguna Seca on October 6 they helped salvage McLaren pride by bringing ‘028R’ home into another sixth place overall.
We understand from the vendor that the car remained with GTC after its active FIA career, upon which it made its way back to the McLaren Works in Woking. The car was preserved for several years, and was reportedly sold through McLaren to the Jim Gainer Racing operation in Japan in 2004. According to the vendor, it was imported to Japan in factory-restored condition, reportedly being prepared to Suzuka circuit specification prior to delivery. In 2006, ’28R’ was acquired by the current owner, who has had the car started and run annually since that time, though to our knowledge it has not been track-tested. We are advised that the engine was run as recently as this past January. Most significantly, McLaren has offered to undertake a full technical inspection of the car free of charge for the new owner following this Sale.
[Written in 2012 by story-cars.com]